Rebel forces fought gunmen loyal to Muammar Qadhafi in eastern Libya on Sunday in the latest incident to undermine the insurgents' grip in territory they hold. The clashes renewed opposition fears that Qadhafi's agents had infiltrated the area, days after the mysterious killing of the rebel military commander.
The assassination of General Abdel Fattah Younes, apparently by gunmen on his own side, has hurt the opposition just as it was winning broader international recognition and making gains against Qadhafi's forces in the Western Mountains and elsewhere. Rebel spokesman Mahmoud Shammam said clashes had broken out when rebel forces attacked a militia that had helped some 300 Qadhafi loyalists break out of jail near Benghazi on Friday.
At least six rebels were killed in the fighting with the militia, whose members appeared to be experienced and armed with machineguns, rocket-propelled grenades and explosives.
Inside the barracks where they were holed up, rebels found more than 400 weapons, Libya's green flag and photos of Qadhafi. "At 8 am, the barracks was brought under control. Thirty men surrendered and we took their weapons," Shammam told reporters. "We consider them members of the Fifth Column."
The clashes reflect growing fears within the opposition that Qadhafi loyalists are exploiting the lawlessness that prevails in the east, which is awash with weapons and armed gangs, some secular or Islamist rebels, some vigilantes and some criminals.
The fighting took place as speculation swirls over the murky circumstances of Younes' death. The 67-year-old general's record as Qadhafi's interior minister before his defection in February, made him the target of suspicion among many in the opposition. Some Libyans suspect his execution was ordered by rebel leaders for treason, many say he was killed by Qadhafi spies, and others suggest a rebel splinter group had acted alone.
In an apparent effort to avert a feud, rebels named Suleiman al-Obeidi, a member of Younes' tribe, as acting military chief.
Keeping up diplomatic pressure on Qadhafi, Britain said on Sunday it would take part in the Nato air campaign for as long as it took and Germany expelled a Libyan diplomat. The rebels, who rose up against Qadhafi in February, have seized swathes of the country but are poorly equipped and still far from ousting him, despite support from Nato airstrikes.
On Sunday, rebel tanks pounded Qadhafi troops in Tiji, some 200 km (125 miles) south-west of Tripoli, inching one km closer to the last government stronghold in the Western Mountains.
About 14 rebels were killed and more than 20 wounded, hospital sources said, in a second day of heavy fighting on the front near Zlitan, some 160 km (100 miles) east of Tripoli and the largest town between rebel-held Misrata and the capital.