Heavy clashes as Libyan rebels enter Zawiya

This comes as their most significant advance in months, battling snipers on rooftops and heavy shelling from Moammar Gadhafis forces holding the city.Zawiya, 30 miles from the capital, is a key target for rebels waging a new offensive launched from the mountains in the far west of Libya, an attempt to break the deadlock in combat between the two sides that has held for months in the center and east of the country.A credible threat from the rebels in the west could strain Gadhafis troops, which have been hammered for months by NATO airstrikes. Defending Zawiya is key for the regime but could require bringing in better trained forces who are currently ensuring its hold over its Tripoli stronghold or fighting rebels on fronts further east.A group of about 200 exuberant rebel fighters, advancing from the south, reached a bridge on Zawiyas southwestern outskirts on Saturday, and some rebels pushed farther into the citys central main square. They tore down the green flag of Gadhafis regime from a minaret and put up two rebel flags.Gadhafis forces then counterattacked with a barrage of heavy weapons, and the loud crackle of gunfire could be heard as rebels and government troops battled.Regime snipers were firing down from rooftops on the rebels, said one resident, Abdel-Basset Abu Riyak, who joined to fight alongside the rebels when they entered the city. He said Gadhafis forces were holed up in several pockets in the city and that there were reports of reinforcements coming from Tripoli, though there was no sign of them yet.Rebel spokesman Jumma Ibrahim claimed that the oppositions fighters controlled most of Zawiya by nightfall. What remains are few pockets (of Gadhafi forces) in the city, he said. The road is now open all the way from the western mountains to Zawiya, we can send them supply and reinforcement anytime.