Military forces loyal to Libyan leader Col Muammar Gaddafi have fired a Scud missile for the first time in the country’s six-month conflict, US defence officials say.
They say the rocket was launched from the coastal city of Sirte and aimed at Brega – currently held by rebel forces – but landed harmlessly in the desert.
There has been no word from the Libyan authorities.
The move comes as the rebels continue a push towards the capital, Tripoli.
On Monday they advanced into two strategically important towns controlling access to the capital, from the west and the south.
Fighting was reported in both Zawiya, 50km (30 miles) west of Tripoli, and Gharyan, 80km (50 miles) to the south.
Medics outside Zawiya told Reuters news agency that sniper and mortar fire from government troops had left three civilians dead.
Col Gaddafi’s forces are still thought to control the Zawiya oil refinery – the only one in western Libya – where they get most of their fuel.
Earlier, the rebels said they had seized Gharyan – a town in the Nafusa Mountains that straddles the road connecting Tripoli with Sabha, Sorman – west along the road from Zawiya to Tunisia – and Tiji, although this has not been confirmed by residents.
If the towns fall to the rebels they would have Tripoli surrounded by land, with Nato blocking sea access.
«We are closing the roads for Gaddafi so there is no way for him to bring anything to Tripoli,» a rebel field commander, Jumma Dardira, told the Associated Press news agency.
The BBC’s Matthew Price in Tripoli says how much territory the rebels hold and for how long they can hold it is unclear.
Tunisia talks?
The Scud launch was detected by US forces, who say the missile in the desert about 80km (50 miles) outside the strategic port of Brega.
The two sides have battled over Brega, with control swinging back and forth.
Libyan forces are believed to have more than 200 scuds in their arsenal.
Meanwhile the Netherlands on Monday unfroze $143m (100m euros; £87m) in seized Libyan assets and given the funds to the World Health Organization.
A spokesman for the Dutch government said the funds would be use to provide medicines and surgical equipment in areas held by rebels.
Reports say representatives of Col Gaddafi and the rebels have been holding talks in Tunisia.
The UN special envoy, Abdul Ilah al-Khatib, whose role is to negotiate a ceasefire, has arrived in Tunis. The AFP news agency said he had revealed that negotiations would take place in a hotel there.
However, a UN spokesman would only confirm that Mr Khatib would meet Tunisian officials and «some Libyan personalities residing in Tunisia».
Earlier, sources in the Tunisian security services said the two sides had met at a hotel on the Mediterranean resort island of Djerba on Sunday.
Source: BBC