The battle for Ras Lanuf in Photography

Libyan opposition fighters abandoned an important oil port in the east of the country on Thursday after Col Muammar Gaddafi unleashed the full force of his military arsenal to attack rebel positions by land, sea and air.


A rebel reads Islamic prayers next to his weapons
Photograph: Asmaa Waguih/Reuters Rebels prepare their weapons in case of air strikes
Photograph: Asmaa Waguih/Reuters Rebel fighters drive past camels near Ras Lanuf
Photograph: Goran Tomasevic/Reuters Rebel fighters run for cover as shells explode during clashes with forces loyal to the Libyan leader, Muammar Gaddafi, a few kilometres outside the oil town
Photograph: Roberto Schmidt/AFP/Getty Images Rebels attack government troops as a natural gas facility burns
Photograph: John Moore/Getty Images A rebel fighter lies on the ground as shells from loyalist forces fall nearby
Photograph: Roberto Schmidt/AFP/Getty Images Rebels look at smoke rising from an oil pipe just outside Ras Lanuf
Photograph: Marco Longari/AFP/Getty Images A rebel fighter is carried into a hospital after being injured while fighting government troops
Photograph: John Moore/Getty Images Rebels take positions while fighting government troops as a natural gas facility burns
Photograph: John Moore/Getty Images Volunteers in Ras Lanuf cheer as smoke rises from the oil port of Sidra
Photograph: Tara Todras-Whitehill/AP Rebels walk the streets during a lull in fighting
Photograph: Marco Longari/AFP/Getty Images Volunteers sit at a checkpoint on the outskirts of Ras Lanuf
Photograph: Tara Todras-Whitehill/AP A rebel youth sits at the entrance to a block of flats in an alley
Photograph: Marco Longari/AFP/Getty Images A wounded rebel fighter is brought to a clinic
Photograph: Marco Longari/AFP/Getty Images Rebels fire Katusha rockets at government troops on the frontline
Photograph: John Moore/Getty Images A rebel reads the Qur’an near a checkpoint at Ras Lanuf
Photograph: Asmaa Waguih/Reuters Rebels wait for news of wounded comrades at the morgue of Brega’s hospital
Photograph: Marco Longari/AFP/Getty Images Rebels fire a rocket-propelled grenade at a fighter jet in Ras Lanuf
Photograph: John Moore/Getty Images Rebels pause at a checkpoint after fleeing the fighting in Ras Lanuf
Photograph: John Moore/Getty Images Rebel fighters prepare to leave Ras Lanuf
Photograph: Goran Tomasevic/Reuters Shrapnel flies through the air as a tank shell explodes near rebel fighters
Photograph: Roberto Schmidt/AFP/Getty Images