Fatalities increase as Libyan rebels advance

Heavy fighting continues on the Libyan frontline as Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi continues his attacks on opposition fighters in the west of the country as they try to move on the capital, Tripoli.

Rebel fighters have had to pull back to safer ground but Gaddafi troops continue to send heavy artillery rounds across the frontline.

The Gaddafi forces rely on heavy artillery to defend their positions against the largely untrained and civilian fighters further to the west.

These fighters are friends and relatives who got together to topple Gaddafi's government and to defend their homes.

While they are having to quickly learn how to outwit a professional enemy in the open countryside, they are also suffering stark human losses.

"The enemy is beating us with heavy artillery. The battle still rages between the rebels and our enemy," a fighter said, adding that they are gaining ground each day.

The opposition fighters are defiant, however, that they will continue their fight.

"We will die for freedom, he will not take Misrata ... We will take revenge for the blood of our brothers," one injured soldier told Al Jazeera.

Al Jazeera's Sue Turton reports from the frontline near Zlitan.