Dozens of Libyan rebels were pulling out of the eastern town of Brega today amid heavy shelling from forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi, agencies reported.
Rebel sources said government forces were advancing from the west after seizing the town of Uqayla and the village of Bisher 20 kilometres (12 miles) from Brega.
The sources said a few pockets were holding out near Bisher. Retreating fighters, most of them young, were seen heading aboard trucks mounted with anti-aircraft guns along the coastal road towards Ajdabiya, 80 kilometres away, the gateway to the main rebel cities of Benghazi and Tobruk.
No air activity was seen but artillery bombardments were continuing. An initial rush westward from their eastern strongholds had taken the rebels to beyond Ras Lanuf, 40 kilometres west of Brega, last week but Col Gaddafi’s deployment of superior forces has sent them beating a hasty retreat.
Apart from defectors from Gaddafi’s army the rebels have no military experience, few heavy weapons and are virtually powerless against air attack.International pressure is growing for a no fly zone to be imposed over Libya but the move, approved in a key resolution by the Arab League on Saturday, still faces opposition from UN Security Council heavyweights Russia and China while the United States is lukewarm.
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Last night the Arab League demanded the United Nations Security Council authorise a no-fly-zone over Libya as Colonel Gaddafi’s pushed rebel forces further back in intense fighting.
Following a meeting in Cairo the grouping issued a statement calling for the UN to “shoulder its responsibility to impose a no-fly-zone” to protect civilians.
As a Libyan army bombardment pushed the rebels out of the oil port of Ras Lanuf and troops fought to oust them from the town of Misrata, the League’s Secretary General, Amr Moussa, said that the “massive and dangerous violations” committed by Gaddafi’s regime had stripped it of any legitimacy.
The League had made contact with the Libyan rebel council to discuss humanitarian issues, it said, and would “cooperate with the provisional national council and provide support and protection for the Libyan people”.
The United States welcomed the call and said it was preparing for “all contingencies”.