Libya opposition said its forces had captured several residential districts of the oil town of Brega on the eastern front, as the UN Secretary General warned of large number of casualties in the African country.

Libya opposition said its forces had captured several residential districts of the oil town of Brega on the eastern front, as the UN Secretary General warned of large number of casualties in the African country.

State television confirmed the rebels had seized districts of the town but said embattled Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi forces were still holding western parts of the town, where the oil facilities have been located.

A spokesman for the rebel forces, Mossa Mahmoud al-Mograbi, said: "It is liberated. It is under our control now”.
An area south of Brega was also captured by the rebels on Thursday, though clashes were ongoing.
"We are sure we will defeat them," said Mograbi.

The residential area is about 15 km east of the oil terminal and sea port.
While in the west front, the rebel forces had pushed toward Zawiyah, trying to get within striking distance of Tripoli, the nation's capital and headquarters of Gaddafi.

The rebels reached the village of Bir Shuaib, 25 km from Zawiyah, which has unsuccessfully risen up against Gaddafi twice this year. It lies less than 50 km west of Tripoli, on the main road to Tunisia, which has been a lifeline for Libya.
The embattled leader has clung to power despite five months of NATO air strikes, suffocating economic sanctions and an expanding war with opposition forces.

BAN CONCERNED BY CASUALTIES
Meanwhile, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has voiced concern at rising civilian casualties in Libya and called for a political solution to end the conflict.
In a statement released by Ban's spokesman, the UN chief said he was "deeply concerned by reports of the unacceptably large number of civilian casualties as a result of the conflict in Libya." However, the statement gave no figures on the number of casualities from the six-month conflict.

The statement called on "all parties to exercise extreme caution" to "minimize any further loss of civilian life."
Ban reaffirmed his strongly held belief that "there can be no military solution to the Libyan crisis."
"A ceasefire that is linked to a political process which would meet the aspirations of the Libyan people, is the only viable means to achieving peace and security in Libya," the statement said.