Rebel forces in Libya say they have re-taken the eastern oil town of Brega, capturing a number of elite government troops and killing others.
The statement has not been independently confirmed. It came hours after the rebels had themselves been driven from the town by air and ground attacks by forces loyal to Libyan leader Col Muammar Gaddafi.
Elsewhere, the rebel-held town of Ajdabiya is reported to have come under heavy aerial bombardment.
On the diplomatic front, France is stepping up its efforts to persuade the United Nations Security Council to impose a no-fly zone over Libya.
The rebel statement admitted that they have no answer to Col Gaddafi's air power, and backed demands for a no-fly zone, says the BBC's Jon Leyne in the opposition stronghold of Benghazi.
Those demands can only get louder if and when Col Gaddafi's forces come closer to the major population centre of Benghazi, our correspondent says.
The British Foreign Secretary, William Hague, has said Libya risks becoming a "pariah state" if Col Gaddafi holds onto power.
No-fly zone "If Gaddafi went on to be able to dominate much of the country, well this would be a long nightmare for the Libyan people, and this would be a pariah state," he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.
But Mr Hague said the international community was taking steps to help those fighting against Col Gaddafi's forces.
"We're not arming the rebels, but what we do on a no-fly zone will depend on the international discussions that we are now having," he said.
"But we have done everything diplomatically and peacefully possible so far to tighten the pressure on the Gaddafi regime, with the European Union sanctions imposed at record speed and the resolution of the UN security council passed unanimously two weeks ago."
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-12731079
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