we've heard accounts of rebels pulling back under fire in one case under forces who waved a white flag signifying surrender. cnn's war damon is in the rebel-held town of ras lanuf. she joins me by the phone. arwa, can you set the scene for us there? >> reporter: yeah, randi. what we're beginning to see here are just how the dynamics of the battlefield are shifting as these opposition forces push towards gadhafi's hometown and an area that is filled with gadhafi loyalists. now, the forces got to an area called um al gundel 60 miles to the west of sirte. we were tailing behind them when all of a sudden we noticed them streaming down the highway beating a hasty, chaotic retreat, firing their 50-caliber machine guns into the air, firing all sorts of small arms fire. when the situation finally came under control, quite a distance from what the front line was, one of the fighters told us that when they went into this area