Gaddafi son Sief defiant

A man claiming to be Muammar Gaddafi's son Seif al-Islam is vowing to fight to the death and says nobody will surrender.

He also said he was speaking from the suburbs outside Tripoli and insisted his father is fine.

Today's defiant audio statement was broadcast on Al-Rai television station shortly after another statement by his brother, al-Saadi.

Al-Saadi offered a softer tone, saying he is ready to mediate talks with the rebels in order to stop the bloodshed.

Seif vowed to fight to the death, insisting no regime loyalists would surrender to the rebels, who are closing in on Gaddafi's final strongholds.

Seif, Gaddafi's longtime heir-apparent, said he was speaking from the suburbs of Tripoli and insisted his father was fine.

"We are going to die in our land," he said in an audio statement broadcast on Syria's Al-Rai television, claiming he was speaking for loyalist leaders who had met in the Gaddafi bastion of Bani Walid. "No one is going to surrender."

Seif's voice was easily recognisable, but al-Saadi's was more difficult to confirm.

Asked about his brother's statements, Seif said he was under pressure: "This means nothing."

A rebel commander in Tripoli, Abdel Hakim Belhaj, said earlier Wednesday that al-Saadi was trying to negotiate terms for his own surrender if his safety could be guaranteed. When asked about that report, al-Saadi said he had talked to Belhaj and several other rebel officials, but that he was only offering to surrender to bring an end to the bloodshed.

The clashing audio statements suggest growing turmoil in Gadhafi's inner circle as the rebel forces pressed toward three of the loyalists' main strongholds, Gaddafi's hometown of Sirte and the desert towns of Bani Walid and Sabha.

The rebels also say they are closing in on the elder Gaddafi, who has been on the run since rebels swept into the capital last week.

"The regime is dying," said rebel council spokesman Abdel-Hafiz Ghoga, reacting to the brothers' statements. "Gaddafi's family is trying to find an exit."

"They only have to surrender completely to the rebels and we will offer them a fair trial. We won't hold negotiations with them over anything," he added.

Tomorrow marks the 42nd anniversary of the coup that propelled Gaddafi to power.