Libyan rebels fighting the regime of leader Moamer Gaddafi were closing in on the capital Tripoli, NATO said Tuesday, as news emerged that another long-time ally of Gaddafi had defected, dpa reported.
Over the past week, opposition fighters have reached the coastal towns of al-Zawiyah, Sabratha and Surman west of Tripoli; al-Aziziyah and Sabratah to the south; and Surman to the south-east of the capital, said Colonel Roland Lavoie, a NATO military spokesman.
"These advances are the most significant anti-Gaddafi territorial gain we have seen in months," he told a news briefing in Naples, where NATO's Libya operation, Unified Protector, is based.
"Anti-Gaddafi forces are now assuming control of the key approaches to Tripoli," added Lavoie, whose comments were broadcast live in NATO's Brussels headquarters.
The closest rebel-held towns - al-Zawiyah and al-Aziziyah - are about 50 kilometres away from Tripoli.
Pro-Gaddafi forces have made unsuccessful attempts to regain control of Gatyan, about 100 kilometers south of the capital, Lavoie also said.
Meanwhile, sources in Tripoli confirmed to the German Press Agency dpa that army commander Masoud Abdulhafiz, a close long-time ally of Gaddafi, had defected and probably fled to Egypt.
The officer had been sent to oversee operations in the central Sabha region at the outbreak of conflict. His name has been on an European Union sanctions list since March.
US Secretary of Defence Leon Panetta said the latest developments were putting pressure on Gaddafi's regime, adding that his "days are numbered."
"Gaddafi's forces are weakened and this latest defection is an another example of how weak they've gotten," Panetta said in Washington.
"The combination of NATO forces there, the combination of what the opposition is doing, the sanctions, the international pressure, the work of the Arab League, all of that has been helpful in moving this in the right direction," Panetta added.
Earlier, local media reported that at least 26 opposition fighters had been killed in clashes with government troops in the eastern city of Brega.
The Benghazi-based Quryna daily reported that most of the rebels were shot by snipers. More than 40 were injured in the clashes.
Lavoie said rebels had conquered "the eastern edge of the town" and "the suburb town of New Brega," but warned that fighting in the territory was not over yet.
The NATO spokesman confirmed that pro-Gaddafi forces had fired a Scud missile against the town on Sunday - a first in the six-month conflict raging in the North African country.
But he said it did not "represent a new threat" as Scuds have always been present in Gaddafi's arsenals. The missile launched at the weekend landed in rebel-controlled land 5 kilometers east of Brega, causing no casualties, Lavoie indicated.
The attack represented "a desperate attempt to get our attention" by the Gaddafi regime, he said. "It's like throwing plates against the wall, a lot of noise but that's all," he quipped.
While Brega "has been a ghost town for several months," normal life was resuming in other parts of Libya, the NATO official said.
"It is estimated that 70 per cent of Libyans, or more, who fled to Tunisia for safety in the first months of the conflict have already returned to their homes," Lavoie said.
The conflict in Libya began in February after a lethal government crackdown on protesters left many dead.
In its latest account, NATO said 49 strike sorties were conducted over the country on Monday, taking its total to more than 7,200. Lavoie added that over the last week, the alliance "damaged or destroyed around 150 military targets."
NATO has been bombing Libyan territory since March 31, ostensibly to prevent attacks against civilians by pro-Gaddafi forces, as demanded by United Nations Security Council resolutions.
The alliance denies that it is actively working to overthrow Gaddafi. Its strikes were initially meant to last up to only three months, but NATO allies were forced to extend the mandate to October 1, as hopes were dashed of a quick defeat of pro-Gaddafi forces.
Carmen Romero, NATO's deputy spokeswoman, said in Brussels that she could not "speculate" on further decisions lengthening NATO's mandate, but said the allies would continue the operation "for as long as it takes."
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