Fresh air strikes in Libya's east as Gaddafi remains defiant

Defying global pressure to stop attacks on civilians, a belligerent Muammar Gaddafi's fighter jets today carried out fresh strikes on the rebel-held oil terminal town of Brega in Libya's east, a day after clashes between the two sides left at least 14 people dead in the region.

The warplanes swooped down on the town this morning, according to eyewitnesses, as the crucial meeting of the Arab League said it could consider enforcing a no-fly zone over Libya if the aerial attacks continued.

Continued efforts by the Libyan army backed by mercenaries to penetrate into the rebel-held east came, as US and NATO commanders cloaked their response to demands by the Libyan opposition to impose a no-fly zone, which will effectively ground Gaddafi's fighter jets.

However, the rebels claimed that they had routed in an intense battle the forces loyal to 68-year-old Gaddafi who had launched a counter-offensive aimed at taking back lost territory in the country's east. They said they were in total control of the oil terminal town of Brega.

The strike in Brega came a day after clashes between rebels and government troops left 14 people dead in the region.

About 300 men loyal to the Libyan leader attacked Brega, some 500 km east of the Gaddafi's stronghold of Tripoli yesterday.

An air force bomber encircled the town, firing a missile without causing any casualties. The warplane struck a beach near a university campus where the two sides were fighting, Al-Jazeera reported.

It said the opposition managed to repel the strike, maintaining control of the town they seized a week ago.

Witnesses in the nearby Ajdabiyah town also reported fresh fighting.

A defiant Gaddafi has refused to give up power as he warned against any foreign intervention, saying it will lead to "a bloody war" in which "thousands of Libyans would die".

"We will not accept (an) American intervention. This will lead to a bloody war and thousands of Libyans will die if America and NATO enter Libya," he said at a public gathering for the first time since the two-week-old uprising began, an event aired live on state television last night.

Digging in his heels, he claimed that the anti-regime protests were part of a "conspiracy" to grab the oil resources of Libya.

"We will fight to the end, to the last man, the last woman ... With God's help," he said while describing the protests as being orchestrated by only a minority who were being propped up by "foreign forces, foreign media".