Rebels target Sirte

Libyan rebels have said their soldiers are only 30 kilometers (18 miles) oustide Sirte, the hometown of the fugitive leader Moamer Gadhafi, and ready to attack if negotiations to enter it peacefully fail. It remains unclear whether the former dictator is in the town, though he is believed to be still in the country.

The chairman of the opposition National Transitional Council, Mustafa Abdel Jalil, said the rebels were still negotiating with local tribal chieftains to surrender control of Sirte.

The rebels are reportedly gathering in the town of Bin Jawad, 140 kilometers from Sirte, and waiting for NATO to bombard missile launchers and possible armaments warehouses in the city.

The coastal city is situated between the capital Tripoli and the eastern city of Benghazi, where the uprising against Gadhafi began.

Gadhafi "ready for talks"

Meanwhile the Associated Press news agency says it has been told that Gadhafi is ready to begin talks on forming a transitional government.

The agency says it was contacted late Saturday by Moussa Ibrahim, Gadhafi's spokesman, who said Gadhafi's son al-Saadi would lead the negotiations. Ibrahim also said Gadhafi was still in Libya.

The exact whereabouts of Gadhafi are still unknown and the rebels have responded they will not negotiate until Gadhafi surrenders.

Arbitrary executions

Rebel forces say they are now in complete control of Tripoli following fierce battles with regime loyalists.

New York-based human rights group Human Rights Watch says it believes pro-Gadhafi forces killed dozens of civilians as rebels moved into the city.

The group said it had evidence that Gadhafi loyalists killed at least 17 prisoners and carried out "suspected arbitrary executions of dozens of civilians" as Tripoli was falling to the rebels.

Reporters in the city have found groups of decomposing bodies in various areas.

Residents in Tripoli now face severe shortages of fuel, water and electricity, and garbage is not being collected.

Paris conference

The new regime in Tripoli is set to be the subject of a major diplomatic conference in Paris on Thursday, hosted by French President Nicolas Sarkozy and British Prime Minister David Cameron.

United Nations chief Ban Ki-moon is also expected to attend, along with representatives from some 50 countries.

The conference participants will discuss donor funding, food and fuel supplies, police training and diplomatic recognition.

The rebel National Transitional Council hopes the conference will help with the release of tens of billions of dollars in assets once controlled abroad by Gadhafi's regime and now frozen by a UN decree. Only a small amount of the money has so far been unblocked.

Author: Timothy Jones (AFP, AP, dpa)
Editor: Ben Knight