Gaddafi visits journalists' hotel, battles rage

Embattled Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi last night turned up at a Tripoli hotel where many foreign journalists are staying, clenching his fists in the air in a show of defiance.

He did not immediately respond to questions as he strolled through the lobby of the Rixos Hotel, which was packed with reporters.

Wearing a chocolate brown cloak and his trademark fawn headdress, he gave no sign of the pressure on his four-decade-rule which has seen large swathes of the North African fall into the hands of rebels.

He was accompanied by one of his female bodyguards.

Later he accused Western countries, especially France, of plotting to "colonise" his oil-rich nation, in an interview aired by France's LCI television channel.

When questioned on the stand taken by Western powers, and France in particular, Gaddafi said they "want to colonise Libya again", adding: "It's a colonialist plot."

Paris has praised the national council set up by the rebels.

When asked if he envisaged "reprisals" against France, Gaddafi replied: "We'll see".

Britain and France have made the most aggressive calls among Western powers for a no-fly zone to stop Gaddafi's troops attacking opposition forces staging a more than three-week-old rebellion.

The United States has said any such move would need to have full UN backing.

BATTLES RAGE

Meanwhile, Gaddafi's forces stepped up pressure on Libya's eastern front with air strikes and heavy shelling, amid reports of an onslaught in the west, as calls mounted for a no-fly zone over the country.

Rebels said government troops had unleashed a torrent of fire west of the rebel-held oil town of Ras Lanuf, and dozens of rebel fighters could be seen moving up the desert road.

An AFP reporter said that at one point, he counted 10 shells in two minutes; at another six in five minutes.

When the shelling was heaviest, rebels dived to the ground, then jumped up and shouted "Allahu Akhbar" (God is greatest) before having to hit the ground again.

Saad Hamid, a "media official" for the rebel national council, said government forces had been seen digging trenches and had brought up rocket launchers, tanks and artillery, as well as intensifying air strikes.

"We now have reinforcements on the way and they are also making preparations," he told AFP.

Earlier, warplanes staged a series of raids on the town, wounding one person.

A former official said Gaddafi's forces have launched a final onslaught on the western city of Zawiyah and described the situation there as "very critical".

"Round every corner there are people shooting. He (Gaddafi) wants to take it before Wednesday. The international community must do something," Murad Hemayma said of the strategic city, besieged for days by Gaddafi tanks and troops.

INTERNATIONAL ACTION

As pressure grew from inside Libya and elsewhere in the Arab world for a no-fly zone, the White House said US President Obama and British Prime Minister Cameron agreed to press forward with planning, including at NATO, on the full spectrum of possible responses.

Measures under consideration included surveillance, humanitarian assistance, enforcement of the arms embargo and a no-fly zone, the White House said.

Washington has been markedly less enthusiastic about the possibility of such a step than some of its allies, with some officials noting that it would likely require bombardment of Libya's air defences.

But the chief of the US Marine Corps, General James Amos, told a Senate hearing that Libya's air force would pose only a "modest" threat to the imposition of a no-fly zone.

Britain and France have been drawing up a draft UN Security Council resolution on a no-fly zone and a senior UN official in New York said the council had discussed the matter.

UN Under Secretary General Lynn Pascoe told reporters "there were lots of issues that were discussed this morning; the no-fly zone was one of the issues."

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said any decision to impose a no-fly zone should be taken by the United Nations and "not the United States."

"I think it's very important that it's not a US-led effort because this comes from the people of Libya themselves," Clinton told Sky News. "We think it is important that the United Nations make that decision."

The rebel leadership went to the European Parliament with a demand to be recognised as "legitimate" and an invitation to the West to impose a no-fly zone.

Mahmud Jibril, Libya's former planning minister and a founding member of the national council, called for "military assistance without direct military intervention."

"Empowering the people to continue their armed struggles against Gaddafi can be done by different means," he said.

He underlined that a "no-fly zone is one of them," while also asking for urgent medical aid, saying the "capacity of Libyan hospitals is way, way less than the demand for immediate treatment."

US ambassador to Libya Gene Cretz and other US officials met in Cairo with members of the opposition seeking to topple Gaddafi, the State Department said.

"We are engaging a wide range of leaders, and those who both understand and can potentially influence events in Libya," State Department spokesman Philip Crowley told reporters.

Amid speculation about Gaddafi's future, the International Criminal Court said it would move "very quickly" to determine whether war crimes were being committed in Libya.

Speaking in Madrid, ICC prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo said: "We warn very clearly that any party which commits war crimes can be the target of an investigation."

OIL PRICES

Oil prices dipped further after Saudi Oil Minister Ali Naimi said world oil supplies were adequate and that his country had 3.5 million barrels a day in spare capacity if it were to be needed.

New York's main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in April, shed $1.12 to $104.32 a barrel, a day after soaring to its highest level in 30 months.

In late London trade on Tuesday, Brent North Sea crude for April was down $2.23 at $112.81.