Vehicles belonging to forces loyal to Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi explode Western powers pounding Libya's defences will wind up in the dustbin of history, said leader Muammar Gaddafi as his troops held back rebel advances despite four nights of attacks from the air.While Western air power has grounded Gaddafi's planes and pushed back his troops and armour from the brink of rebel stronghold Benghazi, disorganised and poorly equipped insurgents have failed to capitalise on the ground and remain pinned down.
The rebels have been unable to dislodge Gaddafi's forces from the key junction of Ajdabiyah in the east, while government tanks dominate the last big rebel hold-out of Misrata. There is big risk of stalemate on the ground, analysts say.
At least two explosions were heard in the Libyan capital Tripoli before dawn on Wednesday, Reuters witnesses said. The roar of a fighter jet was heard above the city and a barrage of anti-aircraft gunfire lit up the predawn sky. "We will not surrender," Gaddafi earlier told supporters forming a human shield to protect him at his Tripoli compound. "We will defeat them by any means...We are ready for the fight, whether it will be a short or a long one...We will be victorious in the end," he said in a live television broadcast, his first public appearance for a week. "This assault...is by a bunch of fascists who will end up in the dustbin of history," Gaddafi said in a speech followed by fireworks in the Libyan capital as crowds cheered and supporters fired guns into the air.