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The hotel that had served as the rebels' headquarters is ravaged. Charred trees no longer shade the rubble of what were stone benches below.
"The bad guys have fled. There were still 35 or 40 of them yesterday (Thursday) with (AK-47) Kalashnikovs and higher-calibre weapons, but we disarmed them," said Walid.
He described himself as a student volunteer fighting against the rebels demanding the overthrow of Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi.
"We can't live here without Moamer Kadhafi. He is the 'king of kings' across Africa, not only in Libya," said Walid, a machine-gun slung across his shoulder.
Soldiers and militiamen danced on their vehicles and tanks, waving their guns in their air, while in Martyrs' Square 200-300 demonstrators declared their love for Kadhafi, waving his portrait and the regime's green flag.
"I love Kadhafi," shouted one demonstrator as he approached a government-chartered bus full of international journalists being escorted around the battlefield.
Pro-Kadhafi forces have effectively sealed the town, stopping or challenging any reporter without a government minder.
Officially, Zawiyah -- 40 kilometres (25 miles) west of Tripoli -- and its strategic oil refinery nearby were retaken by Kadhafi loyalists on Wednesday night at a cost of 14 lives.
"According to an initial toll, 14 people from the two sides were killed" in Zawiyah, Deputy Foreign Minister Khaled Kaaim told a news conference in Tripoli.
"We will know more about the number of dead and those arrested in the next few days," he added.
Witnesses have told AFP that fierce battles were fought in Zawiyah last week, some even speaking of a "massacre" while others spoke of arrests since loyalists recaptured the town.
However, it was impossible to confirm such reports in Zawiyah independently as the military was blocking roads to the town centre.
But even from a distance, it was clear that the alleys of the prosperous dormitory town of 250,000 inhabitants and home to many military officers was largely deserted with no stores open.
"I saw nothing, I hope there are not many dead. But Moamer is kind. Moamer is good, good, good. The others are wicked," said Aziz, a Moroccan resident of suburban Zawiyah for seven years.
But signs of dissent were still visible, despite the authorities' hasty efforts to conceal them by whitewashing walls, and the faint outline of graffiti reading "down with the regime" could still be made out.
And tanks had crushed the rebels' makeshift cemetery in Martyrs' Square.
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"The bad guys have fled. There were still 35 or 40 of them yesterday (Thursday) with (AK-47) Kalashnikovs and higher-calibre weapons, but we disarmed them," said Walid.
He described himself as a student volunteer fighting against the rebels demanding the overthrow of Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi.
"We can't live here without Moamer Kadhafi. He is the 'king of kings' across Africa, not only in Libya," said Walid, a machine-gun slung across his shoulder.
Soldiers and militiamen danced on their vehicles and tanks, waving their guns in their air, while in Martyrs' Square 200-300 demonstrators declared their love for Kadhafi, waving his portrait and the regime's green flag.
"I love Kadhafi," shouted one demonstrator as he approached a government-chartered bus full of international journalists being escorted around the battlefield.
Pro-Kadhafi forces have effectively sealed the town, stopping or challenging any reporter without a government minder.
Officially, Zawiyah -- 40 kilometres (25 miles) west of Tripoli -- and its strategic oil refinery nearby were retaken by Kadhafi loyalists on Wednesday night at a cost of 14 lives.
"According to an initial toll, 14 people from the two sides were killed" in Zawiyah, Deputy Foreign Minister Khaled Kaaim told a news conference in Tripoli.
"We will know more about the number of dead and those arrested in the next few days," he added.
Witnesses have told AFP that fierce battles were fought in Zawiyah last week, some even speaking of a "massacre" while others spoke of arrests since loyalists recaptured the town.
However, it was impossible to confirm such reports in Zawiyah independently as the military was blocking roads to the town centre.
But even from a distance, it was clear that the alleys of the prosperous dormitory town of 250,000 inhabitants and home to many military officers was largely deserted with no stores open.
"I saw nothing, I hope there are not many dead. But Moamer is kind. Moamer is good, good, good. The others are wicked," said Aziz, a Moroccan resident of suburban Zawiyah for seven years.
But signs of dissent were still visible, despite the authorities' hasty efforts to conceal them by whitewashing walls, and the faint outline of graffiti reading "down with the regime" could still be made out.
And tanks had crushed the rebels' makeshift cemetery in Martyrs' Square.
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