Gaddafi defiant as rebels poised to strangle capital

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Muammar Gaddafi urged Libyans on Monday to free the country from 'traitors', as rebels in the west began to strangle a major lifeline to his capital.

His broadcast appeal was made over a bad telephone line from an undisclosed location. In the following hours, a senior figure in his government showed up in Cairo with his family.

Egyptian sources said Nasser al-Mabrouk Abdullah, described as interior minister, flew to Cairo airport with nine relatives, from the Tunisian island resort of Djerba.

He told officials he was on holiday. There was no immediate comment from Tripoli.

Unnamed envoys of Gaddafi's government were reported to have held talks with rebels at a Djerba hotel on Sunday, on a possible resolution of the six-month-old civil war.

A dramatic advance on Saturday won rebels control of the town of Zawiyah, 50 km (30 miles) west of Tripoli on the coast, enabling them to halt food and fuel supplies from Tunisia.

Tripoli was under no immediate threat, but rebels are now in their strongest position since the uprising against 41 years of Gaddafi rule began in February.

"The fall of Zawiyah would be the biggest milestone for the rebels since the liberation of Misrata. It's a real morale booster for them and implies a sense of momentum," said analyst Shashank Joshi of the Royal United Services Institute in London.

"It is home to the regime's only functioning oil refinery," he added. But rebels say said Gaddafi's forces still controlled the Zawiyah oil refinery, which lies on the coast.

British Prime Minister David Cameron, a leading figure in the anti-Gaddafi coalition, said via a spokesman that 'we think the NATO operation is proving successful in eroding Gaddafi's ability to wage war against his own people'.

The rebels have help from NATO warplanes which are bombing Gaddafi's army under a U.N. mandate to protect civilians.