The raid on the eastern town came the day after a battle with pro-regime fighters that killed at least 12 people, as unconfirmed reports said government forces were being boosted by "Chadian mercenaries."

Abdulrahman, one of 10 fighters guarding the entrance to Brega's refinery complex, who did not want to give his last name, said he saw the attack.

"I was here with my people, tightening security around the refinery, then we heard the sound of planes. It was one plane that flew over three times. I think it was a Sukhoi. The third time, it dropped bombs," he told AFP.

An AFP reporter saw two craters punched out of empty land close to the refinery compound.

Abdelfattah al-Moghrabi, director of supplies for Brega hospital, said there had been no casualties.

Government forces with heavy weaponry attacked Brega at dawn on Wednesday in their biggest counter-offensive yet since the uprising against Kadhafi's 41-year rule erupted on February 15 in eastern Libya.

Despite air strikes throughout the day, the rebels managed to push the attackers out of the town, sparking celebrations -- which were themselves targeted by Kadhafi's fighter jets.

Moghrabi said nine rebels and three pro-Kadhafi fighters, including one who had identity papers from Niger and two other Africans without documents, were killed.

Hundreds of people attended the funerals of six of the rebels in the main opposition-held city of Benghazi Thursday and another five in the town of Ajdabiya, 150 kilometres (94 miles) to the west.

"Kadhafi get out, Libyans don't want you" and "Kadhafi you're crazy" they shouted.

In Benghazi a spokesman at the courthouse, the rebels' nerve centre, who did not want to be named, said, "We have taken a lot of prisoners, as many as 100."

Moghrabi told AFP those captured included three Libyans and two unidentified "Africans," adding that they had been taken to Benghazi for questioning.

Several sources said meanwhile that forces loyal to Kadhafi captured at least five people in Brega during their counter-offensive.

The Benghazi spokesman added, "Today it seems like Kadhafi is reinforcing his forces with mercenaries. Witnesses have seen troops (and Chadian mercenaries) moving towards Raslanuf. We are waiting to see if they attack or make a reinforcing line before Sirte."

Raslanuf lies some 100 kilometres (65 miles) west of Brega, while Sirte is further west still towards Tripoli, the capital and Kadhafi's power base.

The spokesman said the mercenaries came from Chad, which borders Libya to the south. "We don't know how many, but an incredible number," he said.

Asked if a force was being prepared to march on Tripoli, the rebels' Khalid al-Sahay said: "Of course, in the near future. We have a lot of our young men being trained. Huge numbers."

"They have a lot of resolve to change this particular regime and eventually we'll march on Tripoli. We have the will and his people don't," said Sahay, who liaises between the rebel forces and national council.

Sahay said it was too early to expect the international community to respond to a rebel request on Wednesday for air strikes against mercenaries.

Mohammed Khanis, a worker at the oil compound, said that if the refinery was captured power in Benghazi could be cut off.

earlier related report
Kadhafi counts on planes, militias to survive
Cairo (AFP) March 3, 2011 - Libyan strongman Moamer Kadhafi is relying on militias, mercenaries and Soviet-era airpower to prop up his regime as he tries to fight back against rebels in the east, analysts said.

A bid by Kadhafi loyalists to retake the eastern oil port of Brega has thrown the spotlight on the relative strengths of the regime's forces and the ragtag opposition army.

On paper, Kadhafi has 115,000 troops and militiamen but most are poorly armed and under-trained because for years Kadhafi has concentrated power in an elite Tripoli-based brigade led by one of his sons.

Coupled with thousands of African mercenaries being hired for up to $2,000 (1,435 euros) a day, the militias are his only real hope of resisting the challenge to his 41-year rule.

"There is an army within an army. There are special brigades that are run by his most trusted people. The rest of the army is history," Saad Djebbar, a London-based Libya analyst and lawyer, told AFP.

In 2010, Libya's armed forces had a nominal strength of 76,000, most of them conscripts, according to The Military Balance, a survey published by the International Institute of Strategic Studies (IISS) in Britain.

But Kadhafi knows the perils that a strong military can pose to an unpopular ruler, having seized power himself as a young colonel in 1969 in a coup that toppled King Idris.

Kadhafi weakened the army during the 1970s and 1980s, vesting power instead in the 40,000-strong "People's Militia" that is tied to him by blood.

"He has armed his tribe and members of the tribe, his family and the clans that were allied to them, and promoted them in the army and the intelligence service," said Djebbar.

Closest to Kadhafi is the Tripoli-based 32nd Brigade, known as the "Khamis Brigade" because it is led by his son Khamis. It mainly comprises members of Kadhafi's tribe and is the best equipped and trained unit in the country.

Shukri al-Sinki, an independent Libya analyst based in Cairo, said the attack on Brega was likely an attempt by Kadhafi to convince his loyalists that he was in control.

"If he does not control that side (the loyalists) that means he is gone," he said.

Meanwhile the self-proclaimed "king of kings" in Africa also waves oil money to lure mercenaries from across the continent, who are particularly loathed by the rebels.

Some 25,000 hired fighters from Chad, Niger, Mali, Zimbabwe and Liberia are being paid between $300 and $2,000 a day to fight for his regime, according to the head of the Libyan Human Rights League, Ali Zeidan.

Three mercenaries were among those killed in Brega, including one with identity papers from Niger.

However, the biggest threat to the rebels -- and the one prompting Western powers to mull a no-fly zone over Libya -- is the Libyan air force.

Again, on paper it boasts 374 combat-capable aircraft including French-built Mirage and Russian-made MiG fighter jets, powerful Russian gunship helicopters and US-made Chinook transport choppers.

But many are unservicable or in storage after years of sanctions, according to the IISS.

Recent airstrikes in Brega have failed to cause any casualties but in the early days of the revolt they were blamed for many of the fatalities among the protesters.

On the other side, the rebel force numbers around 8,000 people, according to the US security consultancy Stratfor. With the exception of some senior military defectors, most of them are raw volunteers.

AFP reporters have seen some riding in to battle carrying machetes and even a metal skewer, while others said they were given 15 minutes to learn to use a Kalashnikov.

Yet the opposition forces have also taken over heavy weapons from fleeing Kadhafi loyalists, including anti-aircraft batteries, and so far they have defended most of the territory they have won.

Sinki said the rebels would be able to hold out, but the question was whether they could strike out to Tripoli some 1,000 kilometres (617 miles) away.

The route is tough because it passes through the coastal town of Sirte -- Kadhafi's birthplace.

The best option for the rebels was that international pressure gets Kadhafi's loyalists to turn on him.

"When there is influence from abroad, I believe the people around him will not answer his command. Either they will kill him or he will try to escape," said Sinki.

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