Anti-Gadhafi forces take key Libya-Tunisia border

Libyan forces opposing Moammar Gadhafi have taken control of Ras Ajdir, the primary border crossing between Libya and Tunisia, in an advanceexpected to open up a major channel for bringing supplies into anation scarred by months of civil war.

Tunisia's official news agency reported thatanti-Gadhafi fighters had seized the post asLibyans in the capital, Tripoli, celebrated in the streets with chants of, "Hold your head high! You are a free Libyan." For many, it would be the first time they could do so without fearing reprisals from Gadhafi loyalists.

Even with its bloodied streetsand hospitals piled with dead bodies,Tripoli on Friday began to resemble a calm and liberated city held by forces opposing the Gadhafi regime. Residents emerged frombullet-pockedhomesafter having taken cover for days.

Umm Yahya, who limped on a cane through Tripoli's shuttered downtown, leaning on her daughter for help, said her family had been surviving for days on pasta and tomato paste, but the fear and suffering in six months of civil war were worth it to taste freedom.

Fighting shifts to Sirte

"We can speak freely now. We can talk on the phone," she said with a tired smile. "People are comfortable now spiritually and with that, anything is possible."

As theviolence in Tripoli waned, the focus appeared to be shifting toGadhafi's hometown of Sirte, where forces loyal tothe despotare expected to make a stand.

Reporting from eastern Libya, BBC correspondent Paul Wood said anti-Gadhafi forces are preparing for a push onSirte.

The forces trying to defeat Gadhafi have taken Bin Jiwad, on the road to Sirte, three times, only to be driven back each time.They hopeto hold it this time to begin the march to Sirte, Wood said.

"One commander told me he thought there were more than 1,000 Gadhafi troops on the road ahead, but they were simply trying to delay the advance so that others could better prepare the defence of Sirte," Wood said.

NATO airstrikes have also focused on Sirte. The military alliance said its warplanes targeted 29 armoured vehicles near the town, which is about 400 kilometres east of Tripoli.

British Defence Secretary Liam Fox said NATO would continue to strike atGadhafi's forces.

"The regime needs to recognize that the game is up," Fox said in London.

Amidst what could be shaping upto bethe final days of Gadhafi's dictatorship,France is preparing to host a contact group meeting in Paris next month that wouldbring together around 30 foreign leadersto discuss Libya's post-war reconstruction.Prime Minister Stephen Harper is expected to attend the conference, joining dignitaries from Russia, China, India and Brazil,and other invited world leaders.

In the Libyan capital, sporadic fighting continued, and the water was reported to have gone off across the city.

Gunfire was reported near the Tripoli neighbourhood of Abu Salim, where rebels had battled Gadhafi's fighters holed up in residential buildings for most of Thursday.

Smoke rose from the area but an anti-Gadhafi fighter at the scene early Friday said the fighting in Abu Salim had ended by nightfall Thursday.

"The problem now is there isnt any security in the city, not enough to get things going, and we are seeing evidence of water shortages, food shortages," CBC's Susan Ormiston reported from Tripoli.

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"The water dried up at this hotel. Yesterday, at a market, the shelves were 90 per cent bare. People are not out in the streets. It is Friday here, we will be having prayers very shortly, but the city is in no way functioning and back to normal."

CBC's Derek Stoffel also reported on some gruesome discoveries in Tripoli.

He said at least a dozen bodies have been found in a traffic circle, including twowith their hands tied behind their backs.

The bodies, believed to be Gadhafi loyalists, were found not far from Gadhafi's main Tripoli compound, which was overrun earlier this week.

Stoffel also reported that 17 bodies, believed to be of fighters opposed to Gadhafi, were brought to a Tripoli hospital on Thursday. Doctors said the men were held prisoner and killed earlier this week.

"One doctors said abouthalf of these bodies had close-range bullet holes to the backs of their heads," hereported. "He added that officials did examine the bodies for evidence at a possible war crimes proceeding."

"The United Nations says it is difficult to confirm these reports of summary executions and torture, but an official with the UN says the existing commission of inquiry on Libya would look into these allegations," Stoffel said.

In Turkey, Mahmoud Jibril, the head of the National Transitional Council (NTC), pushed for the release of frozen Libyan assets, saying they could face a"legitimacy crisis" if it can't afford to pay for salaries and services.

Jibril also urged the African Union to recognize the interim government, a move that could ease the unfreezing of those assets.

However, South African President Jacob Zuma said the AU will not recognize the NTC as Libya's government as long as fighting continues. Zuma called for an immediateceasefire.

At a meeting in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, the AU called for"an all-inclusive transitional government" that would include members of Gadhafi's administration, the BBC reported.