Libyan rebels rain missiles on retreating Gaddafi troops as as their march west closes in on dictator's home town

Map of Libya showing state of control by town. (SIN03)

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER
Last updated at 1:34 PM on 28th March 2011

Rebels pictured firing missiles at Gaddafi forces near Bin Jawad
Opposition forces 60 miles from dictator's home town Sirte
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Dramatic images today showed the rebel advance up the coast of Libya, as opposition forces closed in on Colonel Gaddafi's hometown.

The rebels have fought their way to within 60 miles of Sirte, where the dictator was born, and were locked in a battle with government forces near the town of Bin Jawad.

The images show opposition forces firing missiles at government troops as smoke billows across the battlefield.

They have made a lightning advance west from their stronghold in Benghazi over the past few days, aided by international air strikes, and have now recovered all the territory lost in a pre-no-fly-zone retreat earlier this month.

Libyan rebels fire missles towards forces loyal to Libyan leade)

Opening fire: Rebels fire missiles at pro-Gaddafi forces near the town of Bin Jawad, which was seized in the advance last night

Moving up the coast: More missiles are fired at government forces as the rebels close in on Sirte

Fog of war: A plume of smoke rises across the battlefield as rebels watch the fighting

Out of action: A Gaddafi tank burns near Ajdabiya

'Sirte will not be easy to take,' said General Hamdi Hassi, a rebel commander at Bin Jawwad. 'Now because of NATO strikes on (the government's) heavy weapons, we're almost fighting with the same weapons, only we have Grad rockets now and they don't.'

Libya's rebels have recovered hundreds of miles of flat, uninhabited territory at record speeds after Gaddafi's forces were forced to pull back by international air strikes.

Hassi said there was fighting now just outside the small hamlet of Nafouliya, 60 miles from Sirte, and scouting parties had found the road ahead to be heavily mined.

He added that the current rebel strategy was to combine military assault with an attempt to win over some of the local tribes loyal to Gaddafi over to their side.

'There's Gaddafi and then there's circles around him of supporters, each circle is slowly peeling off and disappearing,' Hassi said. 'If they rise up it would make our job easier.'

March west: Rebels walk past a burning multi-rocket launcher at sunset outside the oil rich town of Ras Lanuf

Success: A Libyan rebel greets a man on a checkpoint leading into Ras Lanuf

Moving on: Rebel fighters fix their mounted anti-aircraft gun near the oil refinery at Ras Lanuf

Witnesses in Sirte reported there had been air strikes on Sunday night before and again early on Monday morning, but the town was quiet, and dozens of fighters loyal to Gaddafi could be seen roaming the streets.

Moving quickly westward, the advance retraced their steps in the first rebel march toward the capital.

But this time, the world's most powerful air forces have eased the way by pounding Gaddafi's military assets for the past week.

As the fighting continued the first wave of refugees from Libya arrived in Italy. Three boats carrying around 1,000 migrants docked in Siciliy and hundreds more are said to be on their way.

'There are no more controls on the Libyan coast now. Thousands are leaving,' a 26-year-old Eritrean woman rescued from one of the boats said.

Sirte is strategically located about halfway between the rebel-held east and the Gaddafi-controlled west along the Mediterranean coast. It is a centre of support for Gaddafi and is expected to be difficult for rebels to take.

West of Sirte is the embattled city of Misrata, the sole place in rebel hands in the country's west. Residents reported fighting between rebels and Gaddafi loyalists who fired from tanks on residential areas.