Kadhafi steps up attacks as rebels call for help

Libyan rebels beat a further retreat on Saturday under air strikes and shellfire from Moamer Kadhafi's forces, even as an Arab League decision to back a no-fly zone boosted their uprising.Having abandoned an operation to recapture the oil town of Ras Lanuf, the outgunned anti-regime fighters struggled to set up a new defensive line 30 kilometres (about 20 miles) further east along a coastal road towards Brega.Brega is the last main town before Ajdabiya, gateway to eastern Libya on the roads to the main rebel cities of Benghazi and Tobruk.

Libyan rebels called Saturday for help from the Arab League as it met for key talks on the conflict, including recognition for their council and backing for a no-fly zone to help their battered forces.On the front line, rebel fighters had pulled back from the town of Ras Lanuf, where an oil refinery was still in flames and Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi's forces appeared to be in control, AFP reporters said.

0844 GMT: Forces loyal to Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi have recaptured the eastern oil town of Ras Lanuf, forcing rebels to flee to the east, an AFP correspondent reported.0837 GMT: KADHAFI FORCES OVERRUN EAST LIBYA OIL TOWN RAS LANUF: AFP0830 GMT: Follow this AFP live report for news of developments as they happen in Libya, the Middle East and North Africa.Moamer Kadhafi's forces are today pushing rebels further back in east Libya after routing them outside the key city of Sirte as world powers mull arming the rag-tag band of fighters.

A fighter jet launched an air strike Tuesday just metres (yards) from houses on the edge of Libya's rebel-held Ras Lanuf, where dark grey smoke rose over the highway, an AFP reporter said.The missile exploded next to the road around 100 metres from some houses on the outskirts of the strategic oil town, which is the eastern front of the rebels' battle to end Moamer Kadhafi's four-decade grip on power.There were no casualties or damage, apart from a big crater in the ground. Witnesses reported another air strike an hour earlier in the same location.

An air strike on Monday targeted Libyan rebels east of the oil town Ras Lanuf, where fighters opened fire with anti-aircraft guns following an explosion, an AFP reporter said.The reporter at a checkpoint on the eastern outskirts of Ras Lanuf saw an explosion and a big cloud of smoke on the horizon, about two kilometres (one mile) east of the town in the desert.All six anti-aircraft guns at the checkpoint then opened a barrage of fire into the sky. Rebels then started jumping up and chanting.

Libyan rebels appealed for arms on Friday as they battled with Moamer Kadhafi's advancing forces, with a French and British call for targeted air strikes on the country highlighting EU divisions over how to deal with the crisis.Rebels said fighting flared again in key eastern oil hub Ras Lanuf, the frontline in the uprising, after most of them were overwhelmed and driven out in a fierce battle on Thursday after occupying it for a week.

Tripoli came under air attack early Thursday as Libyan rebels celebrated the captured the strategic Misrata airport after a fierce battle with Moamer Kadhafi's troops, their first significant advance in weeks.The airport of Libya's third-largest city fell to the rebels after long and intense fighting, an AFP correspondent said. Misrata had been under siege by loyalist forces for almost two months.By Wednesday afternoon, insurgent fighters were in full control, as people celebrated the victory in the streets and others set ablaze tanks left behind by Kadhafi troops.

AFP - 1056 GMT A second air strike has targeted Libyan rebels east of the oil town Ras Lanuf, with rebels returning a barrage of anti-aircraft machine gun fire, an AFP correspondent reports fro