Gaddafi 'Seen in Zimbabwe on Mugabe's Private Jet'

A detachment of rebel fighters was turning its attention to Sirte, Gaddafi's birthplace, 300 miles east of Tripoli, where British warplanes have bombarded a bunker with cruise missiles.

Some believe that Gaddafi, if he remains in the country, may seek refuge among his tribesmen in the Mediterranean city, which is still holding out against the rebel advance.

Loyalist forces also still hold positions deep in the Sahara desert, days after rebels took much of the capital, looted Gaddafi's compound and paraded their stolen souvenirs.

'Sirte remains an operating base from which pro-Gaddafi troops project hostile forces against Misrata and Tripoli,' said a Nato official, adding that its forces had also acted to stop a column of 29 vehicles heading west toward Misrata. Meanwhile, leaders of the NTC, the rebel administration, pressed foreign governments to release Libyan funds frozen abroad.

It says the money is urgently needed to impose order and provide services to a population traumatised by six months of civil conflict and 42 years of dictatorial rule. But Gaddafi's African allies have continued to offer a grain of comfort to the under-pressure dictator by refusing to recognise the legal government.

The African Union called for the formation of an inclusive transitional government in Libya, saying it could not recognise the rebels as sole legitimate representatives of the nation while fighting continues.

If fighting continues unchecked, there are fears that Libya's conflict will spill over into the remote regions of Mali, Niger, Chad and Mauritania. Algeria has said it believes the chaos inside Libya, and large quantities of weapons circulating there, are already being exploited by al Qaeda's North African branch.

And an influential former Malian rebel, believed to have been involved in the trade of looted weapons from Libya, has been killed in Mali, officials said yesterday.

However, taking control of the Ras Jdir border post reopens a path for humanitarian aid and other supplies from Tunisia to Tripoli, where stocks of medicines and fuel are running low.

The Red Cross today announced that medical support funded by the British Government will help thousands of patients injured during the conflict in Libya, as well as those with serious diseases.