Libyan rebels were locked in heavy exchanges with Muammar Gaddafi's forces Sunday in the plains below their enclave in the Nafusa Mountains, southwest of Tripoli, an AFP correspondent reported.
Multiple rocket and heavy machine gunfire was heard from as far away as the hilltown of Yafren, some 15 kilometres (nine miles) from the battleground, the correspondent said.
One rebel casualty from the fighting had already been brought to the town's hospital by mid-morning and an ambulance driver said more were awaiting evacuation from the front.
Rebel commanders said the fighting centered on Bir al-Ghanam, just north of Bir Ayad, a strategic point on the road to Tripoli, 80 kilometres (50 miles) to the northeast, which the rebels seized three weeks ago.
Heartland of the Berber minority, the Nafusa Mountains are one of two rebel-held enclaves in western Libya, along with the country's third-largest city Misrata. - Sapa-AFP