"Misrata is free, the rebels have won. Of Gaddafi's forces, some are killed and others are running away," a rebel spokesmen said in the rebel coastal city, where a punishing two-month siege that killed hundreds appeared to have been broken.

One government soldier, Khaled Dorman, among a group of 12 being brought to hospital for treatment in Misrata, told Reuters from the back of a pickup truck: "We have been told to withdraw. We were told to withdraw yesterday."

Their apparent victory in Misrata, the only large city in the West under their control, is a major success for the rebels.

Nevertheless, the overall trend of fighting in Libya is still far from clear in a civil war that has seen seesaw victories for both sides. Al Jazeera television reported that heavy fighting continued on Saturday around a hospital in western Misrata being used as a base by Gaddafi's forces.

Reuters