WRAPUP 1-Libyan rebels, Gaddafi forces battle for oil sites

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AL-UQAYLA, Libya, March 4 (Reuters) - Libyan rebels prepared for further attacks by forces loyal to leader Muammar Gaddafi on Friday as both sides struggled for control of a strategic coast road and oil industry facilities.

Rebels holding the port city of Zawiyah, 50 km (30 miles) west of the capital, Tripoli, said they had been launching counter-attacks against Gaddafi's forces massing in the area and warned supplies of medicines and baby milk were running low.

"Women and children are at home while the men are armed and roam the streets and city limits in anticipation of a major attack by pro-Gaddafi forces tonight," resident Ibrahim told Reuters by telephone.

In eastern Libya, witnesses said a warplane bombed Brega, an oil terminal town 800 km (500 miles) east of Tripoli, for the second day on Thursday. Warplanes also launched two raids against the nearby rebel-held town of Ajbadiya, witnesses said.

The popular uprising against Gaddafi's 41-year rule, the bloodiest yet against a long-serving ruler in the Middle East or North Africa, has knocked out nearly 50 percent of the OPEC-member's 1.6 million barrels of oil per day output, the bedrock of its economy.

Gaddafi's government took foreign journalists on a tour of western Libya as part of efforts to show he remained in control.

Towns and villages erupted in jubilation as the convoy passed through. Crowds of supporters shouted "God, Muammar, Libya, together" and children kissed portraits of Gaddafi.

Yet signs of resistance were apparent. In several towns, buildings had been torched and many house fronts were covered with anti-government slogans, a Reuters reporters said.

The roads were heavily fortified with Gaddafi's army tanks, anti-aircraft guns and truck-mounted rocket launchers.

In Zawiyah, residents said Gaddafi's forces had deployed in large numbers over the past days. "We estimate there are 2,000 on the southern side of town and have gathered 80 armoured vehicles from the east," resident Ibrahim said, adding a battalion had also come from the west side.

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