Libyan fighters positioned outside of Gadhafi strongholds

 Fighters pushed Sunday to the outskirts of one of Moammar Gadhafi's last bastions of support, setting the stage for possible clashes ahead of this week's deadline for loyalists of the ousted leader to surrender.

Libya's new leaders gave Gadhafi loyalists in Sirte, Bani Walid and a handful of towns until Saturday to

surrender or face military force.

But there were indications that fighters were planning to enter Bani Walid, where a powerful tribe is sympathetic to Gadhafi, before the deadline.

National Transitional Council media coordinator Adel Zintani told CNN's Kareem Khadder that fighters could enter Bani Walid by Sunday morning.

"The rebel fighters have surrounded the outskirts of Bani Walid on the western side," he said Saturday.

"Some tribal leaders and many of the residents have surrendered their weapons, but there are still many loyalists who are protecting Moammar Gadhafi and his sons," Zintani said.

The deadline was extended by a week to curb further bloodshed and prevent prevent further destruction, military commanders have said.

"This extension does not mean we are unaware of what Gadhafi's accomplices are up to," Jalil said at a news conference, countering earlier criticism that a grace period might give Gadhafi's forces to regroup.

But Gadhafi's spokesman, who has not been seen since Tripoli fell, said key tribal leaders in Bani Walid remain loyal to the ousted leader.

Musa Ibrahim, in a telephone call from an undisclosed location, told Reuters that the transitional council's messages "are not being heeded here in Bani Walid."

Ibrahim also told Reuters that Gadhafi remained in Libya, though he said he did not know where. He did say Gadhafi was well defended.

Anti-Gadhafi forces are positioning around the former leader's hometown, Sirte, and Bani Walid, said Mustafa Abdul Jalil, chairman of the National Transitional Council, on Saturday.

Ali Tarhouni, interim deputy prime minister and oil minister of the NTC, said the Bani Walid was close to falling.

"It's possible, although we are not sure, that the Bani Walid (tribe) has joined the revolution, and now it's under control of the revolutionaries," he said.

Anti-Gadhafi fighters from the east pushed toward Bani Walid Saturday with virtually no resistance. They were able to reach El Mardum, which sits on the border of Bani Walid province and is home to Khamis Gadhafi's 32nd Brigade base.

The anti-Gadhafi forces entered the base and arrested three men in civilian clothes they claim were loyalists. They also took seven armored personnel carriers.

Tarhouni said Libya's new leadership will move their headquarters from Benghazi to Tripoli this week to begin implementing political plans to shape a new future.

But for the time being, guns trump government on the streets of the capital.

Tripoli has become a city of checkpoints, weapons and no real authority as the threat of Gadhafi's loyalists lingers.

Jittery and suspicious anti-Gadhafi fighters blocked a road Saturday where a drive-by shooting occurred earlier. They collected weapons and registered them at police stations. Those who called themselves rebels just a week ago were now working with Tripoli's law enforcement authorities.

With Gadhafi's armories emptied, guns -- always in large supply in Libya -- have proliferated on the streets.

Those who want to carry weapons now must be issued identification cards, but the selection process is not centralized -- neighborhood councils are making that decision.

A group called the Tripoli Revolutionary Council is trying to exert control over the city, creating the potential for further conflict with the established National Transitional Council in a volatile situation.

Tarhouni announced Saturday the formation of the Supreme Security Committee, which held its first meeting Friday. Among the priorities for the committee were the protection of public institutions and weapons in Tripoli.

The transitional council, meanwhile, is trying to get Libya's oil-dependent economy going again.

It expects to restart oil production at the Misla and Sarir oil fields in less than two weeks, Tarhouni said.

EU pledges long-term support to Libyan opposition

EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton has reiterated that Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi must relinquish power. She was speaking from the rebel stronghold Benghazi, where she also promised to offer long-term support to the Libyan opposition.

EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said, "Gaddafi must leave. And we must have a future for Libya that belongs to the people of Libya and moves forward as they would wish."

Ashton also announced the opening of EU's office in Benghazi, an effort to support the opposition.

Catherine Ashton said, "By opening the office of the European Union, I bring the commitment of the European Union 27 Member States -- and all of the institutions -- in support of the people of Benghazi and of the people of Libya."

Ashton says she's held talks on key issues with the Libyan opposition National Transitional Council, and representatives of young people, media, and human rights organization during her visit in Benghazi.

Catherine Ashton said, "We don't just come for today but we are here for the long term. What the European Union can offer is support as you build the country of the future, your institutions your economy and your political life, we will be here to support you every step of the way."

Earlier after meeting the Transitional Council chairman Mustafa Abdul Jalil, Ashton said the EU would support the opposition in border management and security reform.

Jalil told reporters that the opposition would abide by all the conventions and international laws. They plan to mobilize all the Libyan people to rebuild the country.

Ashton visited Benghazi's Liberation Square soon after the EU delegation arrived on Sunday morning. Her visit came shortly after NATO bombed the capital Tripoli and Gaddafi's nearby compound late Saturday.

Libyan troops may pull out of Misrata

Libya's Deputy Foreign Minister, Khaled Kaim, says the country's army is being withdrawn from fighting in the town of Misrata, with the task of subduing rebels in the area handed over to local "tribes".

Khaled Kaim says the army's tactic had been to use "a surgical solution" but that has not worked because of NATO airstrikes. Kaim says tribal leaders had warned the army to step aside if it could not retake the city and they would fight the rebels if they don't surrender.

Khaled Kaim said, "The situation in Misrata will be eased, will be dealt with by the tribes around Misrata, and the rest of Misrata's people, not by the Libyan army and you will see how they will be swift and quick and fast and the Libyan army will be out of the question, out of the situation in Misrata because Libyan people around Misrata, they cannot sustain, it like this. The sea port has been seized by the rebels and the tactic of the Libyan army is to have a surgical solution but it doesn't work. With the air strikes, it doesn't work and we will leave it to the tribes around Misrata and Misrata's people to deal with the situation there in Misrata."

He did not say when the military would pull back from Misrata or when the armed tribesmen would move in. Kaim was also dismissive of a visit by U.S. senator John McCain to the rebel headquarters in the eastern city of Benghazi.

Khaled Kaim said, "Senator McCain he visited Libya last year, I think, and he met with the Leader and he was free to express his views about the situation in Libya but now, I mean, his visit to Benghazi shows that the American administration has run out of options. They are trying to do anything, just to show to their own public that they are doing something. They are claiming that they are protecting the civilians, but what they are doing, they are siding with the rebels."

McCain called for increased military support for Libya's rebels, including weapons, training and more airstrikes.

Breaking News: Gaddafi vows 'no mercy' in attack on Benghazi

TRIPOLI: Libyan strongman Muammar Gaddafi said his forces will soon launch an assault on rebel stronghold Benghazi, saying "traitors" would be showed no mercy but those who laid down their arms would be spared.

"The decision has been taken. Prepare yourselves. We will arrive tonight," Gaddafi said on state television.

"We will chase the traitors from Benghazi," he told his troops. "Destroy their fortifications. Show them no mercy. The world needs to see Benghazi free."

Meanwhile, he said "those who surrender and throw down their arms will be saved."

Sticking to recurring claims throughout the month-old rebellion that al-Qaida is behind it, Gaddafi said "we will hunt down the miscreants and bearded ones that have destroyed out country and we will punish them without mercy."

"We will also punish the mercenaries who have served them," he added, without saying to whom he was referring.

Gaddafi said the insurgents "take their strength from lies, and you do not have to spare them."

Touching on another recurring theme of his public statements about the rebels, he said they needed to be "hunted down in every neighbourhood, every street, every house."

Gaddafi, who came to power in a bloodless 1969 coup against Libya's monarchy, said "I freed Benghazi with my rifle, and Benghazi will not betray me. Tomorrow Benghazi will be free."

He accused the rebels of using people who had fled from prisons, criminals and murderers to do the "traitorous acts."

This "handful of drug addicts and criminals are in the process of making a racket so that the Americans and the Europeans can come into hour houses, humiliate you and stain your honour."

Gadhafi Says Foreign Elements Responsible for Libya Uprising

Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi is repeating his claim that foreign operatives are responsible for the uprising against his government.

Addressing a group of people from the town of Zentan, Gadhafi blamed outside elements from Afghanistan, Algeria, Egypt and the Palestinian territories for the rebellion. The remarks were broadcast on state television Wednesday.

Troops loyal to Gadhafi attacked the rebel-held city of Zawiya for a fifth day Tuesday, part of renewed assaults aimed at reclaiming ground lost to rebel forces. Eyewitnesses said the city, 50 kilometers west of the capital, came under heavy mortar fire.

Rebel officials in the city said dozens of people have been killed in the assault and hundreds wounded, including women and children.

The various reports could not be independently confirmed because electricity, phone and Internet services in Zawiya have all been cut.

To the east, much of which is under opposition control, Libyan warplanes carried out several airstrikes on anti-government positions around the key oil port of Ras Lanuf. The city was bombed heavily as pro-Gadhafi forces targeted the town's water reservoir among other installations. But as of late Tuesday, rebel officials said they still controlled the area.

Anti-government forces are seeking to recapture the city of Bin Jawad, 160 kilometers east of Gadhafi’s hometown of Sirte, after pulling out in the face of reinforced government troops.

Opposition leaders based in the eastern city of Benghazi initially suggested they made an amnesty offer to Gadhafi, but later denied any back-channel negotiations were under way. A spokesman for the rebel National Libyan Council, Abdul Hafidh Ghoga, said the group is not prepared to negotiate.

Ghoga called again for foreign powers to impose a no-fly zone over Libya and effectively ground Gadhafi's air force.

Rebel representatives said they have had contacts with some foreign governments, and have sent envoys to several European cities seeking support. An Italian diplomatic delegation was in Benghazi Tuesday meeting with opposition leaders. It was the first official public visit by Western diplomats since the establishment of the provisional rebel government.

But activists say the Benghazi council's authority remains tentative and has yet to unite with disparate, divided opposition groups abroad.

A council official told European officials Monday that Gadhafi is relying on his air force because he lacks adequate ground troops to put down the uprising. Mahmoud Jebril said the Libyan leader relies largely on security brigades led by his sons and loyal officers.

Gaddafi forces attack rebels anew, even as regime appears to seek talks

Government and rebel forces engaged in a fierce battle Monday for control of this oil depot on the Mediterranean coast, as regime loyalists mounted assaults on several fronts to reclaim ground lost since the Feb. 17 uprising began.

In a second day of heavy fighting for control of Ras Lanuf, the site of a major oil refinery east of Tripoli, loyalists bombarded the town with airstrikes. To the west, the besieged rebel-held city of Zawiyah faced a fourth straight day of lethal assault.

But with neither side able to muster overwhelming force, the result appeared to be a bloody stalemate, with the death tolls rising in both east and west from the burgeoning civil war over Moammar Gaddafi's 41-year-long rule.

"Yesterday, we were so optimistic," said Najla el-Mangoush, a law professor who works with the opposition's governing council in the eastern city of Benghazi. "Now I'm worried about what's happening." He said that Gaddafi "has used every dirty trick on us."

In an apparent government overture, a former Libyan prime minister appeared on state television to make what was called a direct appeal to the leaders of the opposition in Benghazi, the rebels' provisional capital.

"Give a chance to national dialogue to resolve this crisis, to help stop the bloodshed, and not give a chance to foreigners to come and capture our country again," said Jadallah Azous al-Talhi, who was prime minister in the 1980s.

The opposition, however, dismissed the notion of peace talks. "They've been asking for contact, but the council has refused," said Jalal el-Gallal, a spokesman with the opposition in Benghazi, referring to the revolutionaries' governing committee. Mohamed Fanoush, a member of the Benghazi city council who is allied with the opposition, also said overtures from Gaddafi's regime had been rejected out of hand. "The answer was: 'There will be no negotiations as long as you are killing Libyans,' " Fanoush said.

In the western city of Zawiyah, a rebel spokesman speaking by satellite phone said Gaddafi's troops had rolled into the city with tanks for a fourth day Monday. Phone, electricity and Internet services had been cut. "They demolished the mosque, came into the square, but after seven hours, we beat them back," said the spokesman, Mohamed Magid.

He said that at least 10 rebels were killed and more than 30 wounded in what he described as fierce urban warfare. "For a fourth day, they have come, and for a fourth day, we have beat them back. But they are still on the east, west and south of the city, and they are going to return. . . . We are low on supplies, medicines. We need support. We need help."

Another rebel-held city, Misurata, which is Libya's third largest, appeared quiet most of Monday, after weathering a major assault by government troops Sunday. A rebel spokesman at a Misurata hospital, Abed el-Salam Bayo, said 21 opposition fighters and civilians were killed along with 19 government troops. As night fell Monday, door-to-door alerts warned residents that loyalist tanks were again approaching.

"We still fear another attack, so everyone is preparing molotov cocktails that we are making from Pepsi-Cola bottles," said Salah Abed El-Aziz, a 60-year-old architect in Misurata. "The morale in the city is very high. It was a beautiful battle; the price was high. But this is the price we have to pay for our freedom."

In Ras Lanuf, which was seized by rebels Friday, the government launched a morning air attack. At least one bomb fell inside the grounds of an ethylene refinery, where chemical storage tanks posed a major risk of explosion. Although the Libyan jets dropped bombs in the area throughout the day, Gallal said that there had been no ground fighting and that rebels maintained control of the city.

"Ras Lanuf is definitely in the hands of the rebels," Gallal said. "But the other guys are well dug in." At least for now, the government appears to have succeeded in holding off what the rebels hoped would be a push westward to Sirte, a government stronghold halfway between Benghazi and Tripoli that is Gaddafi's home town.

Gaddafi made an appearance on state television Monday that was inexplicably cut short. He got more time in during an interview with a French television network, during which he said Libya was an important partner of the West and attempted to paint the rebels as al-Qaeda operatives.

Nearly 200,000 people have fled Libya since the fighting began, according to the United Nations, which said Monday that it expects the number to double over the next three months. In all, as many as 1 million Libyans and migrant workers will require assistance, the United Nations said in issuing an appeal for $160 million to cover the costs.

A summary of the appeal said that although "the clearest humanitarian needs" stem from the outflow of people fleeing the crisis, "there are likely to be many more migrants within Libya who want to leave" but have been unable to do so.

U.N. officials cautioned that the estimate is preliminary and that they do not have a complete picture of the extent of need in Libya, particularly in government-controlled Tripoli and the conflict zone in the west. Over the weekend, Libyan Foreign Minister Musa Kusa acceded to a request by U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to send an assessment team to Tripoli to determine the extend of Libya's humanitarian needs. But as of Monday, the U.N. team had not been given the visas and guarantees of unhindered access it needs to carry out its work.

Ban has named Abdul-Illah Khatib, a former Jordanian foreign minister, as a special U.N. envoy to Libya. Khatib has been directed to consult with Libyan authorities and others in the region "on the immediate humanitarian situation as well as the wider dimensions of the crisis."