* Residents say foreign ships wary of eastern port
* Land border to Egypt vital route for supplies
* State TV says eastern cities to be "liberated"
By Tom Pfeiffer and Alexander Dziadosz
TOBRUK, Libya, March 14 (Reuters) - Libyans in Tobruk fear that Muammar Gaddafi's forces would try to seize their city to block food supply routes to the rest of rebel-held eastern Libya.
Tobruk is on the main coast road east to Egypt. With many foreign ships wary of docking in eastern ports due to security fears, food and medical supplies to the rebel-controlled region largely come by land and through Tobruk, residents say.
Gaddafi's forces on Sunday began bombing and shelling Ajdabiyah, a strategic gateway to regions further east. A 400 km (250 mile) desert road offers a clear route straight to Tobruk.
Libyan state television has carried messages saying eastern towns and cities would be or had been "liberated" from the hands of what it calls "armed gangs" and those inspired by al Qaeda.
"If he takes Ajdabiyah, his next stop won't be Benghazi but Tobruk so he can try to seize the city," said Yassine Bultia, a former soldier from Tobruk. "He wants to close the border, deprive us of food and make us suffer."
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The east, which has long been restive against Gaddafi's rule, fell swiftly to rebels after protests erupted in mid-February. Even after that, oil was loaded onto tankers from Tobruk terminal, a major oil export route. Rebels have talked of selling oil separately to the Tripoli-based state oil firm.
As with other rebel-held cities away from the frontline, there are few obvious signs of military preparations inside the city, although there is a military base in central Tobruk.
Residents said the rebel army was making preparations on the outskirts, but there was no sign of any troops several km along the road out of Tobruk that leads direct to Ajdabiyah.
"Of course there are preparations being made by the army and the rebels for any possibility," said Salah el-Awkaly, who was helping organise food supplies in Tobruk. "The (rebel) army is wise and we have complete trust in it."
But a swift advance by Gaddafi's forces through what were rebel-held oil towns of Es Sider, Ras Lanuf and up to Brega has raised tensions across the region, including Tobruk.
HELP FROM ABROAD
State television has added to the nervous mood in the east with reports that Tobruk was now in government hands, which was clearly not the case on Monday.
Youssef el-Azzruq, a 34-year old food aid volunteer, dismissed such rumours and talk as scare-mongering.
"They (Gaddafi sympathisers) find an area without people and put up the green flag and photograph it. We haven't seen any of these flags. This is psychological warfare," he said.
Civilians said they were ready to defend themselves, but were hoping for help from abroad. Many are frustrated that the West has not set up a "no-fly" zone which Libyan rebels want.
"The rebels only have small hand guns and machine guns and he has battleships and tanks ... so I think NATO and the West must move," said a Tobruk resident who gave his name as Wair.
"We will fight to the death because we are quite sure that if his forces enter Tobruk there will be a massacre," said Wair, in his 50s. "He will not save one baby or one peaceful man. They will kill us all and rape our women. Here in the city we only have knives and sticks to defend ourselves".
As he spoke, a loudspeaker on a building in Tobruk's main square blared out an appeal for help unloading a convoy of 22 aid trucks just arrived from the Egyptian city of Marsa Matrouh.
At the city's food stores, Egyptian and Libyan volunteers heaved bags of potatoes, onions, tomatoes, rice, oil and pasta into a warehouse. The trucks also brought medical supplies.
Volunteers said much of the aid was from countries such as Qatar and from Libyans living abroad, nearly all of it transiting through Egypt. In Egypt, there is a public campaign calling for Egyptians to offer money and food to send.
"People from all over Egypt have given this food for free," said Egyptian pharmacist Mohammed Fawzi Abu Zekri, 23. "A sheikh told worshippers in a mosque in Marsa Matrouh that we must help the Libyan people."
Amid the bustle at the food depot, the mood was upbeat and defiant. A youth fired a machine gun in the air and a group of young men on one truck cheered and waved their fists.
Older people in Tobruk were more nervous, saying they feared Gaddafi would exact a heavy price on retaken rebellious cities, although state television has said it is offering an amnesty to defecting soldiers who return to army ranks and issued appeals for eastern Libyans to avoid "strife" and "incitement." (Editing by Edmund Blair and Diana Abdallah)
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