On 16 May, a rebel spokesman from Benghazi claimed that opposition fighters had forced two brigades of Gaddafi's forces, based in Zliten, into open battle on the highway and defeated them. However, he contradicted himself by saying the fighting was still ongoing, and no reporters who were in the area or other independent sources confirmed the claim. It was reiterated by rebels on the ground that they would not advance on Zliten due to the possibility of a defeat, such as those sustained by the eastern rebels during their attempted advances earlier in the war.
