As Libyan rebels were advancing towards the capital, the stronghold of Muammar Gaddafi, the embattled leader regime called for an immediate ceasefire, saying a peaceful solution was possible.

As Libyan rebels were advancing towards the capital, the stronghold of Muammar Gaddafi, the embattled leader regime called for an immediate ceasefire, saying a peaceful solution was possible.

In a bid to isolate Tripoli, rebel fighters said Thursday they had seized the refinery in the western town of Zawiyah, a key source of fuel supplies to the capital, and the last major barrier before they advance on Tripoli.

Libyan Prime Minister Baghdadi Mahmudi, hotly disputed the claim, saying the refinery was "without doubt" still in Gaddafi loyalists' hands.

Mahmudi told journalists in Tripoli that "the time has arrived for an immediate ceasefire.
"We are ready to begin a dialogue to put an end to the crisis immediately," Mahmudi added, saying there had been "contact" in recent days to find a political solution soon."
"If you are in favor of a peaceful solution, you will get some good news in the coming days," he added.

NEGOTIATIONS
A member of the rebels' National Transitional Council (NTC), Wahid Bourchan, said Wednesday that "discussions" and not negotiations did take place this week between some embattled regime members and its rebel challengers in Tunisia.

Former French foreign minister Dominique de Villepin, meanwhile, told daily Le Parisien he had travelled to the Tunisian resort of Djerba for discussions with unnamed Libyan figures.
"I was indeed there, but I really can't make any comment, as this might compromise the chances of these discussions being successful or useful," he told the newspaper.

Mahmudi said no negotiations would touch on the fate of Gaddafi, while rebel Chief Mustafa Abdel Jalil was quoted as renewing his side's rejection of any talks that do not envisage the departure from power of the strongman and his sons.

ON THE GROUND
Fighters claimed they were in control of "most" of the strategically vital port of Zawiyah and had "managed to gain control" its oil refinery by late Wednesday.
Field commander Mohammed Khalifa was more cautious, saying "freedom fighters" now controlled "most of the city (Zawiyah) except for the eastern part," from which snipers and mortar fire harried the rebels.

Another rebel commander, Colonel Ahmed Omar Bani, said that further west rebels were pushing toward the Tunisian border, an apparent bid to further strangle what limited supply lines remain for Gaddafi's regime.
East of Tripoli, rebels moved toward a town that links the capital and Sirte -- Gaddafii's hometown and a stronghold for his military.

On Thursday, the rebels said they had advanced some 80 kilometers south of Misrata on the road to Sirte.
Rebels also claimed to have captured Murzuq, a key communications hub in the desert region of Sabha province, 500 kilometers south of the capital.