[Al Jazeera] Rebel fighters in eastern Libya fought off an attack by government troops in the town of Ajdabiya on Sunday, a day after retreating from a key oil facility around 100 kilometres farther west.Forces loyal to longtime leader Muammar Qadaffy
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advanced on Ajdabiya under a heavy artillery barrage in the morning and fought at close range with rebels on the town's southern outskirts before a counterattack forced them back, witnesses said.
On Saturday, with the help of NATO
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air strikes along the main coastal road, rebels reached the outskirts of Brega, the site of a major oil and petrochemical port west of Ajdabiya.
But a sandstorm that began overnight hampered air cover, and by Sunday morning rebels had retreated.
Dozens of civilian vehicles, many of them carrying families, decamped Ajdabiya throughout the morning, and some rebels also appeared to join the withdrawal.
Two fighters were maimed in the battle, suffering superficial shrapnel wounds during the bombardment, but none were seriously injured or killed, doctors at Ajdabiya Hospital said.
In response to the advance by Qadaffy's forces, the opposition Transitional National Council issued orders that casualties should no longer go to Ajdabiya Hospital and should instead be sent directly to Benghazi, the seat of the rebel government around 160 kilometres to the north, the doctors said.
Some of the maimed already at the hospital were also evacuated. At least five ambulances with flashing lights and sirens blaring could be seen driving north out of Ajdabiya before noon.
Dozens of kabooms from incoming artillery fire could be heard south of the town, and fighters said there were at least 100 blasts throughout the morning.
The rebels responded with a barrage of Grad rockets, their flames streaming upward against the backdrop of a sky darkened by the sandstorm, which often reduced visibility to just a few hundred metres and gave Qadaffy's troops cover to advance rapidly on Ajdabiya.
The bombardment from regime forces hit near the town's large, green western gate - a landmark and rallying point for rebel forces - but shells also landed on residential areas, said Muhammad Barwuin, a rebel fighter. No civilians were reported to have been hurt in the attack.
Just 10 days ago, women and kiddies had begun to return to Ajdabiya, and businesses started to reopen. But on Sunday, the town, which has traded hands multiple times in the months-long conflict, was deserted, and only fighters walked its shattered streets.
Shortly after noon, more than 30 vehicles carrying rebel reinforcements streamed into Ajdabiya, carrying a by-now familiar assortment of jury-rigged weaponry: machine guns, recoilless rifles, anti-aircraft batteries, and dismounted helicopter rocket pods, all welded to the back of pick-up trucks.
After the bombardment lifted, small arms fire echoed from deeper inside the town, and the government troops involved in the attack apparently withdrew. Rebels took up defensive positions around Ajdabiya and erected roadblocks made of rocks and metal sheets at most major intersections.
At the roundabout connecting two main roads, Tripoli and Bridge streets, rebels standing on the back of pickups stared attentively down the barrels of their machine guns, and an array of mounted rocket launchers pointed west.