Libya, Syria (and Beyond) LiveBlog: Urban Battles
Sunday, March 27, 2011 at 16:55 | Scott Lucas in Africa, EA Global, EA Middle East and Turkey, Middle East and Iran 1842 GMT: Two Reuters television journalists --- producer Ayat Basma and cameraman Ezzat Baltaji --- have been missing in Syria since Saturday night, when they were due to return to Lebanon.
1840 GMT: The opposition advance continued across north-central Libya this afternoon as insurgents re-claimed Bin Jawad. AFP said about 100 fighters danced and fired into the air in celebration in the town centre, singing: "Muammar, you're a dog --- we marched straight into Bin Jawad."
Bin Jawad was the far point of the opposition advance this month before the regime pushed back over the last three weeks, but the insurgents say they have surpassed this, taking the next town along the coast, Nufilia, only 100km (60 miles) from Sirte, a regime stronghold and birthplace of Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi, 370km (230 miles) east of Tripoli.
Al Jazeera reports that two loud explosions, presumably from airstrikes, have been heard in Sirte tonight.
A witness is reporting at least six explosions heard in Tripoli.
Earlier, French warplanes led air strikes on armoured vehicles and on a large ammunition depot near Misurata and Zintan, cities in west Libya that have been fought over for days by the opposition and regime.
