Libyan forces on Tuesday raced eastwards pounding rebel-held Ajdabiyah with aerial bombings and artillery barrage as world powers differed over imposing a 'no fly' zone to halt Muammar Gaddafi's all out assault on his opponents. Following a pattern,Gaddafi's forces targeted Ajdabiyah,the last town before the rebel stronghold of Benghazi,with air strikes,artillery attacks and quick ground assaults. "Surrender or flee" was the tough message to the rebels by the 68-year-old Libyan leader as his forces began the final push to wrest back Benghazi and Tobruk. But the outgunned rebels have marshalled all their forces numbering up to 10,000 for the defence of the twin major ports of Benghazi and Tobruk,which provide Libya with crucial road links to Egypt,Al-Jazeera reported. In Paris,Foreign Ministers of G-8 nations failed to arrive at a consensus on clamping a 'no fly zone over Libya which would enable US and Nato war planes to ground Gaddafi's air power,and the decision on this was left to the UN Security Council. A closing statement read out by French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe made no mention of French and British proposal for a 'no fly' zone,an issue dealt with caution by the US,Russia and the European Union. Gaddafi,in an interview to an Italian daily,described the rebellion against his 41-year rule as a "lost cause" and also said he felt betrayed by his friends in Europe. "The rebels have no hope,it's now a lost cause for them. There are only possibilities: to surrender or run away," he was quoted as saying in the interview. He ruled out any mediation between his regime and the rebels,saying it was impossible to negotiated with "terrorists." He reiterated that the rebels were linked with Osama bin Laden and the al-Qaeda and were swaying a section of the Libyan people while claiming that the majority backed him. The Libyan despot also claimed that the international community does not know what is really happening in Libya. "The people are with me,the rest is propaganda." Gaddafi has kept back his more formidable fighting formations,including the 3,000-strong Revolutionary Guards and heavily-armed Khamish brigade,as a reserve to fight back any western attempt to intervene in the North African country.
