Four Libyan rebels killed in Brega clashes

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Four Libyan rebels were killed and 30 wounded in clashes with forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi on the frontline between Ajdabiya and Brega, rebel commander Mussa el-Mograbi told AFP on Monday.

“We have four dead and 30 wounded. Gaddafi’s forces have many losses” from Sunday’s fighting, he said after visiting Ajdabiya hospital, 160 kilometres (100 miles) to the west of the rebel capital of Benghazi.

Intense rocket fire and shelling rocked an area half-way between Ajdabiya and Brega early on Sunday but “all is calm this morning,” Mograbi said, contacted by telephone.

Rebels have been trying for several weeks to take Brega, a strategic point on the main coastal road to Sirte and Tripoli. The town boasts an oil refinery that could boost rebel-held eastern Libya's dwindling fuel supply.

British and French helicopter gunships have been targeting pro-Gaddafi positions around Brega for the past 10 days.

The rebels estimate that 5,000-6,000 government soldiers are defending Brega, without specifying the size of their own force.

Journalists are barred from the front line, officially for “security reasons.” Unverifiable reports say Western military advisers have been deployed at the front alongside the rebels.