Libyan rebels have retreated from the key oil port of Ras Lanouf along the coastal road after coming under heavy shelling from ground forces loyal to leader Moammar Gadhafi.
NATO planes flew over the zone of the heaviest fighting Wednesday and explosions were heard, suggesting a new wave of airstrikes against Gadhafi's forces.
In nearby Brega, however, there was no sign of any aerial bombardment.
"They're waiting for those airstrikes," CBC News reporter Margaret Evans said. "What they're fleeing here are Gadhafi forces, flying down the highway. "There's quite a panicked scene in front of me."
By late afternoon local time, Gadhafi's forces had taken the key oil towns of Ras Lanouf and Bin Jawad and were pushing the rebels back toward Brega.
A CF-18 fighter jet is refuelled by a Canadian Forces Airbus CC-150 Polaris tanker over the Mediterranean near Trapani, Italy, on Tuesday. (Canadian Forces Combat Camera/Cpl. Marc-Andre Gaudreault)
"We don't know why they're not here," rebel soldier Moftah Mohammed, 36, said of the lack of airstrikes. "Our forces are mainly on the side of the main road. We've heard Gadhafi's forces are pushing deep into the desert" in an attempt to head off rebel forces. "We don't want to be stuck in the middle of that."
Rebel Col. Abdullah Hadi said he expected the loyalists to enter Brega by Wednesday night.
"I ask NATO for just one aircraft to push them back. All we need is air cover and we could do this. They should be helping us," Hadi said.
As the fighting approached Adjabiya, residents fled from the western side of the city, and the highway east to Benghazi was filled with families in vehicles packed with their belongings.
NATO airstrikes have neutralized Gadhafi's air force and pounded his army, but the government's ground forces remain far better armed, trained and organized than the opposition.
They have also adopted new tactics, a U.S. intelligence official said, fitting civilian vehicles with battle weapons and leaving behind their armoured vehicles, making it more difficult for the coalition to identify targets.
Rebels have few weapons more powerful than rocket-propelled grenades and machine-guns, and are no match for Gadhafi's tanks and longer-range heavy weapons.
CF-18s struck a target near Misrata Tuesday night, said Maj.-Gen. Tom Lawson, assistant chief of the air staff.