Lynsey Addario for The New York Times

Rebel forces near the main checkpoint at the refinery in Ras Lanuf in Libya, a town that the forces quit under a sustained government assault. More Photos »

By ANTHONY SHADID

RAS LANUF, Libya — Forces loyal to Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi retook a strategic oil town and pressed toward the country’s largest refinery Friday, as once-energetic rebel lines began to crumble before an onslaught of air strikes and tank and artillery fire that sent fighters in a chaotic retreat down the Mediterranean coast.

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Qaddafi Forces Take Strategic Town as Rebels Flee