Qaddafi likens Western airstrikes to 'Hitler's campaigns'

Libyan government loyalists on Tuesday repelled the westward advance of rebels, sapping their momentum and adding urgency to London talks on how to resolve the Libyan conflict.

Bolstered by Western airstrikes, the rebels had been moving rapidly toward Muammar Qaddafi's hometown of Sirte after retaking the key eastern city of Ajdabiya over the weekend, recapturing the oil towns of Brega and Ras Lanuf along the way.

But that advance stopped on Monday some 20 miles east of Sirte, where rebel forces – which have proven themselves to be disorganized and sometimes dangerously bold – ran into the defenses of the strategically important city. In a panicked retreat under fire on Tuesday, the rebels reportedly moved back to the hamlet of Bin Jawwad, just west of Ras Lanuf.

“There aren’t a lot of us in Bin Jawwad right now,” rebel Faisal Ali told the Associated Press. “If [Qaddafi] has enough firepower and forces using tanks, he will surely take over Bin Jawwad.”

Qaddafi decries 'barbaric, unjust offensive'

Pressure mounted for Col. Qaddafi to step down as UN chief Ban Ki-Moon, top US diplomat Hillary Clinton, and the Arab League and dozens of other foreign ministers joined the talks in London.

They were expected to spell out plans for a cease-fire, safe path to exile for Qaddafi – perhaps in an African country – and a proposal to discuss the future of Libya with the opposition and tribal heads.

RELATED: Libya timeline (updated daily)

But Qaddafi has shown no sign of being willing to step down or step away, after nearly 42 years at the helm in Libya.

“Stop your barbaric, unjust offensive on Libya,” Qaddafi wrote in an open letter published on the state-run news agency Jana.

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