Libyan rebels march toward Gaddafi stronghold

American and European bombs battered Col. Muammarel-Gaddafi's most important bastion of support in his tribal homeland of Surton Sunday night, as rebels seeking his ouster capitalized on the damage fromthe Western airstrikes to erase their recent losses and return to the city'sdoorstep.

Their swift return, recapturing two important oil refineries and a strategicport within 20 hours, set the stage for a battle in Surt that could help decidethe war.

There were unconfirmed reports early Monday that rebel forces had routed pro-Gaddafidefenders in Surt, but there was no corroboration. Even so, rebels in Benghazi,the birthplace of the uprising, drove through the streets, blaring horns andfiring weapons into the air to celebrate.

The ease of the rebel march west along the coast underscored the essential roleof Western airstrikes, now focused mainly on Colonel Gaddafi's ground troops,in reversing the rebels' fortunes. But it also framed anew the question of howthe poorly equipped and disorganized rebel forces might fare against Colonel Gaddafi'sgarrison in Surt, where air cover may be less useful.

As Western warplanes again bombed sites around Tripoli and other Gaddafistrongholds, NATO agreed at a meeting in Brussels to take over the mission. Thedecision effectively relieved the United States of leading the fight, and endeda week of squabbling.

Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said the change, pushed by the United States,would allow the military to begin reducing its presence.

In interviews on Sunday, Mr. Gates and Secretary of State Hillary RodhamClinton left open how long the American commitment would be.

President Obama plans to address the nation on Monday night about the Americanrole in Libya amid continuing questions about its objectives and duration.

An official with the Pentagon said Sunday that it was already beginning toreduce the number of American warships involved in the operation. The officialsaid that at least one of the Navy submarines that had fired Tomahawk missilesinto Libya had left the area, and that a further naval pullout was likely.

Mr. Obama will be able to cite some early success, as the airstrikes havelifted the rebels back from the brink of defeat in the eastern city of Benghaziand enabled them to rush west along the coast past their farthest gains oftheir previous peak weeks ago.

After clashes with government forces overnight near the town of Al Uqaylah,rebel fighters met little resistance on Sunday as they pushed from the city ofAjdabiya past the oil towns of Brega and Ras Lanuf, recapturing the twoimportant refineries. By the evening, they had pushed the front line west ofBin Jawwad, according to fighters returning from the front.

"There wasn't resistance," said Faraj Sheydani, 42, a rebel fighterinterviewed on his return from the front. "There was no one in front ofus. There's no fighting."

In Tripoli, the explosions of about 10 large bombs near the city were hearddowntown on Sunday night, followed by barrages of antiaircraft fire andcascades of tracers. At a news conference, a short time later, Musa Ibrahim, agovernment spokesman, declined to comment on the exact location of the battlelines. But he argued that Western powers were now attacking the Libyan Army inretreat, a far cry from the United Nations mandate to establish a no-fly zoneto protect civilians.

"Some were attacked as they were clearly moving westbound," he said."Clearly NATO is taking sides in this civil conflict. It is illegal. It isnot allowed by the Security Council resolution. And it is immoral, ofcourse."

In western Libya, however, the rebel-held city of Misurata was still undersiege by loyalist forces. By Sunday evening, rebels were again reporting streetfighting in the center of the city as well as renewed shelling and mortar firefrom Gaddafi tanks and artillery from west and northwest of the city.

Allied airstrikes outside Misurata had kept up through the previous night,rebels said, destroying a major ammunition depot that exploded in a blaze oflight. It was still burning 13 hours after the initial blast, said Muhammad, arebel spokesman there whose full name was withheld for his family's safety.

Speaking over a satellite hook-up and hospital generator, he contradictedstatements from the Gaddafi government that it had restored power and water tothe city. He said that rebels had used a local generator to restore electricityto about half the city. But he said that water remained cut off and thatresidents were using a small supply from a desalination facility there. Thereports were impossible to confirm because the Gaddafi government has preventedjournalists from reaching the city.

Muhammad said he believed the airstrikes had not killed any civilians in thearea, but had struck barracks and airfields, killing many Libyan soldiers."Thousands of them, I hope," he said.

In Tripoli on Sunday, most stores were closed. Usually busy streets weredeserted. Officials said the port had been closed to ships carrying refined fuelas well as food and other goods. Gasoline was in increasingly short supply, andlines of cars at gas stations stretched for several blocks. Some motorists saidthey had turned out before dawn for a chance to fill up, or waited in line formore than two hours to reach the pump.

Residents also stood in long lines for bread at bakeries, mainly because themigrant workers Libyans rely on to bake and do other service jobs have fled thecountry.

The NATO agreement was announced Sunday evening by its secretary general,Anders Fogh Rasmussen. He said that "NATO will implement all aspects ofthe U.N. resolution. Nothing more, nothing less."

He said the decision would take "immediate effect," but it may takeup to two days for the transfer to be completed.

NATO had agreed to take on the no-fly zone late last week, but the decision onSunday expanded its command to the entire military mission, including the aircampaign. Until now, the bombing campaign has had no central command, althoughthe United States has been coordinating the effort.

The alliance was divided over the issue, because France did not want to cedecontrol to NATO, arguing that it was American-dominated and therefore anuncomfortable brand for another war in an Arab country. But other countries likeItaly and Norway said that their participation depended on NATO running the warunder the political control of its governments. Turkey also insisted on NATOcontrol.

The Security Council resolution, adopted 10 days ago, authorized a no-fly zoneover Libya and "all necessary measures" to protect civilians. Thecoalition has interpreted the protection of civilians to include attacking Gaddafiforces.

But the resolution also calls for an arms embargo that applies to the entireterritory of Libya, which means that any outside supply of arms to theopposition is being done covertly.

The military campaign will be led by Lt. Gen. Charles Bouchard, a Canadian whois the deputy to an American commander and serves under the supreme commander,Europe, who is also an American.

In interviews in Tripoli under the close supervision of Libyan governmentminders, several people complained about the Western airstrikes. But even underthose circumstances several people voiced their dissent. One person waiting forgas volunteered that he blamed Colonel Gaddafi's rule for the shortages.

"Please, I want to say something to the world," another man said in astore nearby, pointing to a group of six men. "1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, we alldon't like Colonel Gaddafi. We like Libyan freedom."

One member of the group, who outside the store moments before had told aparticularly florid story about the evil of the international airstrikes,abruptly walked out the door. "Dangerous," he muttered as he left.

In Green Square, the site of a continuous pro-Gaddafi rally for more than amonth, the crowd was unusually small and subdued; some said Gaddafi supportershad shifted their energies to a rally inside his compound, where his supporterssay they have gathered as civilian shields against Western bombs.

Many people in Tripoli, including those supporting Colonel Gaddafi and thoseopposing him, said they were focused closely on the battle for Surt.