Tripoli, Libya (CNN) -- Moammar Gadhafi's government is disputing rebel claims that they have taken the embattled oil hub of al-Brega, saying Libyan forces are still in control of the city. Rebels have been fighting to regain control of al-Brega since they were forced to pull back in mid-March, then just weeks into the battle to end Gadhafi's rule over the North African nation. "They are not in Brega," Libyan Deputy Foreign Minister Khalid Kaim told reporters Friday in Tripoli. Kaim's comments follow claims by a rebel commander that opposition forces had pushed northward on three fronts toward the coastal cities of al-Zawiya, Aziziya and Sorman, with the aim of cutting off the road -- a main artery into Tripoli. "In their dreams, it is possible," Kaim said. CNN could not independently confirm early Saturday who was in control of al-Brega or whether rebel forces had advanced on the coastal cities. National Transitional Council spokesman Guma El-Gamaty told CNN that rebels captured the residential area of al-Brega on Friday. The city's industrial area and oil refineries were under Gadhafi forces, but they were expected to fall within days, he said. "Rebels are meeting far less resistance than expected," he said. "They think Gadhafi forces are in a state of shock and have almost collapsed. They are in a very poor state so they expect to over run them quickly." El-Gamaty said he was not surprised by the government's denial of their losses in the city. "It is very bad news that they don't want to admit it sends a signal to the rest of their troops that the end is near," he said. An opposition newspaper, Qurayna New, citing medicalsources at a hospital near al-Brega, reported at least six rebel fighters were killed and 16 wounded in fighting in the city. CNN could not independently confirm that account. As for the advance on the coastal cities, El-Gamaty said rebel forces on Saturday morning were only miles away from al-Zawiya. Meanwhile, in the opposition-held port of Misrata, missile attacks by Gadhafi forces ended after rebels captured the nearby town of Tawargha, El-Gamaty said. That city was being used by Gadhafi forces to launch missiles indiscriminately into Misrata, he said. Rebels also took a crucial bridge that links Tawargha to Sirte, Gadhafi's hometown and loyal stronghold, he said. "We are now advancing on Tripoli from the west through Tawurgha and from the east through Brega," he said. But Kaim, the deputy foreign minister, said that government fighters had pushed the rebels away from Tawargha and back to Misrata. Five months into the Libyan war, the rebels have won international support in their effort to oust Gadhafi. They have been aided by NATO airstrikes that began in March after the U.N. Security Council approved a resolution that ordered civilians be protected. This week, the government accused NATO of killing 85 civilians, including 33 children, in airstrikes Monday near the embattled city of Zlitan. NATO has said there is no evidence that the strikes killed civilians, though journalists, including CNN reporters, taken by Gadhafi's government to the site of the strikes reported seeing bodies of women and children. It was impossible for CNN to confirm the extent of the casualties and if they were all civilian. Kaim on Friday criticized the United Nations for what he claimed was an organizationalsilence over claims that NATO has violated the mandate of the Security Council by killing civilians and conducting a naval blockade. The comments follow a statement a day earlier by a spokesperson for Ban Ki-moon, who said the U.N. secretary-general "is deeply concerned by reports of the unacceptably large number of civilian casualties as a result of the conflict in Libya." Ban urged "all Libyan parties" to engage with his special envoy, Abdel-Elah Al-Khatib, "and respond concretely and positively to the ideas presented to them, in order to end the bloodshed in the country," the spokesperson said. Kaim said Ban's statement fell short without a mention of NATO. The changing nature of who controls what was underscored Thursday by events in Washington, where the Libyan Embassy officially reopened under the control of the Transitional National Council. "This is a message that Gadhafi can no more rule Libya," said Ali Aujali, who was accredited Thursday as head of the Libyan mission. The State Department had ordered the embassy closed in March and expelled diplomats loyal to Gadhafi. Aujali had resigned his post as the regime's ambassador to the United States in February, and has since represented the opposition in Washington. The United States on July 15 recognized the rebel movement based in Benghazi as Libya's rightful government.