05:09 ET<\/span>
\n<\/span><\/p>\nLibyan rebels have denied claims that pro-Gaddafi forces have taken Ajdabiya – the last town before their headquarters in Benghazi.<\/p>\n
The BBC’s Jon Leyne in Benghazi says that, after heavy bombardment, government soldiers have made their first ground assault on the town.<\/p>\n
The advance by troops loyal to Libya’s leader comes ahead of the UN Security Council discussing a no-fly zone.<\/p>\n
The UK, France and Lebanon have called for this in a draft resolution.<\/p>\n
Rebel leaders want the international community to prevent pro-Gaddafi forces from using aircraft against them.<\/p>\n
However, countries such as the US, Russia, China and Germany are understood to harbour doubts about imposing a no-fly zone. Some are wary of foreign military intervention in the conflict.<\/p>\n
The Arab League has backed the idea but a meeting of G8 foreign ministers in Paris failed to do so.<\/p>\n
Col Muammar Gaddafi’s allies say they are now in control of Ajdabiya but rebel leaders say the assault was repelled.<\/p>\n
Ajdabiya is 160km (100 miles) from Benghazi and also controls the road to the Egyptian border.<\/p>\n
Our correspondent says the situation in Benghazi is getting more tense by the hour and the calls for a no-fly zone more desperate.<\/p>\n
Jalal al-Gallal of the National Libyan Transitional Council said that there would be a “massacre” if the international community did not intervene.<\/p>\n
“He will kill civilians, he will kill dreams, he will destroy us more and more,” he told the BBC.<\/p>\n
On Tuesday, there was fierce fighting around Brega. The oil town has changed hands several times over recent days and reports have suggested the rebels have lost control.<\/p>\n
In the west, government forces appear to have retaken Zuwara and were shelling Misrata city. <\/p>\n
Meanwhile, in a TV speech, Col Gaddafi taunted the UK and France<\/p>\n
“Britain no longer exists. It is a trace of what it used to be. It has been promoting attack on Libya. Is there a common border between us? Are you our guardian? By what right?” he said.<\/p>\n
He went on to “dare” the US, Britain and France to “give their people freedom like I did to the Libyan people”.<\/p>\n
Our correspondent says the defiant speech was projected upside down onto a big screen in the main square of Benghazi. <\/p>\n
He says people threw shoes at the screen in a traditional expression of their contempt for Col Gaddafi.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p>\n
Read the original:
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