Battle outside Tripoli as fighting spills to Tunisia
Rebels battled for towns on either side of the Libyan capital Tripoli on Saturday, and fighting spilled across the border into Tunisia where Libyan infiltrators clashed with Tunisian troops.
The United States said Muammar Gaddafi’s “days are numbered” as insurgents, backed by NATO air strikes, put his four-decade rule in the North African nation under unprecedented pressure amid reports of more defections from his ranks.
Tunisian security sources said their forces had intercepted Libyan men in vehicles with weapons and fought them through the night in the desert. They reported several casualties.
The six-month-old war in Libya came close to the frontier this week after rebels suddenly seized the coastal city of Zawiyah just 50 km (30 miles) west of Tripoli, surrounding the capital and severing its supply routes.