2011 LIBYA conflict WEEK 5

2. 2011 – March 27 Libya: Rebels take Ras Lanuf, Brega , Uqayla, Bin Jawad Libyan rebels have recaptured four more towns and are moving quickly towards Muammar Gaddafi's heartland of Sirte. They seized the eastern coastal towns of Ras Lanuf, Brega, Uqayla and Bin Jawad after pro-Gaddafi forces withdrew, under pressure from allied air strikes. The rebels had recaptured the port of Ajdabiya on Saturday. US, French, British and other allied aircraft started attacking Libyan government troops eight days ago. The military coalition was assembled after the UN Security Council authorised action to protect civilians. Nato members are meeting in Brussels on Sunday evening, with the alliance expected to discuss the rules of engagement in Libya and expanding its operation. After capturing Ajdabiya on Saturday, the rebels have advanced west along the coastal highway at breakneck speed. A string of towns has fallen to them easily - Brega, Ugayla and now Ras Lanuf where we are now. One rebel commander said that Colonel Gaddafi's forces are running for their lives, scattering in all directions in full retreat. He says that with the help of God the rebels could be in Sirte by Monday - but that's probably optimistic. Sirte is the Libyan leader's birthplace and stronghold, his heartland. From now on the going will get much tougher for the rebels. After days of stalemate the rebels have finally gathered some momentum, even if it's only because they've had so much help from coalition air strikes that have destroyed Colonel Gaddafi's tanks and artillery on the ground. march 24 - Libya's rebels begin forming a government NATO ships patrolled off Libya's coast Wednesday as airstrikes, missiles and energized rebels forced Moammar Gadhafi's tanks to roll back from two key western cities, including one that was the hometown of army officers who tried to overthrow him in 1993. Libya's opposition took haphazard steps to form a government in the east, as they and the U.S.-led force protecting them girded for prolonged and costly fighting. The withdrawal of the tanks from Misrata and Zintan was a rare success for the rebels, who are struggling daily against Gadhafi forces in the eastern gateway city of Ajdabiya. The disorganized opposition holds much of the east but has been unable to take advantage of the international air campaign that saved it from the brink of defeat.

3. Finbarr O'Reilly / Reuters - Ismail, 18, a high school student who has joined the Libyan rebellion, poses for a portrait in a burned out building of a military base in the rebel headquarters of Benghazi on March 14.

4. Finbarr O'Reilly / Reuters - Mohammed, 18, a high school student who has joined the Libyan rebellion, poses for a portrait in a burned out building of a military base in the rebel headquarters of Benghazi on March 14. Countless young Libyan males have quit school or work to join the ranks of rebels fighting Moammar Gadhafi's 42-year rule.

5. People flee the Libyan city of Benghazi through the town of Al-Marej on March 17. Libya warned it could target all Mediterranean air and sea traffic in the case of foreign military intervention. (Patrick Baz/AFP/Getty Images)

6. People gather near a burning aircraft north of Benghazi, Libya, Thursday, March 17. Witnesses said the aircraft was piloted by anti-Gadhafi rebels and crashed for mechanical reasons. Gadhafi's forces encircled a key eastern city and his warplanes went deeper into rebel-held territory to bombard Benghazi's airport Thursday, threatening an all-out offensive to bring down the rebellion. Alaguri / AP

7. New York Times journalists found in Libya - The New York Times says four of its journalists who were reported missing while covering the Libya conflict have been found. - The Times reported on its website that the four were captured by forces loyal to Moammar Gadhafi and will be released Friday. His son, Seif IslamGadhafi, gave the information to Christiane Amanpour in an ABC News interview. Paul Conroy / Reuters - New York Times photographers Tyler Hicks (right, in glasses) and Lynsey Addario (far left), run for cover during a bombing run by Libyan government planes at a checkpoint near the oil refinery of Ras Lanuf on Friday, Mar. 11. The other photojournalists pictured, starting from second left are John Moore of Getty Images, Holly Pickett and Philip Poupin. Hicks and Addario, along with NYT correspondents Stephen Farrell and Anthony Shadid, were reported missing near lines of advancing Gadhafi forces two days ago, the NYT announced on Wednesday.

8. Joe Raedle / Getty Images - People hold flags during celebratory rally after the United Nations approved a no fly zone over the country on March 18, 2011 in Tobruk, Libya. Libya declared an immediate cease-fire after the UN vote but reports indicate that Muammar Gadhafi's forces were still shelling two cities. – 2011 march 18

9. A Libyan jet crashes after being shot down in Benghazi on March 19, as Libya's rebel stronghold came under attack, with at least two air strikes and sustained shelling of the city's south side sending thick smoke into the sky Patrick Baz / AFP - Getty Images

10. Five-year-old Libyan boy Mohammed Achmed is treated by a doctor in the Jalaa hospital in Benghazi, eastern Libya, Saturday, March 19, 2011. Mohammed received bullet wounds to his chest early Saturday as fighting broke out in Benghazi. He was with his mother who also received bullet wounds. (AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus

11. An injured captured soldier loyal to Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi is interrogated by a rebel soldier at the Jalaa hospital in Benghazi, eastern Libya, Saturday, March 19, 2011. In the hours before the no-fly zone over Libya went into effect, Qaddafi sent warplanes, tanks and troops into Benghazi, the rebel capital and first city to fall to the rebellion that began Feb. 15. (AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus)

12. Libyan rebels celebrate next to burning cars after Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi's forces were pushed back from Benghazi, eastern Libya, Saturday, March 19. Explosions shook Benghazi early on Saturday while a fighter jet was heard flying overhead, and residents said the eastern rebel stronghold was under attack from Gaddafi's forces. - Anja Niedringhaus / AP

13. Residents of Benghazi flee in vehicles from the city toward Tobruk, in an attempt to escape fighting March 19. Gadhafi's troops pushed into the outskirts of Benghazi, a city of 670,000 people, on Saturday in an apparent attempt to pre-empt Western military intervention expected after a meeting of Western and Arab leaders in Paris. - Reuters

14. A handout picture provided by the French Ministry of Defense shows a French Rafale fighter plane taking off from a military base in Saint-Dizier, France, March 19. The jets head for Libya to enforce a no-fly zone and protect civilians and embattled rebel troops. Eyewitnesses report that fighter jets had already entered Libyan airspace while a special summit on the topic was still in session in Paris. French presdident Sarkozy announced that attacks on the pro-Gaddafi forces have been launched after World leaders gathered in Paris on Saturday to discuss the course of action regarding Libya after the UN Security Council passed resolution 1973 that demands the immediate establishment of a cease-fire and a complete end to violence and all attacks against civilians. Sebastien Dupont / French Ministry of Defense / EPA

15. A supporter of Libya's leader Moammar Gadhafi gestures during a protest at Bab Al-Azizya in Tripoli, March 19. Thousands of Libyans packed into Gadhafi's heavily fortified Tripoli compound on Saturday to form a human shield against possible air strikes by allied forces. - Zohra Bensemra / Reuters

16. The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Barry launches a Tomahawk missile in support of Operation Odyssey Dawn in the Mediterranean Sea, Saturday, March 19. This was one of approximately 110 cruise missiles fired from US and British ships and submarines that targeted about 20 radar and anti-aircraft sites along Libya's Mediterranean coast. - US Navy via Reuters

17. LIBYA A Libyan jet bomber crashes after being shot down in Benghazi on March 19 as Libya's rebel stronghold came under attack, with at least two air strikes and sustained shelling of the city's south sending thick smoke into the sky. (Patrick Baz/AFP/Getty Images)

18. LIBYA Aisha Khadafy, daughter of Moammar Khadafy, holds a Libyan flag as she greets supporters at Bab Al-Aziziyah in Tripoli March 19. Thousands of Libyans packed into Moammar Khadafy's heavily fortified Tripoli compound on Saturday to form a human shield against possible air strikes by allied forces. (Zohra Bensemra/Reuters)

19. A Libyan girl fleeing Benghazi sits in a bus on March 19 as the exodus of civilians began shortly after the first air strikes hit Benghazi. (Patrick Baz/AFP/Getty Images)

20. A Libyan rebel empties the pockets of an African teenage member of Muammer Gadhafi's forces lying among debris in al-Wayfiyah, 35 km west of Benghazi after being hit by French warplanes on March 20. - Patrick Baz / AFP - Getty Images

21. A tank belonging to forces loyal to Libyan leader Muammar Gadhafi explodes after an air strike by coalition forces, along a road between Benghazi and Ajdabiyah, March 20. - Goran Tomasevic / Reuters

22. The Royal Air Force VC10 and Tristar air-to-air refuelling aircraft, from RAF Brize Norton, Oxfordshire, England, accompanied RAF Tornado GR4 fast jets from RAF Marham that struck Libyan air defenses, in the longest strike mission since the Black Buck operations during the Falklands conflict. British Prime Minister Cameron said that launching a military action against Libya is "necessary, legal and right.«  - SAC Neil Chapman / MOD via AP

23. Libyan rebels wave their flag on top of a wrecked tank belonging to Muammer Gadhafi's forces on the western entrance of Benghazi, March 20. - Patrick Baz / AFP - Getty Images

24. Vehicles belonging to forces loyal to Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi explode after an air strike by coalition forces, along a road between Benghazi and Ajdabiyah March 20. (Goran Tomasevic/Reuters)

25. A soldier from the Libyan army stands at Green Square in Tripoli March 20. Western forces pounded Libya's air defenses and patrolled its skies on Sunday, but their day-old intervention hit a serious diplomatic setback as the Arab League chief condemned the "bombardment of civilians". (Zohra Bensemra/Reuters

26. A rebel fighter shouts in front of a burning vehicle belonging to forces loyal to Moammar Khadafy after an air strike by coalition forces, along a road between Benghazi and Ajdabiyah March 20. (Goran Tomasevic/Reuters)

27. A Libyan rebel smiles next to wrecked military vehicles belonging to Moammar Khadafy forces hit by French warplanes on March 20. (Patrick Baz/AFP/Getty Images)

28. An elderly rebel fighter gestures in front of a destroyed tank belonging to forces loyal to Moammar Khadafy after an air strike by coalition forces in Benghazi March 20. (Goran Tomasevic/Reuters)

29. Men weep beside the bodies of family members killed during Saturday's offensive by forces loyal to Moammar Khadafy in the northeastern city of Benghazi on March 20. (Finbarr O'Reilly/Reuters)

30. A Libyan man gestures next to a bus burning on a road leading to the outskirts of Benghazi, eastern Libya, Sunday, March 20, 2011. AP / Anja Niedringhaus

31. Libyan people celebrate on a tank belonging to the forces of Moammar Gadhafi in the outskirts of Benghazi, eastern Libya, Sunday, March 20, 2011. AP / Anja Niedringhaus

32. People celebrate atop a destroyed tank belonging to forces loyal to Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi, March 20. Western forces pounded Libya's air defenses and patrolled its skies on Sunday, but their day-old intervention hit a serious diplomatic setback as the Arab League chief condemned the "bombardment of civilians". - Suhaib Salem / Reuters

33. An aerial view of the French aircraft carrier Charles De Gaulle, seen in this photo released on March 20, 2011 by French Defense communication and audiovisual production agency, after leaving the naval base of Toulon March on 20, 2011. The carrier, carrying a crew of around 1,800 and some 20 aircraft, was accompanied by an attack submarine, several frigates and a refueling ship defense officials said. (Reuters/ECPAD/Handout)

34. A Libyan rebel dressed in a jacket of the Italian national soccer team celebrates with a rocket in the outskirts of Benghazi, eastern Libya, Sunday, March 20, 2011. (AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus)

35. The head of a goat is hung on the muzzle of a destroyed tank, belonging to forces loyal to Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi, after an air strike by coalition forces along a road between Benghazi and Ajdabiyah March 20, 2011. (Reuters/Suhaib Salem)

36. One of three stealth B-2 Spirit bombers returns to Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri from its mission in support of the Operation Odyssey Dawn no-fly zone over Libya. The three planes dropped precision munitions on an airfield near the city of Misrata. A military official said the B-2s flew 25 hours round trip from Whiteman and dropped 45 2,000-pound bombs. - Senior Airman Kenny Holston / U.S. Air Force via AFP - Getty Images

37. Libyan soldiers survey the damage to an administrative building hit by a missile late Sunday in the heart of Moammar Gadhafi's Bab Al Azizia compound in Tripoli, Libya. No casualties were reported. - Jerome Delay / AP

38. U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon, center, is taken away by his bodyguards after been accosted by Gadhafi supporters outside the Arab League building in Cairo on March 21. Around 50 demonstrators loyal to the Libyan leader surrounded Ban, forcing him to retreat into the adjacent Arab League headquarters. - Amr Abdallah Dalsh / Reuters

39. A rebel fighter points his gun at a suspected Gadhafi supporter as other rebels try to protect the man on a road between Benghazi and Ajdabiyah, on March 21. - Goran Tomasevic / Reuters

40. LIBYA A Libyan rebel prays next to his rifle on the outskirts of Ajdabiya, south of Benghazi in eastern Libya on March 21. - Anja Niedringhaus / AP

41. Libyan rebels carry an injured comrade following an attempt to take the town of Ajdabiya on March 21. - Patrick Baz / AFP - Getty Images

42. Libyan rebels duck for cover during their failed attempt to take the town of Ajdabiya from Gadhafi's forces on March 21. Forces loyal to Gadhafi had retreated to the town, south of the rebel stronghold of Benghazi, after Western-led air strikes destroyed much of their armor, leaving dozens of wrecked tanks along the road. - Patrick Baz / AFP - Getty Images

43. Onlookers gather March 21 at the site where forces loyal to Moammar Gadhafi were targeted a day earlier by a French airstrike in Al-Wayfiyah, west of Benghazi. - Patrick Baz / AFP - Getty Images

44. A rebel fighter who was wounded by an explosion is carried to a vehicle just outside Ajdabiyah on March 21. A wave of air strikes on Monday hit Gadhafi's troops around Ajdabiyah, a strategic town in the barren, scrub of eastern Libya that rebels aim to retake and where their fighters said they need more help to take the battle to the enemy. - Finbarr O'Reilly / Reuters

45. A US C-17 plane lands at Aviano air base on Monday. Italy has provided seven airbases as key staging points for strikes by Western-led coalition forces to destroy Libya's air defenses and impose a no-fly zone. - Giuseppe Cacace / AFP - Getty Images

46. French Air Force pilots pack a side arms as they suit up at the Solenzara air base before a mission over Libya on March 21. The French operation, with some 20 fighter jets deployed in an initial operation in Libya, is being run out of the Solenzara air base on the Mediterranean island of Corsica, around an hour's flight from Libya. - Reuters

47. People look at destroyed weapons belonging to forces loyal to Libyan leader Muammar Gadhafi, after a coalition air strike, along a road between Benghazi and Ajdabiyah on Monday. The coalition enforcing a no-fly zone over Libya is not aiming to "completely destroy" Libyan leader Muammar Gadhafi's military and is only targeting those defying an international mandate, the head of the U.S. Africa Command said on Monday. - Suhaib Salem / Reuters

48. A Danish F-16 takes off from the NATO airbase in Sigonella, Italy, March 21. The European Union's top foreign policy official brushed aside concerns Monday that the coalition supporting military action against Libyan leader Col. Gadhafi is already starting to fracture, saying the head of the Arab League was misquoted as criticizing the operation. - Andrew Medichini / AP

49. Supporters of Gadhafi hold his posters as they take part in a pro-government rally in Tripoli, Libya on March 21. – Mohamed Messara / EPA

50. Libyan rebels arrive at the frontline on the outskirts of Ajdabiya, south of Benghazi, eastern Libya, March 21. The international military intervention in Libya is likely to last "a while," a top French official said Monday, echoing Moammar Gadhafi's warning of a long war ahead as rebels, energized by the strikes on their opponents, said they were fighting to reclaim a city under siege from the Libyan leader's forces. - Anja Niedringhaus / AP