The Libyan army and rebel militia engaged in heavy fighting in Yafran and other locations of the Western Mountains, while the government received massive popular support and accused NATO of bombing civilians.
Witnesses claim the clashes intensified in the early hours of Sunday with heavy artillery and rockets in the plain between the Berber Nafussa region under control of the insurgency, and the capital, bastion of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.
Military sources noted that in Yafran, 9 miles west of Tripoli, bombings and bursts of machine-gun fire took place, in parallel with raids by NATO in support of insurgents.
Libyan War rumbles on
Spokesmen for the opposition National Transitional Council (CNT) based in Benghazi added that there were also skirmishes in the area of Bir Al-Ghanam, north of Bir Ayad, a town with a strategic road that leads to Tripoli.
Meanwhile, the capital was the scene of a mass demonstration of the libyan leader’s supporters, especially women, who marched to support him and to repudiate NATO’s aggression against their country.
Libyan leader Gaddafi offerred negotiation
The strength of Gaddafi’s government after three months of NATO air bombings and four months of rebel offensive, led CNT leaders to reconsider the repeated offers of negotiation by the Libyan leader.
“A political agreement is possible. We agreed to discuss seriously a proposal, if Gaddafi does not remain in power,” said Abdel Hafiz Ghoga, deputy head of the CNT, while the African Union in South Africa today discussed other initiatives for peace. Libya and Nato negotiation came to a halt last month.
