Gadhafi's whereabouts

Libya's fugitive leader Moammar Gadhafi urged his supporters on Thursday to fight on against the rebel forces that now control most of the country.

"Let it be a long battle. We will fight from place to place, from town to town, from valley to valley, from mountain to mountain," Gadhafi said in an audio message broadcast on Arab television channels.

"If Libya goes up in flames, who will be able to govern it? Let it burn. They don't want to rule Libya. They cannot rule it as long as we are armed. We are still armed. We will fight in every valley, in every street, in every oasis, and every town," he added.

"How can we give ourselves up again? Are we women surrendering ourselves to our husbands or what?"

The speech was broadcast on the 42nd anniversary of the military coup that toppled King Idris and brought Gadhafi, then an army captain, to power. It wasn't clear from where Gadhafi made the speech.

However, Libyan rebel commanders said earlier Thursday that they had received unconfirmed reports that Gadhafi was in the town of Bani Walid, 150 kilometers (93 miles)southeast of Tripoli, one of the few areas still held by his forces. According to those reports, Gadhafi and at least one of his sons had fled to Bani Walid three days after the rebels' victory over Gadhafi's forces in Tripoli.

Rebels making progress in Bani Walid

Rebel leaders said they believed Gadhafi was planning to launch an offensive from there with the remnants of his forces. However, one rebel commander said his forces were making progress in their efforts to take control of Bani Walid.

"About 80 percent of the people of Bani Walid are with the rebels and only 20 percent are with Gadhafi," said brigade commander Abdel Raziq. "We expect them to surrender, but if they don't we will attack them from three fronts."

The rebel-led National Transitional Council (NTC) earlier believed that Gadhafi was hiding in his coastal hometown of Sirte, and gave his loyalists until Saturday to surrender. However, on Thursday the NTC said it had extended the ultimatum by a week amid reports that negotiations with regime forces were showing signs of progress.

There was also movement on the diplomatic front ahead of the Libyan Contact Group summit in Paris. Russia, which had opposed NATO's military mission, on Thursday recognized the NTC as Libya's legitimate political authority. China, while stopping short of recognizing the council, said it acknowledged the importance of the role played by the NTC and that it respected the choice of the Libyan people.

Author: Rob Mudge, Chuck Penfold (Reuters, AFP, dpa)
Editor: Martin Kuebler