Libyan rebels say they have encircled Brega

Insurgents were dug in to the south and east of Brega and in control of its eastern residential sector, the spokesman said.

France said the rebels were in the process of taking over the town completely, but the Libyan government denied the claim.

“Members of the revolutionary council saw some Gaddafi forces inside Brega but numbers are very, very low compared to the few last weeks,” the rebel spokesman said.

He said he had listened to intercepted radio communications between Gaddafi loyalists in Brega which suggested they were low on food and weapons and complaining about their commanders.

But he played down the chances of a swift move west by the rebels, saying Brega was full of mines that needed to be dealt with before the area could be secured.

“There are unconfirmed stories of mines being left under dead bodies — when our people advance they bury the dead — and also under wads of money scattered around,” said the spokesman.

NATO helicopters attacked military convoys as they tried to supply Gaddafi’s forces fighting over the town, rebels said.

“It seems the helicopters were gathering reconnaissance in the past two days but ... this morning they hit Gaddafi convoys coming from the west and south,” the spokesman said by telephone from the eastern rebel stronghold of Benghazi.

“The Libyan resistance forces are in the process of controlling the totality of the city (Brega) but I am not in a position to confirm exactly what is happening on the ground,” French foreign ministry spokesman Bernard Valero said.

Libyan state television broadcast footage of Brega and what it said were interviews filmed on Tuesday from the town.

Battle for Brega

Fighting for control of Brega, which would provide access to much of Libya’s eastern oil network, came as U.S. and Libyan officials met for secret face-to-face talks.

Tripoli said it wanted talks with no preconditions, but Washington said it had delivered a message that Gaddafi must go.

Saturday’s meeting was held “to deliver a clear and firm message that the only way to move forward is for Gaddafi to step down”, a U.S. State Department official said.

“This was not a negotiation. It was the delivery of a message.” He said no more meetings were planned.

Libya said it welcomed discussions but only without preconditions.

“Any dialogue with the French, Americans, British is welcome,” government spokesman Moussa Ibrahim told journalists in Tripoli. “We will discuss everything, but do not condition your peace talks. Let Libyans decide their future.”

He said the meeting was in Tunisia on Saturday. The U.S. official said it followed repeated contacts from the Libyan leader’s emissaries.

Valero said: “As panic takes over in the ranks around Gaddafi, we are seeing more and more emissaries of all types who are touring world capitals. When one of those comes within our range our message is always the same: Gaddafi must go.”

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon declined comment on the Libyan-U.S. meeting, but said the world body was playing a central role in moves to present terms for Gaddafi to quit.

“There are many actors and the United Nations is playing a coordinating role. My special envoy is playing a central coordinating role,” Ban told Reuters in Geneva on Tuesday.

He was referring to his envoy Abdul Elah al-Khatib who took part in the international contact group meeting in Istanbul which agreed a road map whereby Gaddafi should relinquish power and plans for Libya’s transition to democracy. Khatib, a former Jordanian foreign minister, was authorised to present terms for Gaddafi to leave power.

Moscow meeting

Libya’s foreign minister is to meet his Russian opposite number in Moscow on Wednesday, Itar-Tass news agency said. The meeting, requested by the Libyans, would be first known visit by a Libyan government official to Moscow since the war began.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said compromise between Libyan rebels and the government is still possible and supporting one side in the conflict is bad for Libya.

“We will continue the search for a compromise. In my view it is achievable,” Medvedev said during a visit to Germany.

After a long period of stalemate in the desert along the eastern front, the rebels said they had routed most of Gaddafi’s troops in Brega to the west, which has an oil refinery and terminal, and encircled the town.

More than 40 people on both sides were reported killed in the fighting since late last week for a city which for months marked the eastern limit of Gaddafi’s control.

Brega has changed hands several times in the back-and-forth fighting along Libya’s Mediterranean coast since the rebellion began in February.

Gaddafi is refusing to step down despite the rebellion, NATO air strikes and defections of members of his inner circle.

On Saturday — as his envoys met U.S. officials — he called rebels traitors and said he had no plans to leave the country.

A Reuters team in the western city of Misrata, a rebel stronghold, reported heavy bombardments from both rebel and government forces on Tuesday.

Libyan state television issued a call for men aged between 18 and 30 to join a brigade commanded by Gaddafi’s son Khamis, one of the government’s most important military units. Inducements included provision of a house.