Nato today struck a command and control centre where Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi sometimes lives. It is not know whether he was present at the time.

Libyan rebels clashed with Sudanese mercenaries fighting for Muammar Gaddafi near the border with Sudan today.

Muammar Gaddafi loyalists staged a show of support in the Libyan capital today, claiming the rebel insurgency is nearing its end.

Libya’s deputy foreign minister has dismissed efforts by the International Criminal Court to issue arrest warrants against three senior leaders.

MUAMMAR GADDAFI’S regime reacted angrily to a NATO-led decision to provide funding to the three-month-old rebellion against his rule in Libya, describing as “piracy” plans to tap its assets frozen abroad.

THE western Libyan city of Misrata came under heavy bombardment yesterday by forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi, a rebel spokesman said, a day after rebels celebrated a government pullback.

Libyan tribal leaders are trying to get rebels in the city of Misrata to lay down their arms within 48 hours, a government official said early today, after a day of fierce clashes between opposition fighters and Muammar Gaddafi’s forces.

Heavy fighting raged anew in Misrata and killed 24 people as Muammar Gaddafi’s forces gave up more ground inside Libya’s third-largest city.

Government troops retreated to the outskirts of Misrata under rebel fire today and the opposition claimed victory after officials in Tripoli decided to pull back forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi following nearly two months of laying siege to the western city.

US senator John McCain called for increased military support for Libya’s rebels, including weapons, training and stepped-up airstrikes, in a full-throated endorsement of the opposition in its fight to oust Muammar Gaddafi.

Europe is ready to send an armed force to Libya to ensure delivery of humanitarian aid.

Nato launched new strikes on targets held by Muammar Gaddafi as Libya’s rebel leaders called for a stronger air campaign that would allow them to advance on the dictator’s territory.

Heavy fighting raged for a second day around a key front-line city as rebels struggled to keep control of a buffer zone protecting their main eastern strongholds.

Libyan government forces shot down two US-built attack helicopters being used by rebel forces in the east of the country, the deputy foreign minister said today.

Libyan rebels have claimed that Nato air strikes hit their fighters on the front lines and touched off a retreat from the outskirts of the key oil port of Brega.

Officials were today investigating claims that British war planes bombed a major Libyan oil field, killing three civilian guards and injuring a number of other workers.

Libya’s rebel forces were closing in on Muammar Gaddafi’s home town of Sirte, the gateway to the western half of the country, today after it was targeted for the first time by international air strikes.

Libyan rebels seized back two key oil complexes and pushed west towards Tripoli today, gaining momentum after international airstrikes that tipped the balance away from Muammar Gaddafi’s military.

Libyan rebels have seized back a second key oil complex and are pushing west toward Tripoli.

Libyan rebels took back a key oil town and pushed westward today toward the capital, seizing momentum from the international airstrikes that tipped the balance away from Muammar Gaddafi’s military.

International air strikes on Libya have forced government troops to retreat, with rebels regaining control of the city of Ajdabiya.

Libyan rebels clinched their hold on the east of the country and seized back a key city today after decisive international airstrikes sent Muammar Gaddafi’s forces into retreat, shedding their uniforms and ammunition as they fled.

French fighter jets have shot down a Libyan plane, a US official said today.

French airstrikes have hit an air base deep inside Libya in a bid to stop arms movement or the flow of mercenaries, a military official says.

French planes are reportedly flying over Libya after world leaders decided the time for urgent action against Colonel Gaddafi has come.

Muammar Gaddafi today said the UN resolution authorising international military intervention in Libya was “invalid”.

A warplane has been shot down outside the opposition stronghold of Benghazi, as international leaders gathered in Paris to make final preparations to impose a no-fly zone over Libya.

Muammar Gaddafi's regime has defiantly closed Libya's airspace to all traffic while the West makes plans to enforce a no-fly zone and prevent his forces from attacking rebels.