Battles for Libya's oil, towns still rage
As clashes erupted anew in Libya's capital Friday, Muammar Qaddafi's loyalist forces continued in their attempts to seize back other parts of the country from rebel militias.
Pro-Qaddafi forces bombarded the key oil terminal of Ras Lanuf with artillery in an intense back-and-forth fight Friday, CBS News correspondent Mandy Clark reported from just outside the town.
It was unclear who controlled the terminal, which is seen as a vital for pro-Qaddafi forces to take in order to ship oil and restore that important revenue source, Clark reported
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According to Clark, the rebel forces consisted of a ragtag militia armed with Kalashnikovs and anti-aircraft missiles, some of whom she could see coming back injured from the front lines.
The disparity in weaponry - military jets flew over rebel positions causing them to scramble - made it difficult to defend the town, but the battle remained up in the air.
The crisis has turned into something of deadlock between the two sides. Qaddafi's forces have been unable to take back significant ground from the rebellion. At the same time, his opponents, don't seem to have the capabilities to make a military move against territory still in regime hands.
A witness says 18 people have been killed and 120 wounded in fighting with pro-Qaddafi forces that attacked the rebel-held city of Zawiya, near the capital.
The witness at Zawiya's hospital says rebels were battling regime troops that attacked on both sides of the city, located 30 miles west of Tripoli. He and other residents say Zawiya, the closest opposition-held city to the capital, remains in opposition hands.
The witness spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of future retaliation from security forces.
Opposition activist Alaa al-Zawi said the rebels' military commander, Col. Hussein Darbouk, died after being hit with anti-aircraft gunfire.
Throughout the night and into the early hours Friday, pro-Gadhafi forces also fired mortars and anti-aircraft guns at the outskirts of opposition-held Misrata, Libya's third largest city located just east of Tripoli, a doctor in the city said. He said it appeared to be an intimidation tactic, causing no casualties.
In Tripoli, pro-Qaddafi forces fired tear gas at protesters on Friday as a fierce crackdown that has terrorized parts of the capital the past week seemingly smothered attempts to revive demonstrations calling for the Libyan leader's ouster.
More than 1,500 protesters marched out of the Murad Agha mosque after noon prayers in the eastern Tripoli district of Tajoura, chanting "the people want to bring the regime down" and waved the red, black and green flag of Libya's pre-Qaddafi monarchy, adopted as the banner up the uprising.
But pro-Qaddafi forces quickly moved in. They fired volleys of tear gas and -- when the marchers continued -- opened fire with live ammunition, according to witnesses.
It was not clear if they fired at the crowd or into the air, but the protesters scattered, many of them taking refuge back in the mosque, according to an Associated Press reporter at the scene. A doctor said several people were wounded and taken to a nearby hospital.