Libyan rebel forces were converging on Muammar Gaddafi’s hometown of Sirte on Monday, hoping to deliver the coup de grace of their revolution.
Ministers gathered in Qatar on Wednesday for talks on Libya’s future, with some eager to step up air strikes against Muammar Gaddafi’s forces.
An AU plan to halt Libya’s civil war collapsed, and rebels said the bloody siege of the city of Misrata made talk of a ceasefire meaningless.
Muammar Gaddafi has accepted a roadmap for ending the conflict in Libya including an immediate ceasefire, the African Union said on Monday.
Libyan rebels beat off a new assault by Muammar Gaddafi’s forces on the besieged western city of Misrata, losing as many as 30 fighters.
Libya accused Britain of damaging an oil pipeline in an air strike, hours after rebels said government attacks had halted production of oil.
Forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi are staging a "massacre" in Misrata, evacuees said on Monday, as Libya said it was ready to discuss political reform.
A Libyan envoy has begun a trip to Europe to discuss an end to fighting, but gave no sign of any climbdown in a war that has ground to a stalemate.
Forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi shelled a building in Misrata early on Sunday to try to dislodge rebels from their last big stronghold.
Muammar Gaddafi’s government scorned rebel conditions for a nationwide ceasefire, and there was no sign of diplomatic efforts cooling the conflict.