20110423
reuters

TRIPOLI (Reuters) - Government forces retreated in Libya's coastal city of Misrata after two months of siege, but seized a rebel town in the remote Western Mountains, with no sign yet of Muammar Gaddafi being dislodged from power.

"Misrata is free, the rebels have won. Of Gaddafi's forces, some are killed and others are running away," a rebel spokesmen said in the rebel coastal city, where a punishing two-month siege that killed hundreds appeared to have been broken.

One government soldier, Khaled Dorman, among a group of 12 being brought to hospital for treatment in Misrata, told Reuters from the back of a pickup truck: "We have been told to withdraw. We were told to withdraw yesterday."

Their apparent victory in Misrata, the only large city in the West under their control, is a major success for the rebels.

Nevertheless, the overall trend of fighting in Libya is still far from clear in a civil war that has seen seesaw victories for both sides. Al Jazeera television reported that heavy fighting continued on Saturday around a hospital in western Misrata being used as a base by Gaddafi's forces.

Government forces captured the town of Yafran in Libya's Western Mountains on Saturday, a rebel spokesman said. Rebels in that region captured a border post two days ago and had begun been rushing supplies to towns under attack, saying they were cheered by reports from Misrata.

"Gaddafi brigades seized control of the (Yafran) town centre and we are currently in nearby villages," a rebel spokesman, who identified himself as Ezref, told Al Arabiya television.

"They are firing mortars and Grad missiles," he said, adding that he had counted more than 44 Grad rockets fired in one hour.