Libyan revolutionary forces faced fierce resistance as they streamed into one of the remaining bastions of support for Muammar Gaddafi today.

As the fighting intensified, the Turkish prime minister met the country's new rulers in the capital Tripoli.

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's visit came a day after the British and French leaders travelled to Libya as the international community rallies around the interim government's efforts to start rebuilding the country despite continued fighting against loyalists of Gaddafi, who remains on the run.

Libyan fighters in dozens of pickup trucks mounted with heavy weapons made their way from the north into the centre of the town of Bani Walid, 90 miles south-east of Tripoli.

Explosions and gunfire resounded across the area and smoke billowed into the sky as fierce clashes broke out.

One of the fighters, Hisham Nseir, said the frontline is "very heated and chaotic" and his troops were meeting heavy resistance.

Libyan fighters have also converged on Gaddafi's hometown of Sirte to the north of Bani Walid.

Nato air strikes continued to pound pro-Gaddafi targets. The alliance said it struck multiple rocket launchers, air missile systems, armoured vehicles and a military storage facility in Sirte on Thursday.

Nato has conducted over 8,500 strikes on Libya since late March.

As revolutionary forces battle pro-Gaddafi strongpoints centred in Bani Walid, Sirte and the city of Sabha, deep in the southern desert, Libya's interim leadership has been pushing forward with efforts to form a new government.

Mr Erdogan was greeted at the airport by Mustafa Abdul-Jalil, the head of the National Transitional Council, the closest thing Libya has to a government.

He travelled to Libya as part of a tour of the Arab world, including Egypt and Tunisia, that is aimed at offering help for the countries and advancing his growing status as a regional leader.

He was expected to discuss how to resume investments in Libya, where Turkish contractors were involved in 214 building projects worth more than 15 billion dollars (£9.4 billion) before the rebellion that ousted Gaddafi.

Mr Erdogan's tour comes as once-strong ties between Turkey and Israel are unravelling due to Israel's refusal to apologise for its raid on a Gaza-bound flotilla that killed nine pro-Palestinian activists last year.

The flotilla incident and Turkey's desire to broaden its influence in the Middle East and the Arab world could dramatically affect the power dynamics in the region since the revolutions now known as the Arab Spring.

Turkish companies have been involved in lucrative construction projects worth billions of dollars, building hospitals, shopping malls and five-star hotels in Libya before the uprising began in mid-February.

The United States and more than 30 other nations formally recognised Libya's main opposition group as the country's legitimate government in a July meeting in Istanbul, giving the rebel movement a major boost.

The move came after Turkey escalated its pressure on Gaddafi despite its long-standing ties to the Libyan leader.

Turkey initially balked at the idea of military action in Libya, but as a Nato member it is helping to enforce an arms embargo on Libya and volunteered to lead humanitarian aid efforts.

Mr Erdogan was also expected to travel to the cities of Misrata and Benghazi.

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