Forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi launched a fierce counter-attack on Thursday, fighting gun battles with rebels who have threatened the Libyan leader by seizing important towns close to the capital. The opposition were already in control of major centres in the east, including the regional capital Benghazi, and reports that the towns of Misrata and Zuara in the west had also fallen brought the tide of rebellion closer to Gaddafi's power base.
-- Gaddafi says protesters are on hallucinogenic drugs
Gun battles in Zawiyah, an oil terminal 50 km (30 miles) from the capital, left 10 people dead, a Libyan newspaper said. France's top human rights official said up to 2,000 people might have died so far in the uprising. In a rambling appeal for calm, Gaddafi blamed the revolt on al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, and said the protesters were fuelled by milk and Nescafe spiked with hallucinogenic drugs,
Gaddafi, who just two days ago vowed in a televised address to crush the revolt and fight to the last, showed none of the fist-thumping rage of that speech. This time, he spoke to state television by telephone without appearing in person, and his tone seemed more conciliatory.
"Their ages are 17. They give them pills at night, they put hallucinatory pills in their drinks, their milk, their coffee, their Nescafe," Gaddafi said. A Tripoli resident, who did not want to be identified because he feared reprisals for speaking to the foreign media, told Reuters: "It seems like he realised that his speech yesterday with the strong language had no effect on the people. He's realising it's going to be a matter of time before the final chapter: the battle of Tripoli."
Forces loyal to the Libyan leader attacked anti-government militias controlling Misrata, Libya's third-biggest city, 125 miles (200 km) east of Tripoli, and several people were killed in fighting near the city's airport. Soldiers were reported along the roads approaching Tripoli. In Zawiyah, witnesses said pro- and anti-Gaddafi forces were firing at each other in the streets. Al Jazeera television broadcast pictures of what it said was a burning police station in Zawiyah. A witness told Reuters the Libyan army was present in force.
Anti-government militias were in control of Zuara, about 120 km (75 miles) west of Tripoli. There was no sign of police or military and the town was controlled by "popular committees" armed with automatic weapons. The uprising has virtually halted Libya's oil exports, said the head of Italy's ENI, Libya's biggest foreign oil operator. The unrest has driven world oil prices up to around $120 a barrel, stoking concern about the economic recovery. Key Libyan oil and product terminals to the east of the capital are in the hands of rebels, according to Benghazi residents in touch with people in region.