Libya rebels seize on airstrikes and press west

Ahmed Jiahani pulled up to a checkpoint on the road from Benghazi to Ajdabiya, his hometown in Libya, eager to get back to his friends and family.

Despite the success of coalition airstrikes against the defenses of Libyan strongman Muammar Qaddafi, CBS News correspondent Mandy Clark reports that he could go no further than the stop several miles outside of town. Tanks from Qaddafi's forces were firing on any vehicle that crested a nearby rise.

The front line in the war between Qaddafi's troops and the rebels has moved away from the rebel stronghold of Benghazi, Clark reports, back to the heavily disputed town of Ajdabiya, Jiahani the dentist's home.

"My friends (are) dying there, I know," Jiahani said. "All my life there in Ajdabiya; my friends, my family, my business."

The city has been under siege for weeks; it's Muammar Qaddafi's gateway to the rebel-held East and both sides have fought hard here with control of this city changing hands numerous times. With US commanders warning of a potentially long, drawn-out conflict in Libya, it is impossible to say how long it will be before Jiahani can return.

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Even the rebellion's more organized military units were still not ready to completely capitalize on the airstrikes, which is one of the reasons why the front had stopped on Ajdabiya's outskirts. The opposition disarray underscored U.S. warnings that a long stalemate could emerge.

The air campaign by U.S. and European militaries has unquestionably rearranged the map in Libya and rescued rebels from the immediate threat of annihilation they faced only days ago under a powerful advance by Qaddafi's forces.

Army Gen. Carter Ham, the lead U.S. commander, said it was possible that Qaddafi might manage to retain power.

"I don't think anyone would say that is ideal," the general said, foreseeing a possible outcome that stands in contrast to President Barack Obama's declaration that Qaddafi must go.

The Libyan leader has ruled the North African nation for 42 years and was a target of American air attacks in 1986.

The full dimensions of the Libya crisis are still coming into view, with questions remaining about how far the Obama administration is willing to go to stop Qaddafi, whether the international military coalition will hold together and whether dissent in his own ranks will soon doom Qaddafi.

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While those questions get answered, the rebels press their counterassault on Qaddafi's forces. The rebels swept into the oil port of Zwitina, just northeast of Ajdabiya, which was also the scene of heavy fighting last week -- though now had been abandoned by regime forces. There, a power station hit by shelling on Thursday was still burning, its blackened fuel tank crumpled, with flames and black smoke pouring out.

It was a dramatic turnaround in Libya's month-old upheaval: For 10 days, Qaddafi's forces had been on a triumphant offensive against the rebel-held east, driving opposition fighters back with the overwhelming firepower of tanks, artillery, warplanes and warships. Last week, as rebels fell back, the stream of civilians crossing into Egypt alone reached 3,000 a day.

Then, after the no-fly zone was imposed Friday, the number fell to about 1,500 a day, said UNHCR spokeswoman Sybella Wilkes.

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Driving from the city's center westward, in the direction of Tripoli, rebels were keen to show off the destroyed government tanks and vehicles to CBS News correspondent Clark, and they vowed to push on to the capital city and topple Qaddafi.

"I feel like in two days max we will destroy Qaddafi," said Ezzeldin Helwani, 35, a rebel standing next to the smoldering wreckage of an armored personnel carrier, the air thick with smoke and the pungent smell of burning rubber. In a grisly sort of battle trophy, celebrating fighters hung a severed goat's head with a cigarette in its mouth from the turret of one of the gutted tanks.

Mohammed Abdul-Mullah, a 38-year-old civil engineer from Benghazi who was fighting with the rebel force, said government troops stopped all resistance after the international campaign began.

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"They were running, by foot and in small cars," he said. "The balance has changed a lot. But pro-Qaddafi forces are still strong. They are a professional military and they have good equipment. Ninety percent of us rebels are civilians, while Qaddafi's people are professional fighters."

Rebel fighters descending from Benghazi met no resistance as they moved to the outskirts of Ajdabiya. In a field of dunes several miles outside the city, around 150 fighters massed. Some stood on the dunes with binoculars to survey the positions of pro-Qaddafi forces sealing off the entrances of the city. Ajdabiya itself was visible, black smoke rising, apparently from fires burning from fighting in recent days.

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"There are five Qaddafi tanks and eight rocket launchers behind those trees and lots of 4x4s," said one rebel fighter, Fathi Obeidi, standing on a dune and pointing at a line of trees between his position and the city.

Qaddafi forces have ringed the city's entrance and were battling with opposition fighters inside, rebels said. The plan is for the rebel forces from Benghazi "to pinch" the regime troops while "those inside will push out," Obeidi said.

New fighting also broke out Monday in Misrata, the last rebel-held city in western Libya, according to reports from Al-Jazeera and Al-Arabiya.