Ajdabiya, some 100 miles west of Benghazi, could turn out to be a decisive battle for the rebels. The city doesn’t have oil but it is strategically located, with roads branching off to the east, west and south. If Gaddafi’s troops take Ajdabiya, which has a population of roughly 140,000, they could open up an additional front to attack Benghazi from the east and cut the city off from the Egyptian border. “Ajdabiya is a vital city,” Younis said at the press conference in Benghazi. And he said the rebel forces were digging in to keep control. “We do have our forces there and we will defend [Ajdabiya],” he said.
There were few signs of an organized defense in Ajdabiya on Monday. Opposition fighters beat a hasty retreat to the town Sunday night after a sustained assault by government loyalists in the oil port of Brega, 50 miles away. And it appeared that they were just barely starting to regroup. The main checkpoints east and west of the town were only lightly defended. A number of anti-aircraft guns and pickups loaded up with heavy machine guns were scattered around town; additional ammo also was being brought in to some checkpoints. But there were no signs of trenches or sandbags, the hallmarks of a more conventional defense strategy.
Still, rebel leaders insist the city is beefing up its defenses covertly.
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