Fighting between pro-Gaddafi forces and rebels intensified today in Misurata and Ajdabiya, the gateway to the opposition headquarters of Benghazi in Libya's east, with the strongman promising a "decisive battle".
Facing an unprecedented uprising against his 41-year-old rule, Muammar Gaddafi unleashed his forces to wrest back territories seized by the rebels.
Government troops intensified their offensive against rebels in Ajdabiya, the fall of which will clear the way for a possible attack on the opposition capital of Benghazi, amid reports that the town was heavily shelled by Gaddafi's forces.
Rebels and government troops were also engaged in a fierce battle in another key city of Misurata, 150 km from the capital Tripoli.
"The battle continues at Misurata ..., that will be the decisive battle," 68-year-old Gaddafi told a group of young people from Misurata.
"You are going to be called to take up arms and ... You will take part in the battle," he was quoted as saying by Al-Jazeera.
More From This Section
Gaddafi urged the gathering "not to leave Misurata hostage in the hands of a handful of madmen".
His remarks came as the Libyan state television said the army would soon move against the rebel-stronghold of Benghazi.
As the defiant leader's well-trained and heavily-armed forces registered major successes in recent days, a rebel spokesman in Misurata claimed yesterday that they had beaten back an attack by Libyan forces on the city, killing 80 of Gaddafi's men.
At the UN headquarters in New York, Ibrahim Dabbashi, Libya's deputy envoy to the UN who had turned against Gaddafi, called on the Security Council to pass fast a resolution imposing a no-fly zone over the North African country.
As the 15-member body debated the draft resolution to impose a no-fly zone over Libya, Dabbashi asked the world community to act quickly and warned of "genocide" in the eastern city of Ajdaibya and "ethnic cleaning" in villages in the western part of the country.
"We think that in the coming hours we will see real genocide in Ajdabiya," he said. "The international community has to act within the next ten hours."
Dabbashi also expressed confidence that the present draft resolution would be modified to include "air strikes."
The text of the draft resolution, co-authored by Britain and France, was circulated by Lebanon, a non-permanent member of the Council, on Tuesday.