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Libya's army pounded an opposition-held city in the country's west and battled fighters trying to block its advance on a rebel bastion in the east on Wednesday amid flagging diplomatic efforts to end the bloodshed.
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called for an immediate ceasefire by all parties and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the United States hoped for a U.N. Security Council vote aimed at ending Libya's conflict "no later than Thursday.
Saying Muammar Gaddafi seemed determined to kill as many as Libyans as possible in his violent effort to quell a month-long uprising, she said "many different actions" were being considered not just a no-fly zone.
The United States, Russia, China, Germany, India and other council members are either undecided or voiced doubts about the proposal for a no-fly zone being proposed by Britain and France.
In Geneva, former French foreign minister Bernard Kouchner lambasted the international community for its delay in imposing a no-fly zone, saying it was too late to save lives.
"A no-fly zone is a minimum. It's certainly already too late," Kouchner said of the crackdown on an increasingly vulnerable-looking uprising inspired by pro-democracy revolts in Egypt and Tunisia.
"We've known since three weeks that the poor civil society, the poor people, are dying. And we are doing nothing," he told World Radio Switzerland.
Italy, a potential base for a no-fly zone proposed by Britain and France, ruled out military intervention in the oil-exporting north African country.
"We cannot have war, the international community should not, does not want and cannot do it," Foreign Minister Franco Frattini said in Rome.
Gaddafi's forces used tanks and artillery to try to retake the city of Misrata, the last big rebel stronghold in western Libya, residents said. But rebel fighters in Misrata, on the Mediterranean coast about 200 km (130 miles) east of Tripoli, said they had stalled a ground attack on the city and seized some tanks from pro-Gaddafi units.
Near Ajdabiyah, a crucial city serving as a gateway to Benghazi, the seat of opposition to Gaddafi and a prime target for government forces, Libyan soldiers said they had met resistance from rebels when they fought for control of the town.
Reuters photographer Ahmed Jadallah said he saw a number of tanks deployed along the coastal road as well as tank carriers returning empty from the frontline.
One rebel, Mohammed al Maghrabi, said there were both rebels and government forces in the town "and the fighting has been fierce. We control the eastern gate, and more rebels are coming through from the east, so god willing we'll push them out soon."
In Benghazi, seat of the insurgents' provisional national council, the mood was a mixture of defiance and nervousness, with some citizens predicting a bloodbath and others confident the rebels would still snatch victory.
Libyan state television said two major tribes in Benghazi, the Tarhuna and Warfalla, told it they supported Gaddafi. The report could not immediately be confirmed.
Clinton told CBS various options were being considered to end the conflict.
"Many different actions are being considered, yes, a no-fly zone, but others as well to enable the protection of Libyan citizens against their own leader, who seems determined to turn the clock back and kill as many of them as possible," she said.
A U.N. Security Council draft resolution on a no-fly zone over Libya to protect civilians was circulated on Tuesday, which would authorize "all necessary measures to enforce" a ban on flights.
A newspaper in Benghazi reported that a Russian-made MiG-36 aircraft, operated by the rebels, had bombed the airport at Al Kardabiya near Gaddafi's hometown of Sirte on Wednesday.
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called for an immediate ceasefire by all parties and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the United States hoped for a U.N. Security Council vote aimed at ending Libya's conflict "no later than Thursday.
Saying Muammar Gaddafi seemed determined to kill as many as Libyans as possible in his violent effort to quell a month-long uprising, she said "many different actions" were being considered not just a no-fly zone.
The United States, Russia, China, Germany, India and other council members are either undecided or voiced doubts about the proposal for a no-fly zone being proposed by Britain and France.
In Geneva, former French foreign minister Bernard Kouchner lambasted the international community for its delay in imposing a no-fly zone, saying it was too late to save lives.
"A no-fly zone is a minimum. It's certainly already too late," Kouchner said of the crackdown on an increasingly vulnerable-looking uprising inspired by pro-democracy revolts in Egypt and Tunisia.
"We've known since three weeks that the poor civil society, the poor people, are dying. And we are doing nothing," he told World Radio Switzerland.
Italy, a potential base for a no-fly zone proposed by Britain and France, ruled out military intervention in the oil-exporting north African country.
"We cannot have war, the international community should not, does not want and cannot do it," Foreign Minister Franco Frattini said in Rome.
Gaddafi's forces used tanks and artillery to try to retake the city of Misrata, the last big rebel stronghold in western Libya, residents said. But rebel fighters in Misrata, on the Mediterranean coast about 200 km (130 miles) east of Tripoli, said they had stalled a ground attack on the city and seized some tanks from pro-Gaddafi units.
Near Ajdabiyah, a crucial city serving as a gateway to Benghazi, the seat of opposition to Gaddafi and a prime target for government forces, Libyan soldiers said they had met resistance from rebels when they fought for control of the town.
Reuters photographer Ahmed Jadallah said he saw a number of tanks deployed along the coastal road as well as tank carriers returning empty from the frontline.
One rebel, Mohammed al Maghrabi, said there were both rebels and government forces in the town "and the fighting has been fierce. We control the eastern gate, and more rebels are coming through from the east, so god willing we'll push them out soon."
In Benghazi, seat of the insurgents' provisional national council, the mood was a mixture of defiance and nervousness, with some citizens predicting a bloodbath and others confident the rebels would still snatch victory.
Libyan state television said two major tribes in Benghazi, the Tarhuna and Warfalla, told it they supported Gaddafi. The report could not immediately be confirmed.
Clinton told CBS various options were being considered to end the conflict.
"Many different actions are being considered, yes, a no-fly zone, but others as well to enable the protection of Libyan citizens against their own leader, who seems determined to turn the clock back and kill as many of them as possible," she said.
A U.N. Security Council draft resolution on a no-fly zone over Libya to protect civilians was circulated on Tuesday, which would authorize "all necessary measures to enforce" a ban on flights.
A newspaper in Benghazi reported that a Russian-made MiG-36 aircraft, operated by the rebels, had bombed the airport at Al Kardabiya near Gaddafi's hometown of Sirte on Wednesday.