Rebels report gains in battle for Misrata

TRIPOLI, Libya – Rebels battled Moammar Gadhafi’s troops Thursday for control of central Misrata, driving dozens of snipers from tall buildings in hours of urban warfare and gaining a tactical advantage in the only major city held by the opposition in western Libya, witnesses said.

Also Thursday, rebels captured a Libyan border crossing into Tunisia, forcing government soldiers to flee over the frontier and possibly opening a new channel for opposition forces in Gadhafi’s bastion in the west.

At least seven people were killed in Thursday’s fighting for the main Misrata thoroughfare of Tripoli Street, bringing to 20 the number slain in three days in Libya’s third-largest city.

Misrata has been besieged by government forces for nearly two months, with human rights groups estimating hundreds of people killed.

Tripoli Street, which stretches from the heart of Misrata to a major highway southwest of the city of 300,000 people, has become a front line for the rebels and Gadhafi’s forces.

The rebels took over several buildings along parts of the street, enabling them to cut off supplies to a Gadhafi unit and dozens of rooftop snipers who have terrorized civilians and kept them trapped in their homes, said a doctor who identified himself only as Ayman for fear of retaliation.

Residents celebrated and chanted “God is great” after the snipers left a battle-scarred insurance building that is the highest point in central Misrata, according to a witness who identified himself only as Sohaib.

“Thanks to God, the snipers fled, leaving nothing behind at the insurance building after they were cut off from supplies – ammunition, food and water – for days,” added another resident, Abdel Salam.

In Tripoli, government spokesman Moussa Ibrahim claimed Gadhafi forces control more than 80 percent of the city and the rebels hold “the seaport and the area surrounding it.”

Associated Press