AFP - The inhabitants fled in Sirte on Sunday hometown of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, in fear of air raids of the coalition and the arrival of the rebels advancing rapidly toward the west taking advantage of the disarray of the government forces.
NATO has announced to take "immediate" command of all military operations in Libya, which were hitherto were conducted by a coalition led by the United States, France and Great Britain.
"We do not stop until you have freed Misrata, Tripoli and then!"
Sunday morning, the rebels took over the oil terminal at Ras Lanuf (east), according to AFP journalists.This town is located 210 km west of Ajdabiya, strategic crossroads recovered Saturday by the rebels.
The pro-Gaddafi "fled last night after the air strike," said an insurgent, Mohsen Omar, 30. "They fled, and now we are pursuing.It does not stop until you have freed Misrata, Tripoli and then! "
Pro-government forces retreated towards Gaddafi in Sirte, 200 km further west, along a flat coast and desert difficult to defend without heavy artillery or aircraft.
The rebels were in the late afternoon Nofilia, a small town between sea and desert, 110 km of Sirte, and more than 400 km from their stronghold, Benghazi.
They expect the bombing to Sirte international venture, while dozens of families fleeing the city towards Tripoli in fear of air raids and the international arrival of the rebels, said a journalist from AFP .
In the evening, a coalition air raid took place in Sirte, where armed men in military uniform and some in civilian clothes, were traveling in dozens of pick-up bearing pictures of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.
The day before, the city had already been the target of intense airstrikes.
Raids to facilitate the advance of rebel troops
Explosions and gunfire were also heard DCA in Tripoli around 18.30 GMT Sunday, according to an AFP journalist.Libyan television confirmed the raids on Tripoli and Sirte coalition.
To the west, the French fighter planes led Sunday air strikes against Libyan armored vehicles and "a major ammunition depot" in the regions and Misrata Zentena, announced the French army.
Saturday, resuming and Ajdabiya Site Brega Petroleum neighbor had set up the first victory of the rebels since the start of international intervention on March 19, reversing the trend after a long week of retreat and stagnation.
Since Thursday, the raids have "prepared the battlefield" and the officers and soldiers who joined the rebellion played a major role, coordinating their attacks with the coalition, according to a rebel spokesman in Benghazi, Chamseddine Abdoulmolah.
According to the insurgents, the oil fields they control areas currently produce 100,000 to 130,000 barrels per day.The opposition plans to export oil by "less than a week," said a rebel spokesman, Ali Tarhoni, adding that the rebellion has delegated to the Qatar market.
NATO runs military operations in Libya
Accused of having launched a war without an exit strategy in Libya, U.S. President Barack Obama welcomed the developments, stating that the intervention was "targeted and being successful."
NATO, already responsible for enforcing the arms embargo and the no-fly zone over Libya, decided to take command of all military operations in Libya.
"We asked the senior operational command of NATO to implement the execution of this operation immediately," said Sunday night the Secretary General of the Atlantic Alliance Anders Fogh Rasmussen.
With the approach of the contact group meeting in London on Tuesday, French President Nicolas Sarkozy announced a Franco-British initiative for a political solution.
Italy, the former colonial power, has announced that it is also a plan, which provides an exile of Colonel Gaddafi."Even within the regime, there are people working on this solution," the foreign minister, Franco Frattini.
Benedict XVI has called for opening "an immediate dialogue" to reach a cease-fire in Libya.
A first boat carrying African migrants from Libya, with on board nearly 300 people, arrived Sunday in southern Italy and was followed by three others, according to the coastguard and humanitarian organizations.
Rome said he feared a wave of at least 200,000 to 300,000 immigrants from tip of Muammar Gaddafi has warned that thousands of migrants could reach Europe.
