had captured two fuel tankers, as well as weapons, vehicles, and ammunition, and controlled ninety-five percent of the city, with a loyalist brigade pinned down in one of Gharyan's numerous military bases. A spokesman for rebel forces pushing toward Zawiya said fighters were surrounding the city and had made contact with its residents, who signaled readiness to join the fight as they approached. A Reuters producer and his crew reported the coastal highway was blocked at Zawiya and they could hear the sound of gunfire on the city's outskirts. Al Jazeera English reported that fighting was taking place inside the city, and an Associated Press reporter on the scene reported residents of the city were rushing into the streets by the hundreds to greet the rebels as they entered Zawiya. One force reportedly advanced to a bridge on the southwestern edge of the city, while another group punched through into the city centre. By nightfall, the rebels reportedly occupied the city centre but did not yet have full control, with fighting raging back and forth across the arterial highway running through the city. A Gaddafi government spokesman denied rebels had taken the city, calling it a "suicide mission" and saying they had been "stopped easily". A colonel held in Misrata as a POW by the rebels said Gaddafi used mercenaries to force the regular army to fight and keep them from deserting. He said that at the time he was captured roughly two months prior, divisions were forming between the army and the mercenaries. "I think it will soon collapse," he claimed of the loyalist fighting force. A NATO airstrike against loyalist positions in Brega destroyed two armored vehicles and killed six Libyan Army servicemen. Rebel forces moved to capture the Ras Ajdir border crossing with Tunisia, clashing with loyalist troops defending the crossing. An NTC spokesman claimed Tawergha was secured and rebels had taken up new positions south of the city, capturing a bridge on the highway to Sirte. An officer involved in the successful offensive said that despite the loss of twelve anti-Gaddafi fighters, "Our martyrs can rest easy in their graves, and the children can sleep easy in their beds." 14 August Reuters reported that rebels held the city centre of Zawiya, though rebel commanders claimed loyalist snipers remained in the city and a Reuters correspondent inside the city said occasional gunfire could be heard. Al Jazeera