Forces loyal to Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi are now "on the back foot" and are being pursued by rebels from the strategic Eastern town of Ajdabiya, rebel spokesmen in their stronghold of Benghazi said on Saturday.

The US has said it would continue to consult India, Brazil and Germany, which abstained from voting on a UN Security Council resolution establishing a no-fly zone in Libya, on its implementation.

President Barack Obama said on Tuesday the United States favors the ouster of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi but the international military effort has a more limited goal of establishing a no-fly zone over Libya and protecting civilians against massacre by forces loyal to the longtime ruler.

Forces loyal to Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi were on Tuesday continuing their attacks on rebels in several cities in the Western part of the country, rebels said, after a third night of airstrikes by international forces.

Explosions rocked Tripoli as Western forces staged fresh air strikes to halt Muamar Gaddafi's attacks on civilians, with one raid flattening a building in the strongman's heavily-fortified residence.

Gravely concerned over "continuing violence, strife and deteriorating humanitarian situation" in Libya, India on Monday regretted the air strikes by US-led coalition and called upon all parties to abjure use of force and resolve their differences through peaceful means.

Around 50 demonstrators loyal to Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi surrounded UN chief Ban Ki-moon on Cairo's Tahir Square on Monday forcing him to retreat into the adjacent Arab League headquarters, a correspondent reported.

Agence France-Presse journalists Dave Clark and Roberto Schmidt, have been missing since on Saturday morning in Libya while working in the Eastern Tobruk region, the agency said on Sunday.

A plane bombed an area Southwest of Libya’s rebel stronghold of Benghazi on Saturday and two columns of smoke were seen rising from the targeted zone, AFP journalists reported.

Libyan television said on Thursday that forces loyal to leader Muammar Gaddafi had wrested control of Misrata, one of the last rebel-held bastion, and were "purging" it of insurgents.