Five loud explosions shook the centre of Libya’s capital Tripoli today as rebels in the western mountains claimed control of the Zawiya oil refinery.

THE Libyan government yesterday renewed its offer to hold a vote on whether Muammar Gaddafi should stay in power, a proposal unlikely to interest Gaddafi’s opponents but which could widen differences inside NATO.

LIBYA’S Muammar Gaddafi is willing to hold elections and step aside if he lost, his son said, an offer dismissed by rebels but which could test the unity of the Western alliance trying to force him out.

SEVERAL large explosions rocked the Libyan capital Tripoli last night and a column of smoke was seen rising from Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi's Bab al-Aziziyah compound.