Libyan fighters said on Wednesday they had fought off an attack on positions around Zlitan, contradicting government claims of victory in a town insurgents hope will pave the way for an advance on the capital. Tuesday’s assault by forces loyal to Muammar Qaddafi led to fierce street battles that killed at least eight fighters, exposing the fragility of gains by fighters who are fighting on several fronts but are frequently out-gunned and out-manoeuvred. Five months into their uprising, despite winning increasing international support and enjoying the backing of NATO bombing raids on pro-Qaddafi forces, the eastern-based rebels have failed to make a breakthrough in ending Qaddafi’s 41-year rule.
As diplomacy appears to have ground to a halt, rebel pushes around Zlitan and the oil town of Brega, both to the east of Tripoli, and the Western Mountains, near the border with Tunisia, have been overshadowed by reports of divisions and the slaying of their top military chief in shadowy circumstances.
Gen. Abdel-Fatah Younes’s death, apparently while in the custody of fellow fighters bringing him back from the front line for unspecified questioning, raises the question of stability in the oil-rich country, even if Qaddafi, who has vowed to fight to the death, is defeated.