WRAPUP 13-Gaddafi strikes town, rebels call for foreign help

Wed Mar 2, 2011 11:32pm GMT

[-] Text [+]

* Rebels call for foreign air strikes, name leader

* In rebel-held east, commanders say more organised

* Two U.S. ships enter Mediterranean

(Recasts, adds oil prices, quotes)

By Mohammed Abbas

BREGA, Libya, March 2 (Reuters) - Libyan rebels repulsed a land and air offensive by Muammar Gaddafi's forces on Wednesday as the defiant leader warned foreign powers of "another Vietnam" if they intervened.

The U.S. government is already cautious about the prospect of imposing a "no-fly zone" over Libya, stressing the diplomatic and military risks involved, but has nevertheless moved two amphibious assault ships into the Mediterranean.

Rebels in their eastern bastion of Benghazi have called for U.N.-backed air strikes to halt attacks by African mercenaries they say Gaddafi is using against his own people.

Government troops, backed by air power, launched a dawn attack on Wednesday and briefly captured Brega, an oil export terminal 800 km (500 miles) east of Tripoli. Continued...

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