Gadhafi's forces in control of embattled oil hub, government says
Tripoli, Libya (CNN) -- Moammar Gadhafi's government is disputing rebel claims <a href="http://www.salehandbagsbags.com"><strong>cheap gucci handbags for sale</strong></a> that they have taken the embattled oil hub of al-Brega, saying Libyan forces are still in control of the city. Rebels have been fighting to regain control of al-Brega since they were forced to pull back in mid-March, then just weeks into the battle to end Gadhafi's rule over the North African nation. "They are not in Brega," Libyan Deputy Foreign Minister Khalid Kaim told reporters Friday in Tripoli. Kaim's comments follow claims by a rebel commander that opposition forces had pushed northward on three fronts toward the coastal cities of al-Zawiya, Aziziya and Sorman, with the aim of cutting off the road -- a main artery into Tripoli. "In their dreams, it is possible," Kaim said. CNN could not independently confirm early Saturday who was in control of al-Brega or whether rebel forces had advanced on the coastal cities. An opposition newspaper, Qurayna New, citing medical sources at a hospital near al-Brega, reported at least six rebel fighters were killed and 16 wounded in fighting in the city. CNN could not independently confirm the report early Saturday and attempts to reach the Benghazi-based rebel government -- the Transitional National Council -- were unsuccessful. Five months into the Libyan war, the rebels have won international support in their effort to oust Gadhafi. They have been aided by NATO airstrikes that began in March after the U.N. Security Council approved a resolution that ordered civilians be protected. This week, the government accused NATO <a href="http://www.salehandbagsbags.com/"><strong>cheap Coach handbags for sale</strong></a> of killing 85 civilians, including 33 children, in airstrikes Monday near the embattled city of Zlitan -- a key gateway to the rebel-held port of Misrata. NATO has said there is no evidence that the strikes killed civilians, though journalists, including CNN reporters, taken by Gadhafi's government to the site of the strikes reported seeing bodies of women and children. CNN could not independently confirm whether the casualties were the result of airstrikes. Kaim on Friday criticized the United Nations for what he claimed was an organizational silence over claims that NATO has violated the mandate of the Security Council by killing civilians and conducting a naval blockade. The comments follow a statement a day earlier by a spokesperson for Ban Ki-moon, who said the U.N. secretary-general "is deeply concerned by reports of the unacceptably large number of civilian casualties as a result of the conflict in Libya." Ban urged "all Libyan parties" to engage with his special envoy, Abdel-Elah Al-Khatib, "and respond concretely and positively to the ideas presented to them, in order to end the bloodshed in the country," the spokesperson said. Kaim said Ban's statement fell short without a mention of NATO. The changing nature of who controls what was underscored Thursday by events in Washington, where the Libyan Embassy officially reopened under the control of the Transitional National Council. "This is a message that Gadhafi can no more rule Libya," said Ali Aujali, who was accredited Thursday as head of the Libyan mission. The State Department had ordered the embassy closed in March and expelled diplomats loyal to Gadhafi. Aujali had resigned his post as the regime's ambassador to the United States in February, <a href="http://photos.pulsradio.fr/displayimage.php?pos=-1772"><strong>Longtime Atlanta Braves announcer dies</strong></a> and has since represented the opposition in Washington. The United States on July 15 recognized the rebel movement based in Benghazi as Libya's rightful government.CNN's Jomana Karadsheh, Yasmin Amer and Kareem Khadder contributed to this report.
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