Gaddafi forces mount fierce counterattack

By Leila Fadel and Anthony Faiola

BENGAHZI, LIBYA - Forces loyal to Libyan leader Moammar Gaddafi unleashed their fiercest counterattack yet against the opposition on Friday, assaulting rebel-held positions by ground and air and firing on demonstrators in the government stronghold of Tripoli.
The lethal force of the government offensive - including what rebels described as a "bloodbath" in the strategic western port city of Zawiyah - raised the stakes for Washington and its western allies. They have threatened military intervention should the Gaddafi government cross red lines including the systematic endangerment of defenseless civilians or if the battle for Libya evolved into a long-term, bloody stalemate.

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Gaddafi forces mount fierce counterattack