Gaddafi’s warplanes renew assaults on rebel towns (VIDEO)

Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi warned rebels to surrender or flee as his troops launched fresh air strikes and the international community struggled to reach consensus over a no-fly zone.

Fighting continued over the oil town of Brega, which has changed hands several times over the past few days, while Gaddafi’s troops continued their advance on the rebel stronghold of Benghazi, attacking the nearby town of Ajdabiya.

In an interview with the Italian newspaper Il Giornale, Gaddafi condemned his former allies, including Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, and rejected any hope of dialogue with the rebels who he accused of being in league with Al Qaeda.

“They have no hope. Their cause is lost. There are only possibilities: to surrender or run away,” Gaddafi said in the interview, according to the New York Times.

Gaddafi’s forces carried out an air strike on the eastern town of Ajdabiya on Tuesday, reportedly killing one fighter. The 30-mile road linking Ajdabiya and Brega has been the scene of intermittent fighting over the past few days, with both sides trading claims of victory.

At one point the rebels and Gaddafi’s troops simultaneously claimed control of Brega, the BBC reported. It said the rebels were using the town’s oil installation for shelter in the belief that the government doesn’t want to shell the facility.

In the west of Libya there were also reports of continued fighting for control of the rebel-held towns of Misrata and Zuwara.

The United Nations said its special envoy to Libya, Abdul Ilah Khatib, had arrived in Tripoli to meet with Libyan Foreign Minister Musa Kusa. In a statement the U.N. said Khatib would urge an immediate end to the violence and assess the humanitarian situation.

The U.N. Security Council has been meeting in New York to consider international calls for a no-fly zone over Libya to halt aerial attacks by Gaddafi’s warplanes on rebel and civilian targets. The U.N. statement said no details were released from the latest meeting.

Britain, France and Arab League nations have all backed the closure of Libyan air space, but have struggled to convince the wider international community to join them. Efforts to win support from G8 nations at a meeting in Paris are unlikely to bear fruit, Reuters reported.

A draft G8 communiqué seen by Reuters warns Gaddafi of the “dire consequences” of ignoring the rights of his people but makes no mention of a no-fly zone after Russia and Germany demanded an earlier reference be removed, it said.

In Paris for the G8 summit, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton also met with representatives of the Libyan opposition’s National Council. The Associated Press said the meetings yielded no solid results but underscored U.S. support for the rebels.

"They had a private and candid conversation about ways in which the United States can assist the Libyan people in their efforts against the Gaddafi regime," a spokesman for Clinton said after the talks.

France has taken the lead in establishing diplomatic relations with the rebels. In an interview with the Financial Times on Monday, National Council leader Mustafa Abdel Jalil warned that countries that failed to support the anti-Gaddafi uprising would be denied oil if his regime is deposed. 

— Barry Neild