The counteroffensive in Ras Lanouf reversed the opposition's advance toward the capital of Tripoli and has threatened its positions in the east.

Forces loyal to Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi have used fierce barrages of tank and artillery fire to send rebels seeking his ouster into a panicked retreat from a strategic oil port.
 

The counteroffensive in Ras Lanouf reversed the opposition's advance toward the capital of Tripoli and has threatened its positions in the east.


Reports from the scene described hundreds of rebels in cars and trucks mounted with machine guns speeding eastward in a seemingly disorganized flight, as intense rocket and shell fire pounded a hospital, mosque, and other buildings in the oil complex.


The routing of rebel forces came on the same day as Jakob Kellenberger, president of the International Committee of the Red Cross, said in Geneva that Libya is now engaged in a "civil war" and that a "further intensification of the fighting" is expected.


"My understanding is we have now a non-international armed conflict, or what you would call a civil war," he said.