Outgunned rebels stand up to Gadhafi onslaught

Tripoli, Libya (CNN) -- Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi's regime announced a large reward Wednesday for the capture of a top opposition figure, branding him "an agent spy."

Weeks ago, that opposition figure -- Mustafa Abdul-Jalil -- was the country's justice minister.

In an "urgent" banner on state television, the government said its General Administration for Criminal Investigation offers half a million Libyan dinars ($410,900 U.S.) "for whoever captures and hands over" the "agent spy" Abdul-Jalil, and "another offer of 200,000 Libyan dinars ($164,300 U.S.) for whoever offers information leading to his actual arrest."

After the uprising began February 15, Abdul-Jalil was among the government officials who broke with the regime. He went on to lead the opposition's National Transitional Council, a 31-member group representing most regions in Libya. The group has met in Benghazi, an eastern town that has become an opposition stronghold.

The move to target Abdul-Jalil came as Gadhafi fought to advance against rebels who have taken control of many parts of the country. On Wednesday, pro-Gadhafi forces launched fresh attacks on Ras Lanuf, using planes and heavy artillery in an effort to retake the eastern oil city.

Opposition fighters, armed with anti-aircraft guns and Soviet rifles, were outgunned by the heavily armed pro-Gadhafi forces, but many opposition fighters were still in the city, willing to battle to prevent Gadhafi from crushing any part of the uprising against him.

CNN's Ben Wedeman reported that an intense artillery bombardment was under way on the western edge of Ras Lanuf.

At least one oil storage tank in the western town of As-sidr was on fire, causing a massive black plume of smoke to rise over the surrounding area including Ras Lanuf, Wedeman reported.

Libyan state television reported that "armed groups supported by al Qaeda blew up an oil tank as they withdrew from Ras Lanouf against the advancing Libyan armed forces."

That message echoed what Gadhafi said in his latest defiant speech that aired Tuesday night on state television. He again insisted that youths misled and drugged by al Qaeda were to blame for the fighting. "For them, everybody's their enemy," Gadhafi said. "They know nothing other than killing."

The speech was recorded earlier Tuesday when Gadhafi addressed a youth group of tribal supporters, urging them to defend Libya from those who envy its standard of living.

"They want to take your petrol," he said. "This is what America, this is what the French, those colonialists, want."

A private Libyan aircraft crossed Greek airspace Wednesday en route to Cairo, Egypt, and the pilot said there were two passengers on board, according to Greek civil aviation authorities. The pilot did not give the identities of the passengers, aviation authorities said. Multiple media reports said the plane landed in Cairo.

The development raised questions about whether, and why, Libyan officials may have flown to Cairo.

On Tuesday, an opposition member said Gadhafi was negotiating an exit deal, but other opposition members and the government denied that.

In the fourth week of what has become a civil war, Gadhafi's regime has held on to the capital, while losing control to the opposition in some other areas. Benghazi, in eastern Libya, is an opposition stronghold.

People in some towns in the western part of the country told CNN Wednesday their areas were under rebel control. In Zuwarah, a witness said things were calm but tense, with life at a standstill. No schools, government offices, or businesses were operating. Demonstrations were no longer being held because, according to the witness, "There is no one to protest against."

In Zawiya, where intense fighting has been under way in recent days, it has generally been impossible to reach people. Reports have said communications were cut off. Residents of Zuwarah sent weapons, explosives, and medical supplies via a small boat to Zawiya, the witness said. The man who drove the boat dropped the supplies immediately upon arrival and fled out of fear.

Libyan state TV showed video of government supporters cheering in Zawiya's streets and hoisting the government flag on Wednesday.

Nalut was under opposition control and relatively calm Wednesday, a witness said. In Misrata and Ajdabiya, spokesmen for opposition groups said those towns remained under opposition control and were mostly calm as well.

Ibrahim Dabbashi, deputy U.N. ambassador from Libya who broke with Gadhafi's regime and has been supporting the protesters, renewed his call Wednesday for a U.N.-imposed no-fly zone. "It is important to have some kind of balance of power between the Libyan people and the regime," he said in an interview with CNN, calling on the international community to stop Gadhafi's "air supremacy" over the opposition.

Dabbashi said Gadhafi is "insane" and "will destroy everything to stay in power."

Fouad Ajami, a professor of Middle Eastern Studies at Johns Hopkins University in the United States, said he has been communicating with worried members of rebel groups who say they need a no-fly zone over the country to prevent more casualties being inflicted by Gadhafi's forces.

"They're telling us that they can't win this fight. They're telling us patriotism is not enough," Ajami said. "That unless you have air cover and neutralize the advantages of Moammar Gadhafi, this rebellion will be crushed."

But Nicholas Burns, a former U.S. ambassador to NATO, said implementing a no-fly zone is a complicated issue.

"There's no assurance that the imposition of even a no-fly zone would make a decisive difference in the battle," Burns said. "Gadhafi has ground forces. He has artillery, he has a mercenary army. That's 95 percent of the fighting under way in Libya."

The head of the U.S. Marine Corps told lawmakers Tuesday that a no-fly zone would do little to thwart Libya's helicopters, which he called "their greatest threat."

A no-fly zone would typically be enforced by fighter jets whose speed and altitude make it difficult to target helicopters, which move low and slow, said Marine Corps Commandant Gen. James F. Amos.

For its part, Libya said it was not misusing its air force. Any no-fly zone would be tantamount to an act of war, Libyan Deputy Foreign Minister Khalid Karim said Tuesday.

The military, he said, "are taking purely defensive positions; they are not taking offensive ones." He said the Libyan government has asked for international monitors to verify that assertion.

The protests against the 68-year-old Gadhafi began February 15 as anti-government demonstrators sought his ouster after nearly 42 years of rule. In its fourth week now, the clashes show no sign of ending.

Death toll estimates have ranged from more than 1,000 to as many as 2,000. And the war has forced out 215,000 people, many of them poor migrant workers who have been stranded at both the Tunisian and Egyptian borders, the U.N. refugee agency has said.

While many countries chartered planes and dispatched ships to whisk away their citizens to safety, those stuck at the border are sheltered in cramped, unsanitary quarters with little to eat.

The U.N. World Food Programme has initiated a $39.2 million emergency operation intended to provide food to more than one million people in Libya, Egypt and Tunisia over a three-month period.

In the latest sign of international solidarity with the Libyan opposition, a group of people entered a home in London Wednesday owned by Saif Gadhafi, the Libyan leader's son who has spoken on behalf of the regime in recent weeks. They could be seen hanging a banner out an upstairs window with a picture of Gadhafi in a red circle with a line through it.

"Out of Libya," the sign says, "Out of London." London Metropolitan police said only the situation was "being treated as a civil matter," and there were "no arrests."