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      RAS LANOUF, Libya (AP) - Libyan government tanks and rockets
pounded rebel forces into a panicked full retreat Tuesday after an
hourslong, back-and-forth battle that highlighted the superior
might of Moammar Gadhafi's forces, even hobbled by international
airstrikes.


      No such strikes were launched during the fighting in Bin Jawwad,
where rebels attempting to march on Gadhafi's hometown of Sirte
ended up turning around and fleeing east under overcast skies. Some
fleeing rebels shouted, "Sarkozy, where are you?" - a reference
to French President Nicolas Sarkozy, one of the strongest
supporters of international airstrikes.


      World leaders in London, meanwhile, debated how far they should
go to force an end to Gadhafi's 41-year autocratic rule. U.S.
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said the world must speak
with a single voice to ensure that the North African country
"belongs not to a dictator, but to its people."


      Rockets and tank fire sent Libya's rebels in a panicked scramble
away from the front lines. The opposition was able to bring up
truck-mounted rocket launchers of their own and return fire, but
they went into full retreat after government shelling resumed.


      The two sides traded salvos over the hamlet of Bin Jawwad, now
pockmarked with shrapnel and small arms fire. Rockets and artillery
shells crashed thunderously as plumes of smoke erupted in the town.
The steady drum of heavy machine gun fire and the pop of small arms
could be heard above the din as people less than a mile (a
kilometer) outside the village scaled mounds of dirt to watch the
fighting.


      "This today is a loss, but hopefully we'll get it back," said
Mohammed Bujildein, a 27-year-old from Darna. He was gnawing on a
loaf of bread in a pickup truck with a mounted anti-aircraft,
waiting to fill up from an abandoned gas tanker truck on the
eastern side of Ras Lanouf.


      Even in Ras Lanouf, roughly 25 miles (40 kilometers) east of Bin
Jawwad, there appeared to be shelling - there were thuds in the
distance and black smoke rising from buildings. Some rebels pushed
farther east.


      "If they keep shelling like this, we'll need airstrikes,"
Bujildein said. It makes it easier to go to Sirte. If there's air
cover, we'll be in Sirte tomorrow evening."


      Rebel forces had been on the brink of defeat by government
forces before a U.N.-mandated no-fly zone and campaign of strikes
by the U.S. and its allies helped them regain lost territory. It is
unclear, however, if international support exists to deepen the air
campaign and attack Gadhafi's heavy weaponry enough to help the
rebels make further advances. Some countries, including Russia,
contend the airstrikes already have gone beyond the U.N. mandate of
protecting civilians from attacks by Gadhafi.


      U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice said Tuesday
there are plenty of "non-military means at our disposal" to oust
the Libyan leader.


      France, which has been at the forefront of the international
campaign, struck a more forceful tone.


      "We, the French and English, we consider that we must obtain
more" than the end of shooting at civilians, Defense Minister
Gerard Longuet said on France-Inter radio. He also said Libyan
politicians could be targeted since they gave orders to the
military.


      In London, Clinton, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, the Arab
League, the African Union and around 40 foreign ministers began
discussing the future of Libya and how to ratchet up pressure on
Gadhafi.


      Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini said several nations
planned to put forward a deal that would propose a cease-fire,
exile for Gadhafi and a framework for talks between Libya's tribal
leaders and opposition figures on the country's future.


      In signs of emerging ties between the opposition and the
international community, Clinton met with Libyan opposition envoy
Mahmoud Jibril in London, and a senior Obama administration
official said the U.S. would soon send an envoy to Libya to meet
with rebel leaders.


      The official said Chris Stevens, former U.S. envoy to Tripoli,
will travel to the rebel stronghold of Benghazi in the coming days
to establish better ties with groups seeking to oust the longtime
Libyan leader. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to
discuss internal planning, stressed that the move doesn't
constitute formal recognition of the opposition.


      In an open letter to the international community, meanwhile,
Gadhafi called for a halt to the "monstrous assault" on Libya and
maintained that that the rebels were supported by the al-Qaida
terrorist network.


      "What is happening now is providing a cover for al-Qaida
through airstrikes and missiles to enable al-Qaida to control North
Africa and turn it into a new Afghanistan," he said, accusing the
international community of carrying out genocide against the
Libyans.


      Libyan state news agency JANA quoted a military official as
saying that airstrikes of the "crusader imperialist assault"
targeted civilian and military targets in Misrata, Tripoli, Zlitan,
Mazdah and Watayah.


      Prime Minister David Cameron, however, said Britain had received
reports that it was Gadhafi who was pounding Misrata, the main
rebel holdout in the west, and relentlessly targeting civilians.

      "Gadhafi is using snipers to shoot them down and let them bleed
to death in the street. He has cut off food, water and electricity
to starve them into submission," Cameron said.


      Rida al-Montasser, an activist in Misrata, confirmed heavy
shelling on two streets in the city, but said rebels remain in
control. Three people were killed in Misrata on Monday and several
others were wounded.


      The rebels remain woefully outgunned by Gadhafi's forces, though
they do show some improvements since their seige of Ajdabiya a week
ago. They have more ammunition and heavy weapons that they've
captured from government forces, and they are showing better
efforts at using them. But it is still unclear how they can take
the stronghold of Sirte without further aggressive international
air support.


      The rebel advance reached Nawfaliyah, some 60 miles (100
kilometers) from Sirte, on Monday, but the next day they were
driven back to the hamlet of Bin Jawwad, a few dozen miles
(kilometers) to the east.


      In a scene reminiscent of the rebels' rout last week, panicked
volunteers jumped into their pickup trucks and attempted to speed
away from the bombardment, kicking up dust clouds and choking the
narrow coastal highway in a mad scramble of vehicles.


      Sirte is dominated by members of the Libyan leader's Gadhadhfa
tribe and was used as a second capital by Gadhafi. Its loss would
be a symbolic blow and open the way to the capital, Tripoli.


      "This is their last defensive line. They will do everything to
protect it," explained rebel fighter Twate Monsuri, 26. "It's not
Gadhafi attacking us, he's just defending himself now."


      Gadhafi forces continued to besiege Misrata and Libya's
third-largest city. Residents reported shelling by government tanks
of residential areas, with three people killed.


      The U.S. Navy reported that two of its aircraft and a guided
missile destroyer attacked a number of Libyan coast guard vessels,
rendering them inoperable, in the port of Misrata. It said the
Libyan vessels had been "firing indiscriminately" at merchant
ships.


      One of Libya's top officials, meanwhile, abruptly made a
"private visit" to Tunisia late Monday, according to the official
news agency there.


      Government spokesman Moussa Ibrahim in Tripoli insisted on
Tuesday that Foreign Minister Moussa Koussa's visit was not a
defection.


      Associated Press writers Bradley Klapper in London, Angela
Charlton in Paris, Maggie Michael in Cairo and Hadeel al-Shalchi in
Tripoli contributed to this report.

Gallery

Obama strongly defends US military action in Libya

Libyan rebels close on key Gadhafi stronghold

Unrest

Libyan government tanks and rockets have driven back rebels who attempted an assault on Moammar Gadhafi's hometown of Sirte. Opposition fighters fleeing in a panicked scramble pleaded for international airstrikes that never came.

Libyan rebels retreating after Gadhafi onslaught

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