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Libyan Opposition Repels Government Attack on Key Western City

   VOA News  March 01, 2011
   A  Libyan  army  tank  manned  by  soldiers  opposed to leader Muammar
   Gaddafi  is  surrounded  by protesters in the city of Zawiya, February
   27, 2011

Photo: Reuters

   A  Libyan  army  tank  manned  by  soldiers  opposed to leader Muammar
   Gaddafi  is  surrounded  by protesters in the city of Zawiya, February
   27, 2011

   Libyan   opposition  forces  say  they  have  repelled  an  attack  by
   government troops on Zawiya, a western city near the capital, Tripoli,
   where Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi is trying to fight off an uprising
   against his 42-year rule.
   An  opposition  leader  in Zawiya told VOA that pro-Gadhafi troops and
   tanks  tried  to  enter  the  city  late  Monday,  but anti-government
   protesters fought back, killing several attackers and forcing the rest
   to flee hours later. But, the man said the protesters have few weapons
   and cannot topple Gadhafi on their own.
   Witnesses  said  Libyan  government  forces  also gathered outside the
   western  city  of  Misrata  Monday,  in  preparation for an attempt to
   retake  control  of  the  country's  third-largest  population center.
   Libyan  anti-government protesters backed by defecting army units have
   seized  parts of western Libya and all of the east since launching the
   uprising last month.
   In  the  east,  witnesses say Libyan warplanes tried to bomb Benghazi,
   but   rebels   controlling   the   country's   number-two  city  fired
   anti-aircraft weapons and forced the aircraft to retreat. The aircraft
   then struck a weapons depot in the eastern town of Ajdabiya.
   In an interview with U.S. network ABC Monday, Gadhafi denied using his
   air  force  to  attack anti-government protesters. He also laughed off
   demands  by  Western  nations that he step down, saying "all my people
   love me ... and will die to protect me."
   U.S.  Ambassador  to  the  United  Nations  Susan  Rice  responded  to