Gaddafi arsenal 'seized by rebels'

Libyan rebels claimed a major triumph yesterday as they announced they had taken over a massive weapons storage site used by government forces.

Rebel spokesman Gomaa Ibrahim said that opposition fighters took over the storage site some 20 miles south of the mountain town of Zintan. He added that the weapons depot is important because it helps shore up rebel supplies for an eventual advance on Tripoli.

At least two rebels were killed in the fighting, according to a medical official at the site.

Meanwhile, the commander of Nato's Libya operation, Lt-Gen Charles Bouchard, said yesterday that any scaling down of the daily airstrikes was "not appropriate", despite calls for a negotiated end to the conflict and the alliance's inability to give rebel fighters a decisive edge in their battle to topple Col Gaddafi.