Libya rebels say Muammar Gaddafi's troops have attacked oilfields in the remote south that the insurgents hope to use to fund their month-old revolt against his regime.
"Regime militias have attacked Mislah oilfield and are heading towards Sarir oilfield farther south," Citizens for a Democratic Libya, a rebel-linked advocacy group, said in a statement.
"Nafourah oilfield, very near to Mislah, will soon be attacked, too. All these supply oil to Tobruk," it said, urging both NATO and the United Nations to act to prevent the attack.
As near as I can tell, this would be less than 250 kilometers southeast of Ajdabiya along the main highway near Jalu. A road leads to the same place from Maradah inland from the coastal fighting.
Part of adapting to the coalition air umbrella would be to attack rebels further inland away from easy surveillance by NATO assets. I did suggest this, and wrote that Khaddafi should target potential rebel oil exports by capturing the area around Jalu. It's better than I thought when I believed the Jalu region was just a transportation hub for oil fields further south at Al Kufrah. There apparently are actual wells around Jalu.
This doesn't seem like a totally firm report, but it's what I'd do if I was pushing the loyalist pieces around the map.
UPDATE: Another report says loyalists attacked Mislah, as well as the Waha region, which is south of Maradah:
Oilfields in Misla and the Waha area were hit by Gaddafi's artillery on Tuesday and Wednesday, spokesman Hafiz Ghoga told reporters in the rebel stronghold of Benghazi.
The loyalists attacked with land forces. I didn't know the Waha region was rebel held. I assume it is far more difficult for NATO air power to keep an eye on territory that far from the coastal regions.
UPDATE: Strategypage says that an attack on a pipeline by Khaddafi planes has hurt the rebels. I'm not sure if this refers to the above attacks or is something else.
