Gaddafi forces recapture Zawiya

Libyan planes attacked rebels in the oil port of Ras Lanouf today to prevent them from advancing towards the capital Tripoli.

Forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi also recaptured Zawiya, the city closest to Tripoli that had fallen into opposition hands, according to some reports.

One witness said Gaddafi’s tanks were roaming the city and firing randomly at homes.

Gaddafi’s regime has been using its air power advantage more each day to check a rebel advance west toward Tripoli on the main road leading out of the opposition-controlled eastern half of the country.

The heavy use of planes underlines the vulnerability of the rebel forces as they attempt to march in open terrain along the Mediterranean coast and could prompt world powers to impose a no-fly zone over Libya to deny Gaddafi that edge.

The United States and its Nato allies edged closer yesterday to formulating a military response to the escalating violence in Libya as the alliance boosted surveillance flights over the country and the Obama administration signalled it might be willing to help arm Gaddafi’s opponents. Europe, meanwhile, kick-started international efforts to impose a no-fly zone.

In Benghazi, the main city in the rebel-held east of the country, a spokesman for the newly created Interim Governing Council said a man who claimed to represent Gaddafi has made contact to discuss terms for Gaddafi to step down.

The council could not be certain whether the man was acting on his own initiative or did in fact represent the Libyan leader.

“But our position is clear: No negotiations with the Gaddafi regime,” said the spokesman.

In Zawiya, the witness said electricity, phone and internet services have all been cut.

“The city is in ruins,” he said. “Some buildings have been entirely destroyed and everyone on the street is shot on sight. There are many wounded but the hospitals are running out of supplies,” he said, describing conditions in the city after the regime’s counter-offensive yesterday.

As the fighting continues, Gaddafi’s regime is also coming under mounting pressure from some Arab nations.

Gulf Arab countries joined the calls for a no-fly zone, with the foreign minister of the United Arab Emirates saying during a conference of his country’s neighbours that the UN Security Council should “shoulder its historical responsibility for protecting the Libyan people.”

However, Western military intervention does not seem imminent – and the warnings may be an attempt to intimidate Gaddafi with words before deeds.

British and French officials said the no-fly resolution was being drawn up as a contingency and it has not been decided whether to put it before the UN Security Council, where Russia holds veto power and has rejected such a move.

Western officials have said a no-fly zone does not require a UN mandate, but they would prefer to have one.