Libyan rebels have seized the desert hamlet of Gualish on the first day of a NATO-backed push on the capital Tripoli, capturing a number of African mercenaries in the process.
Buoyed by French arms drops and NATO-led air strikes, the rebels attacked positions in the Gualish area, in the plains north of their enclave in the Nafusa mountains southwest of Tripoli.
Earlier, a rebel leader from the hill town of Zintan said his forces had co-ordinated their assault with NATO, which has stepped up its bombing campaign by destroying frontline armour of Muammar Gaddafi's regime in the past week.
'We waited before launching this assault and finally got the green light from NATO this morning and the offensive began,' the rebel leader said.
There were reports of intense exchanges of artillery, mortar and cannon fire between the rebel fighters and government troops dug in around Gualish.
The area targeted by the rebel offensive is seen as strategic as it also features the garrison city of Gharyan, a government stronghold in the Nafusa mountains.
In an operational update, NATO said it struck four tanks and two armed vehicles in Gharyan, along with command and control centres near the rebel-held western city of Misrata and eastern oil town of Brega yesterday.
After a retreat from around the plains town of Bir al-Ghanam last week, spokesman Colonel Ahmed Omar Bani had pledged on Saturday that the rebel army would soon try to push the frontline northwards.
Today's offensive comes a day after France said it no longer needs to drop weapons to the rebels fighting the Gaddafi regime since they are getting more organised and can arrange to arm themselves.
Paris acknowledged last week it has made a series of parachute drops of weapons - including rocket launchers - to Berber rebel fighters in the Nafusa mountains, in a move criticised by Russia and the African Union.
Demonstrations against Gaddafi
Separately, tens of thousands of people were expected to take to the streets of rebel-held Benghazi to show their opposition to the Gaddafi regime.
The aim of this display is to bolster rebel moral and send a message of defiance to the authorities in Tripoli.
The demonstration comes after a large pro-Gaddafi gathering in Tripoli on Friday, which was beamed by satellite to rebel-controlled areas.
During that rally many citizens of Benghazi watched Gaddafi-backed state television and appeared crestfallen at the prospect that the leader still has vast numbers of supporters in the capital.
However since then questions have been raised about whether some of the Tripoli protesters were coerced.
At least one Libyan family reported that a 30-year-old relative who was being held at the Abu Salim prison had been killed after they refused to attend.
Security was tightened ahead of the Benghazi demonstration, with numerous road blocks set up around the city.
This follows the recent discovery of a large car bomb outside an up-scale Benghazi hotel, which raised fears of a pro-Gaddafi group operating covertly within the city.
