Libyan Forces Chase Rebels Into Tunisia

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Source: Associated Press

TRIPOLI, Libya (AP) — Libyan forces in more than a dozen military vehicles and armed with anti-aircraft guns and rocket launchers crossed into Tunisia on Friday as fighting with rebels raged along the western frontier, witnesses said. Tunisia's government was furious after clashes broke out on its territory and demanded Libya halt all incursions.

In another sign that Moammar Gadhafi's regime was redoubling efforts to beat back resistance in its stronghold of western Libya, NATO warships intercepted several boats laying anti-shipping mines outside the harbor of the rebel-held city of Misrata. The port is the only lifeline for the city of 300,000, which has been under siege by Gadhafi's forces for two months.

Libyan forces also fired rockets and shells at Misrata from the outskirts of town, killing at least eight people.

The fighting on the Libyan-Tunisian border, the attempted mining of the waters near Misrata and the renewed shelling signaled a new push by Gadhafi's forces to retake the two areas of fiercest rebel resistance in the west. It's unlikely Gadhafi would be able to cling to power without consolidating control over western Libya.

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2011/04/29/world/middleeast/AP-ML-Libya.html?_r=1&partner=rss&emc=rss&pagewanted=all

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1. Gaddafi troops captured in Tunisia while fighting intensifies in Misrata

Source: The Guardian

The Libyan civil war has briefly spilled into Tunisia as the west of the country saw heavy fighting on two fronts and Nato reported that Muammar Gaddafi's forces were laying anti-shipping mines in the sea off Misrata.

Loyalist troops made incursions over the border into Tunisia in a battle to retake a key crossing from rebel hands, drawing condemnation from Tunis.

Libyan soldiers were captured by Tunisian forces after firing indiscriminately in clashes that lasted about 90 minutes, according to reports. Witnesses said three Tunisians were injured.

Any sign of the Libyan conflict stretching into Tunisa would have serious regional implications.

Read more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/apr/29/gaddafi-troops-captured-in-tunisia