Arab foreign ministers were meeting in Egypt today to discuss a no-fly zone over Libya as Col Gaddafi’s regime showed growing confidence after retaking a strategic town near Tripoli following days of relentless shelling against protesters-turned-rebels.

Libyan war planes today launched airstrikes and troops engaged in heavy ground battles with a rebel force advancing west toward the capital Tripoli along the country’s Mediterranean coastline.

Muammar Gaddafi loyalists swept into the opposition-held city closest to Tripoli today, tightening security around the regime-held capital. To the east, rebel forces captured a key oil port as the country veered toward civil war.