Mercenaries loyal to the Gadhafi regime haven’t had much luck with attempts to reclaim the many, many cities lost to the popular uprising, and rebel forces have seemed to repel most of the counter-attacks with little effort. Zawiya, a city just outside of Tripoli, has been a major target.

But while it doesn’t appear that Zawiya is in any major threat of falling to the regime any time soon, reports from inside the city say that the mercenary forces have surrounded the city, imposing a blockade on goods entering the city.

Rebel leaders say that they have about two weeks of food and medical supplies within the city, and while Gadhafi’s control over the nation has plummeted it is unclear how much longer he can hang on in his central Tripoli stronghold.

Humanitarian aid is said to be flowing into East Libya now, and since the protesters have restarted the shipment of oil out of that half of the nation, it seems that half of the country is in pretty good shape. This will likely mean the rebel faction will direct more attention to ensuring Zawiya remains under their control, and that Tripoli continues to rebel against Gadhafi.

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