Forces loyal to Muammar Gadafy seized control of the town of Kufra in the remote southeastern desert, state television reported today.
"Libyan forces have seized full control of the town of Kufra and purified it of the armed gangs," the television quoted a military spokesman as saying. There was no independent confirmation of the report.
Al Jazeera television earlier reported that clashes were under way between Col Gadafy's forces and rebels who controlled the town.
Elsewhere, seven rebel fighters in the Libyan city of Misrata were killed overnight when Government forces hit their checkpoint with artillery fire and rockets, a local doctor said.
"Fifteen of our rebels at a checkpoint near the front line have been attacked by Gadafy's troops with heavy artillery and then with rockets," said the doctor. "We received seven dead and four injured."
Libyan rebel fighters pulled back towards a border crossing with Tunisia today after Government forces advanced towards them, a Reuters photographer said.
A Tunisian man at the Dehiba-Wazin border crossing, controlled by the rebels since last week, told Reuters that travellers and Tunisian border officials were leaving the checkpoint in anticipation of the arrival of pro-Gadafay forces.
"We are in a state of alert. We have information that Gadafy's forces are getting closer. We are ready," a rebel at the border.
The Tunisian man who was near the crossing point said by telephone: "Everybody is starting to leave the place. The [Tunisian] customs people have been evacuated." Rebel fighters from the restive Western Mountains region of Libya took control of the border crossing last week and since then expanded the area under their control to reach about 10km inside Libyan territory.
Reuters