Rockets push rebels back south of Tripoli
BIR-AYYAD, Libya - Libyan rebels who had advanced to within 80 kilometers of Muammar Gadhafi's stronghold in the capital were forced to retreat on Friday after coming under a barrage of rocket fire from government forces.
The rebels' advance five days ago to the outskirts of the small town of Bir al-Ghanam had raised the possibility of a breakthrough in a four-month old conflict. Rebel fighters who had been massing on a ridge near Bir al-Ghanam and preparing for an attack were now pulling back under fire from Russian-made Grad rockets, said a Reuters photographer in Bir-Ayyad, 30 km to the south.
He said the rocket barrage was now reaching as far back as Bir-Ayyad, a road junction in the foothills of the Western Mountains range southwest of Tripoli from where the rebels had launched their advance last week.
