Reply #32: Libyan rebels and citizens flee Ajdabiya

[defendandprotect]

Groups of Libyan rebels and civilians have fled from the eastern town of Ajdabiya after a rebel armoured unit was hit by apparent NATO air strikes, allowing government troops to advance.

Families packed into cars and trucks on Thursday and joined rebel military vehicles in a convoy heading northeast toward the de facto opposition capital of Benghazi, around 160 kilometres away.

The retreat began soon after rebel tanks were hit by an air strike around midday near the key oil town of Brega, 80 kilometres west of Ajdabiya. Many rebel fighters remained in the town along with doctors at the hospital, after its patients were evacuated to Benghazi as a precaution, Ajdabiya Hospital administrator Majbali Yunis said.

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/africa/2011/04/2011480523612561.html