Gaddafi spurns truce offer

Fighting flared around the rebel-held city of Misrata and air strikes were reported elsewhere in Libya, after Muammar Gaddafi’s regime rejected a rebel offer of a ceasefire.

Fighting flared around the rebel-held city of Misrata and air strikes were reported elsewhere in Libya, after Muammar Gaddafi’s regime rejected a rebel offer of a ceasefire.

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Coalition forces, meanwhile, strafed positions held by loyalist forces in the Al Khums and Al Rojban regions east and southwest of the capital Tripoli late Friday night, according to Libyan state television.

Forces loyal to Gaddafi also attacked the rebel-held city of Misrata with tanks and rocket fire, a rebel spokesman said.

In the rebel bastion of Benghazi, Transitional National Council leader Mustafa Abdul Jalil said the opposition was ready for a truce, provided Gaddafi’s forces end their assaults on rebel-held cities.

But government spokesman Mussa Ibrahim rejected the offer, saying Gaddafi’s forces would not withdraw from towns they control.