Rebels advanced west towards the birthplace of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi on Monday, firing mortars and heavy machineguns in sporadic clashes with loyalist forces. Emboldened by Western-led air strikes against Gaddafi's troops, the rebels took the town of Nawfaliyah and moved towards Sirte, Gaddafi's home town and an important military base, in the sixth week of an uprising against his 41-year rule.
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-- Qadhafi forces near centre of Misrata
As the rebels pressed forward in the east, Gaddafi's troops were patrolling an area near the centre of Misrata after shelling the previously rebel-controlled western city for days. The government in Tripoli said it had "liberated" Misrata from rebels and declared a cease-fire there.
Diplomatic activity accelerated on the eve of a 35-nation meeting in London on Tuesday to discuss the crisis in the oil-producing North African country. Italy proposed a deal including a cease-fire, exile for Gaddafi and dialogue between rebels and tribal leaders. The rebel leadership ruled out compromise with Gaddafi's followers. "We have had a vision from the very beginning and the main ingredient of this vision is the downfall of the Gaddafi regime," spokesman Hafiz Ghoga told reporters in the rebel stronghold of Benghazi.
Qatar became the first Arab country to recognise the rebels as the sole legitimate representative of the Libyan people. Libyan state television called the move "blatant interference". Russia criticised the Western intervention that has turned the tide in the conflict, saying it amounted to taking sides in a civil war and breached the terms of a United Nations Security Council resolution.
The French and British leaders called for supporters of Gaddafi to abandon him and asked Libyans opposing him to join a political process to pave the way for his departure. A US Treasury Department official said the rebels could sell Libyan crude without being subject to US sanctions if they conducted the transactions outside the National Oil Corporation and other entities in Gaddafi's administration subject to sanctions.
On Monday the rebels met sporadic resistance as they continued their advance in convoys of pick-up trucks with machineguns mounted on them. Just west of sandy, barren Nawfaliyah, bursts of sustained machinegun fire and the whoosh of several rockets could be heard, and plumes of black smoke rose ahead.
Soldiers were manning checkpoints and green Libyan flags flapped in the wind. Militiamen fired AK-47 rifles defiantly into the air. "If they come to Sirte, we will defend our city," said Osama bin Nafaa, 32, a policeman. In Misrata, Gaddafi soldiers manned checkpoints and took up position on rooftops. Some housefronts were smashed, smoke was rising from several areas and gunfire rang out constantly across the city.
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