Gadhafi urges followers to 'destroy' opponents

Moammar Gadhafi has called on Libyan forces loyal to him to "destroy" theanti-regime fighters who have driven him into hiding.

Gadhafi is reported to have made the comment during a short audio recording that was broadcast Thursday on Al-Rai television.

In the recording, Gadhafi is said to have told Libyan tribes to unite, and that"Libya is for Libyans," notforeign agents or "rats."

"It is the time for martyrdom or victory," he said in the recording, which emerged as clashes between Libyan opponents of the governmentand forces loyal toGadhafi continued.

In Tripoli, fighting was reported in the Abu Salim neighbourhood for a second straight day. Thearea is believed to be one of the last strongholds of Gadhafi support in Tripoli.

Anti-Gadhafi fighters concentrated heavy fire,including with anti-aircraft weapons,on a group of 10 downtown buildings occupied by loyalists.It was rumoured that one of Gadhafi's sons was in the building, but there was no confirmation of that, The Associated Press reported.

Reuters reported thatanti-Gadhafi forcesclaim to have taken control of Tripoli's commercial airport following heavy fighting. However, snipers loyal to Gadhafi were said to still be present around the airport's perimeter.

Gadhafi's Tripoli compound wasseized two days ago, but the hunt for the man who has ruled Libya for more than 40 years continues. Capturing the despot, who has a bounty on his head, iskeyin orderfor theanti-Gadhafi forcesto be able to declareabsolute victory in the six-month-old civil war.

Mustafa Abdel Jalil, chairman of the National Transitional Council opposing Gadhafi, saida businessman in the eastern city of Benghazi had put up two million Libyan dinars ($1.6 million Cdn) for anyone who managed to capture Gaddafi.

Gadhafi spokesman Moussa Ibrahimsaid the Libyan ruler is leading the fight against the resistance, but declined to discussthe autocrat'swhereabouts.

"All of the leader's family are fine," Ibrahim said in a call to The Associated Press's Cairo office. He also claimed Gadhafi loyalists controlled a "good portion" of the capital, contrary to what journalists on the ground had been reporting.

Reporting from Libya, CBC's Derek Stoffelsaid in a tweetthat anti-Gadhafi forces are pushing toward Sirte, Gadhafi's hometown, located about 800 kilometres east of Tripoli. Fighters backing the regime from Sirte were said to have been firing rockets at rebels as they advanced down the highway.

In a followup tweet, Stoffel wrote that "rebels now say they're in control of Abu Salim" and that central Tripoli was quiet Thursday evening.

In Benghazi, Jalil called on people in sections of Libya still under the dictator's control to "join the revolution."

"We welcome any negotiations from any community or area, whether directly or indirectly, to avoid more killings," he said during a press conference. "Libya is big enough for all, and all Libyans will be treated equally.

Frozen assets

In Milan, Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi said Italy will release 350 million euros, or roughly $498 million, in frozen Libyan assets. Berlusconi made the announcement following a meeting with Mahmoud Jibril, the leader of Libya's rebel Cabinet.

The Libyan opposition has said that least $5 billion in frozen funds is needed to pay state salaries, maintain services and make repairs to the country's oil facilities.

"We are here for an urgent call," Jibril said. "There are high expectations. While the liberation of Tripoli is in the last and final stages, the battle is still going on. We need urgent help."

Jibril said that a failure of the TNC not to pay salaries or for services would be a large destabilizing factor.

NATO denies aiding hunt forGadhafi

British Defence Secretary Liam Fox said Thursday NATO still has an active role in Libya and is providing intelligence and reconnaissance in the hunt for Gadhafi, but warned that thefighting is far from over.

"We have to keep a sense of perspective,"Fox said. "There has been a euphoria about the effect of overthrow of the regime, but it was a brutal and well-supplied regime, likely to have pockets of resistance continuing for some days yet."

NATO spokespeople have refuted the claims that it is helping rebelsto hunt down Gadhafi, saying itsmission is to protect citizens and has nothing to do with tracking down specific individuals.