Libyan rebels hope to retake gateway to Tripoli

BENGHAZI: Libya's rebel army on Saturday said it hoped to recapture areas to the south of Tripoli over the next 48 hours, as they attempt to push within striking distance of the capital.

After a retreat from around the plains town of Bir al-Ghanam some 80 kilometres (50 miles) from Tripoli, spokesman Colonel Ahmed Omar Bani said the rebel army would soon try to push the frontline northward.

"In the next two days the (revolutionaries) will come up with answers, things will change on the frontline," he said.

Bir al-Ghanam is at the foot of the Nafusa Mountains, where NATO forces have been bombarding loyalist positions.

Two armoured vehicles belonging to Qadhafi forces were destroyed in the town on Friday night.

The mountains were the site of a controversial French weapons drops for the rebels and have been one of the few battle lines which have shifted in recent weeks, mostly in the rebels' favour.

Copyright AFP (Agence France-Presse), 2011