Qaddafi Strikes Rebels in West as Battles Rage in Oil Ports
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Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi sent troops to recapture towns in western Libya and prepared to quash protests in the capital, Tripoli, as rebels fought for control of oil ports on the country’s central and eastern coastal strip.
The conflict has left 6,000 people dead, the opposition forces’ spokesman, Abdullah Al Mahdi, told Al Jazeera television today. Al Mahdi, a colonel who defected from Qaddafi’s military, said the rebels will next target Tripoli. Government forces fired live rounds and tear gas at a group of about 1,500 protesters in the capital as the regime stepped up its crackdown on dissent, the Associated Press said, citing witnesses.