BREAKING NEWS: Libya rebels prepare for fight over strategic town
By Anis Mili
NEAR BIR 
AL-GHANAM, Libya, June 30 (Reuters) – – Libya’s rebels have never been closer to the seat of Muammar Gaddafi’s power than this ridge, where they have gathered on high ground 80 km (50 miles) from Tripoli.
They battled their way here this week from the mountains to the southwest. Now, if they are going to fulfill their goal of marching on the capital, they will have to defeat Gaddafi’s forces massed on the desert plain below.
About 50 rebel fighters spent Thursday at an observation post 2 km outside the town of Bir al-Ghanam, using binoculars to try to assess the position of Gaddafi’s forces.
Apart from their Kalashnikov rifles, they are armed with an assortment of scavenged weapons, including pick-up trucks with anti-aircraft guns and rocket pods, normally slung under the wings of aircraft but here adapted to be carried on the trucks. Read More