Gaddafi’s forces appear to be systematically targeting each rebel-controlled city along the Mediterranean coast, pushing closer to Benghazi, where a provisional leadership to replace Gaddafi’s regime has been established.

In Ras Lanuf, which fell to government forces Friday night, there were signs everywhere of the rebels’ hasty retreat, including burned-out pickup trucks mounted with antiaircraft guns and ammunition boxes scattered along the road leading into the city…

Omar Hariri, a top opposition military official, said rebel capabilities were “unequal” to those of Gaddafi’s forces, especially because the rebels lacked an air force. Like senior National Transitional Council officials, he called for the imposition of a no-fly zone, saying that rebel forces were “organized and determined to fight.”

“We are powerful, and we know how to fight. We know how to win,” Hariri told reporters in Benghazi.