Prominently displayed in the old courthouse that now serves as a rebel headquarters, this crude map illustrates rebel-controlled towns with the three-coloured flags. Regime strongholds are marked with the skull-and-crossbones.Charla Jones for The Globe and Mail
His voice hoarse from screaming epithets against the regime, the cleric leading weekly prayers at the main square near rebel headquarters in Benghazi paused his fiery speech and offered a bit of sober advice to the crowd of thousands.
"Don't celebrate by shooting in the air," he said. "Save the bullets for your enemy."
In part, this was a practical safety tip for the trigger-happy revolutionaries, who often fire heavy weapons for the sheer thrill of firepower; later in the day, after a rebel ammunition dump exploded nearby, it was unclear whether the blast was caused by an air strike or the rebels' own carelessness. At least nine people were killed, and the explosion sent a pink ball of light flashing over the skyline.
But the long rows of men who gathered to pray in the square also seemed to understand the cleric's advice as a reflection of the glowering mood in rebel territory, as a dust storm whipped in from the desert and the day brought news of advancing government forces in the west.
On mosque loudspeakers and radio broadcasts, sermons on the holy day focused on the glory of martyrdom and the willingness of the so-called "holy warriors" to sacrifice their lives for freedom from Colonel Moammar Gadhafi.
"It's time to die," yelled a rebel mullah in one broadcast.
At least 37 people were killed in violence across the country on Friday, including the blast at the ammunition cache. The most intense fighting reportedly took place in the rebellious city of Zawiyah, about 50 kilometres west of Tripoli, where elite forces loyal to Col. Gadhafi attacked the outskirts. Residents told news agencies that government forces fired heavy machine guns, tanks and anti-aircraft weapons in clashes with armed locals.
The dead included a rebel commander, Colonel Hussein Darbouk, and his men continued to resist the government forces into the night. Both sides claimed control of the city.
The attack was among several bloody efforts by Col. Gadhafi to strike back at rebel strongholds. Inside the capital, he deployed somewhat less deadly measures, dispersing hundreds of protesters with tear gas and baton rounds.
The only moment for celebration among the rebels on Friday came in the afternoon, when a female organizer poked her head from a window of the spray-painted courthouse in Benghazi that now serves as a rebel headquarters.
"Ras Lanouf is free!" she announced into a microphone, claiming that the oil port 620 kilometres east of Tripoli had been captured by the rebels. Broadcasts from the road leading to Ras Lanouf confirmed that informal bands of fighters were streaming into the town, while ambulances took away injured, suggesting that the rebellion in eastern Libya had gained territory.
It was a small victory, but the rebels cheered wildly, hugging and weeping. Groups of men chanted rhythmic taunts for the Libyan strongman: "You don't deserve even camel's milk, because you are Satan's twin." Barefoot boys climbed metal light poles, slippery with rain, to hoist flags with the rebel colours.
Jamila Issawi, a professor of dentistry, was among a large group of women who attended the rally, many of them carrying portraits of relatives killed or disappeared by security forces in recent decades. The Gadhafi regime made her ashamed to show her green Libyan passport when travelling, she said, and the latest rebel victories left her hopeful that the autocrat would soon be defeated.
"The Libyan people are like gold: You can bury us under the sand, but dig us out and polish us up, and we will shine brightly again," Dr. Issawi said.