AFP

AL-MARJ FIGHTING raged around Libya’s rebel stronghold of Benghazi on Saturday, with air strikes, tank fire and shelling rocking the Mediterranean city as a rebel warplane went down in flames.

Thousands of people were seen fleeing eastwards as correspondents reported that tanks belonging to forces loyal to Libyan strongman Moamer Qadhafi entered the city of more than one million people midmorning.

Tank fire was also heard from the south of Benghazi as rebel fighters ran through the streets flashing V for victory signs and crying “Allahu Akbar”, or “God is greatest”.

The southern edge of Benghazi early morning suffered at least two air strikes and sustained shelling, sending thick smoke into the sky, an AFP reporter said.

The warplane, which had been heard flying over the city for several minutes was suddenly spotted with flames coming from the fuselage before it fell on a residential area south of the city.

The pilot could be seen ejecting as the plane spiralled down, sparking celebratory erupted across the city.

However a rebel official reached by telephone acknowledged the plane was one of their Mirage fighter jets and that it had been downed by loyalists.

“Yes, it was one of the insurgents’ planes.

It was downed by Qadhafi’s forces,” the official told AFP.

“From what I hear the pilot is dead but I cannot confirm that,” he said.

A number of military units defected to the rebellion soon after the revolt broke out.

The two air strikes occurred within 20 minutes of each other, but the planes responsible could not be immediately identified.

A series of small explosions, possibly from Katyusha rockets, also produced at least seven smaller columns of black smoke south of the city.

Very heavy traffic clogged the road eastwards but rebel checkpoints were still manned and fighters screamed defiance against Qadhafi, as a large plume of smoke was seen rising from the city behind them.

A man with a green flag standing in the road shouted, “Qadhafi will die, Qadhafi will die.” At Al-Marj, 50 kilometres (30 miles) from Benghazi on the road to Tobruk and the Egyptian border, local residents handed out bags of dates and cartons of milk to the refugees, while queues built up at bakeries and other outlets.

An unidentified helicopter flew overhead but there was no other sign of military activity.

The BBC said its correspondent saw government tanks on a bridge inside Benghazi at around 10:30 am (0830 GMT), while a reporter for Britain’s Daily Telegraph newspaper reported heavy artillery fire round about the same time.

The government for its part said its armed forces were under attack west of Benghazi and had responded in self-defence.

“The gangs of Al Qaeda attacked the units of the Libyan armed forces stationed to the west of Benghazi,” a statement carried by the official Jana news agency said, using Tripoli’s term for the insurgents.

The statement accused the rebels of using “a helicopter and a fighter jet to bomb the Libyan armed forces in blatant violation of the no-fly zone imposed by the UN Security Council.” France was hosting on Saturday what it said would be a “decisive” summit with the European Union, Arab League and African Union, as well as UN chief Ban Ki-moon, on taking UN-sanctioned military action in Libya.

France’s ambassador to the United Nations, Gerard Araud, said he expected military intervention within hours of the summit.

Libyan government officials insisted Tripoli was abiding by a ceasefire it declared on Friday.