Opponents of Libyan leader Muammar Gadafy have held off an attack by pro-government forces near the town of Misrata and shot down a military aircraft, a witness told Reuters today.
Misrata is 200km east of the Libyan capital. "An aircraft was shot down this morning while it was firing on the local radio station. Protesters captured its crew," said the witness.
"Fighting to control the military air base [near Misrata] started last night and is still going on. Gadafy's forces control only a small part of the base. Protesters control a large part of this base where there is ammunition."
"Misrata is still under the control of the protesters," he said.
Elsewhere, rebels awaited a counter-attack by Col Gadafy's forces today after the Libyan leader defied calls for him to quit in the hardest-fought of the Arab world's wave of uprisings.
Rebels holding Zawiyah, only 50km west of Tripoli, said about 2,000 troops loyal to Col Gadafy had surrounded the city.
"We will do our best to fight them off. They will attack soon," said a former police major who switched sides and joined the rebellion. "If we are fighting for freedom, we are ready to die for it."
Residents even in parts of the capital Tripoli have thrown up barricades against government forces. A general in the east of the country, where Col Gadafy's power has evaporated, told Reuters his forces were ready to help rebels in the west.
"Our brothers in Tripoli say: "We are fine so far, we do not need help'. If they ask for help we are ready to move," said Gen Ahmed el-Gatrani, one of most senior figures in the mutinous army in Benghazi.
Analysts say they expect rebels to eventually take the capital and kill or capture Col Gadafy but add that he has the firepower to foment chaos or civil war - a prospect he and his sons have warned of.
Rebel-held eastern Libya will start to experience serious food and medical shortages within three weeks, a public health volunteer said today.
The unrest is disrupting imports, the local supply of fresh food and domestic manufacturing, people in Libya's second city of Benghazi say, with many shops and factories there still closed since the city fell to protesters a week ago.
"We will have serious shortages of food, drink, medicine and medical equipment in two weeks, three weeks maximum. We need outside help," said Khalifa el-Faituri, a volunteer with qualifications in public health and pharmacology.
Serbian television quoted Col Gadafy as blaming foreigners and al-Qaeda for the unrest and condemning the UN Security Council for imposing sanctions and ordering a war crimes inquiry.
"The people of Libya support me. Small groups of rebels are surrounded and will be dealt with," he said.
European powers said it was time for Gadafy to stand down and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the United States was "reaching out" to opposition groups.
Residents of Zawiyah told of fierce fighting against pro-Gadafy paramilitaries armed with heavy weapons.
"Gadafy is crazy. His people shot at us using rocket-propelled grenades," said one man. Another said: "We need justice. People are being killed. Gadafy's people shot my nephew."
There were queues outside banks in Tripoli yesterday for the 500 Libyan dinars (€290) the government had promised it would start distributing to each family.
Reuters