Anti-government forces take control of Zawiya, close to Tripoli

Amateur video accessed via YouTube purportedly shows armed anti-government forces celebrating on Saturday after taking control of Zawiya, the city closest to the Libyan capital Tripoli.

AP Television could not independently verify the authenticity of the video, but an Associated Press reporter who reached Zawiya, 30 miles (50 kilometres) west of Tripoli, confirmed that anti-government rebels were in control of the centre of the city of 200-thousand.

Hundreds of armed anti-government forces, backed by rebel troops, who control the city appeared to be getting ready on Sunday to repel an expected offensive by forces loyal to Moammar Gadhafi who have surrounded Zawiya.

The anti-government forces have deployed army tanks and anti-aircraft guns mounted on pickup trucks in the centre, but on the outskirts, they are surrounded by pro-Gadhafi forces.

There were at least six checkpoints controlled by troops loyal to Gadhafi on the road from Tripoli to Zawiya.

Each checkpoint was reinforced by at least one tank, and the troops concealed their faces with scarves. Gadhafi has launched by far the bloodiest crackdown in a wave of anti-regime uprising sweeping the Arab world. The United States, Britain and the U.N. Security Council all imposed sanctions on Libya over the weekend. Zawiya, a key city close to an oil port and refineries, is the nearest population centre to Tripoli to fall into the opposition hands. Police stations and government offices inside the city have been torched and anti-Gadhafi graffiti was everywhere. Many buildings are pockmarked by bullets. Gadhafi loyalists remain in control of nearby Tripoli, which was reported to be quiet early on Sunday. It is difficult to assess the security situation in Libya due to the media restrictions imposed by Moammar Gadhafi''s regime.