Libyan state television said Sunday that forces loyal to leader Moammar Gadhafi have retaken the oil town of Brega.
A military source is quoted as saying Brega has been “cleansed of armed gangs.” The report has not been independently confirmed. Libyan TV has issued faulty reports claiming territory in the past. However, a French news agency reporter said earlier Sunday that dozens of Libyan rebels were pulling out of Brega amid heavy shelling from forces loyal to Mr. Gadhafi.
Western news reports said Saturday that government forces had launched air strikes on the city of Misurata, about 200 kilometers from Tripoli.
Also on Saturday, the Libyan government led journalists on tours of the towns of Ras Lanuf and Bin Jawad, which had been retaken from opposition forces.
Government loyalists waved posters of Mr. Gadhafi in Ras Lanuf as reporters viewed buildings that had been freshly painted to cover the anti-government graffiti. An oil facility near the town continued to burn after being bombed earlier.
In Bin Jawad, reporters viewed a gutted police station and other buildings that were heavily damaged.
Al Jazeera said Saturday that one of its cameramen had been killed in an ambush near the rebel stronghold of Benghazi. The television station did not say who it thought was behind the attack.
Separately, the French News Agency says several thousand women marched through Benghazi on Saturday, voicing support for a “no-fly” zone over the country.
Protests erupted in mid-February against Mr. Gadhafi, with demonstrators calling for an end to his hold on absolute power in Libya since 1969. The Libyan ruler has refused all demands to step down, at one point saying he expects to die a “martyr” in his north African homeland.
The U.N. says its humanitarian coordinator for Libya arrived in Tripoli on Saturday. The U.N. says Rashid Khalikov will hold talks with Libyan official about providing access to aid workers who will assess the needs of civilians affected by the unrest.