Forces loyal to Moamer Qadhafi celebrated on Saturday after retaking the eastern Libyan towns of Bin Jawad and Ras Lanuf. The oil town of Ras Lanuf had been the rebel's most advanced stronghold, and regime forces in Bin Jawad marked their victory in front of journalists brought there on a visit organised by the authorities.
Brandishing freshly printed portraits of Qadhafi, troops chanted "Allah (God), Moamer, Libya - that's it." All anti-Qadhafi graffiti had been whitewashed, but one scrawl escaped the eyes of the loyalists: "Qadhafi is crazy." Shell and bullet casings lay on the road between Bin Jawad and Ras Lanuf, in a grim reminder of violent clashed that shook the two strategic towns.
An oil refinery near Ras Lanuf was still burning on Saturday after being bombed by fighter jets on Friday. Libyan state television announced on Thursday that Ras Lanuf had been "purged" of insurgents. Seif al-Islam, the son of the Libyan leader, told Italian newspapers published Saturday that the army was controlling "90 percent of the country" and would totally defeat the rebels.
Pro-Qadhafi troops forced the rebels to retreat Saturday after more air raids on a insurgent checkpoint in Uqayla, east of Ras Lanuf, according to AFP reporters. Having abandoned attempts to retake Ras Lanuf, rebels seemed to be regrouping on a new front, with 70 fighters spotted on the coastal road to the strategic oil town of Brega, 40 km (25 miles) further east. As the rebels retreated east, they approached Ajdabiya, their last bastion before their headquarters in Benghazi.
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