Gadhafi forces reported to take control over oil town of Brega

PanARMENIAN.Net - Libyan state television reported March 13 that forces loyal to Moammar Gadhafi have retaken the oil town of Brega in eastern Libya, swiftly advancing on the poorly equipped and loosely organized rebels.

The report could not immediately be verified. Libyan TV has issued faulty reports claiming territory in the past.

Gadhafi's forces pushed the front line miles deeper into rebel territory the previous day to just 25 miles (40 kilometers) outside Brega, the site of a major oil terminal. Today’s report declared the city has been "cleansed from armed gangs."

The rebels have seen a string of defeats in recent days - a major setback for opposition forces who just a week ago held the entire eastern half of the country and were charging toward the capital, Tripoli.

The rebels have called for a no-fly zone, saying they are no match for the Gadhafi regime's fighter jets. On March 12, the Arab League asked the UN Security Council to impose a no-fly zone, increasing pressure on the U.S. and other Western powers to take action that most have expressed deep reservations about.

In surprisingly swift action and aggressive language, the 22-member Arab bloc said after an emergency meeting that the Libyan government had "lost its sovereignty." It asked the United Nations to "shoulder its responsibility ... to impose a no-fly zone over the movement of Libyan military planes and to create safe zones in the places vulnerable to airstrikes."

Western diplomats have said Arab and African approval was necessary before the Security Council voted on imposing a no-fly zone, which would be imposed by NATO nations to protect civilians from air attack by Gadhafi's forces.

The U.S. and many allies have expressed deep reservations about the effectiveness of a no-fly zone, and the possibility it could drag them into another messy conflict in the Muslim world, The Associated Press reported.