[Jerusalem Post] Muammar Gaddafi's forces seized two strategic towns in eastern Libya on Tuesday, forcing rebel fighters to beat a hasty retreat and opening up the road to the insurgent stronghold of Benghazi.The junction town of Ajdabiyah fell after a heavy bombardment by ground forces that sent civilians streaming down the road towards safer territory. The oil port of Brega was taken after a morning of see-saw fighting.
Libyan state television said Gaddafi's forces were now "in total control" of Ajdabiyah and a Reuters correspondent saw rebel forces pulling out of the town in convoys.
Government jets had opened up with rocket fire on the checkpoint at the western entrance to Ajdabiyah on Tuesday morning, then unleashed an artillery bombardment on the position and a nearby arms dump.
At least one missile hit a residential area. Residents piled into cars and pickups to flee town on highways leading towards Benghazi or Tobruk, which are still in rebel hands.
The same pattern of attack has pushed back rebels more than 100 miles (160 km) in a week-long counter-offensive.
Ajdabiyah was all that stood between the eastward advance of Libyan government troops and the second city of Benghazi and lies on a road junction from where Gaddafi's forces could attempt to encircle the rebel stronghold.
Tuesday afternoon, Libyan state television said that the town had been completely cleared of rebel forces.