Khaled Kaim

Rebels fighting the regime of Libyan leader Moammar Kadafi have retaken the strategic city of Ajdabiya in the country's east, officials in the capital acknowledged. A foreign ministry official told reporters that armed forces loyal to Kadafi, under air assault by an international Western-led coalition including the United States, have been forced to retreat from the coastal city, which controls the road to the rebel-held stronghold of Benghazi as well as the desert road to the country's eastern border.

As Moammar Kadafi's four decades in power spiraled to an end, loyalists who feared a ruinous finale secretly pushed for last-minute reforms that included Kadafi relinquishing power, withdrawing troops from contested cities and cutting a deal with rebel leaders. But any serious effort to compromise ran head-on into Kadafi's stubbornness, his apparent failure to recognize the imminent peril and the desire of his son, Seif Islam, to inherit his father's position, according to one prominent insider.

Amid intensified NATO-led bombing of Libya's capital, the government is alleging mounting civilian casualties and massive damage to homes and civilian infrastructure, though foreign journalists see limited evidence of such devastation. Libyan authorities in recent days have alleged that separate bombing strikes in Tripoli injured an infant girl, heavily damaged a Christian Coptic church and resulted in part of a bomb or missile landing in a semirural neighborhood. International reporters were bused to each scene, but what they learned did not always match the information provided by officials.

Amid intensified NATO-led bombing of Libya's capital, the government is alleging mounting civilian casualties and massive damage to homes and civilian infrastructure, though foreign journalists see limited evidence of such devastation. Libyan authorities in recent days have alleged that separate bombing strikes in Tripoli injured an infant girl, heavily damaged a Christian Coptic church and resulted in part of a bomb or missile landing in a semirural neighborhood. International reporters were bused to each scene, but what they learned did not always match the information provided by officials.

World leaders vowed to put more money behind emerging democratic governments in North Africa, announcing plans for $40 billion in aid and support from wealthy nations as well as international development agencies. The pledge came at the conclusion of the Group of 8 international summit in France at which President Obama exhorted other leaders to provide economic assistance and debt forgiveness to strengthen new democracies in Egypt and Tunisia and to encourage popular movements elsewhere.

U.S. and allied forces prepared to conduct military operations against Libya after the United Nations Security Council authorized international action to prevent Libyan leader Moammar Kadafi from using indiscriminate slaughter to quell a monthlong revolt. With the outgunned rebels in retreat, the council on Thursday authorized "all necessary measures" to protect civilians, giving its blessing to attacks on Libyan aircraft and ground forces now encircling the final opposition stronghold of Benghazi.

Libyan leader Moammar Kadafi suffered a significant defeat as his forces fled the strategic crossroads city of Ajdabiya, leaving behind a charred trail of smoking tanks and rocket systems destroyed by seven days of punishing allied airstrikes. Rebel fighters in gun trucks raced into the nearly deserted city Saturday, firing their weapons into the air and clamoring over tanks in a daylong celebration of horn-honking and flag-waving. With Kadafi's forces retreating to the south and west, exposing more armor to allied warplanes, the question now is how many working tanks and Grad rocket systems the Libyan leader has left, and how willing his soldiers are to continue facing airstrikes.

As Moammar Kadafi's four decades in power spiraled to an end, loyalists who feared a ruinous finale secretly pushed for last-minute reforms that included Kadafi relinquishing power, withdrawing troops from contested cities and cutting a deal with rebel leaders. But any serious effort to compromise ran head-on into Kadafi's stubbornness, his apparent failure to recognize the imminent peril and the desire of his son, Seif Islam, to inherit his father's position, according to one prominent insider.

Libyan leader Moammar Kadafi sent an unusual personal letter to President Obama, complaining about the West's "unjust war" against his embattled regime but also endorsing Obama for a second term in the White House. In a three-page letter Wednesday addressed to "Our son, Excellency, President Obama," Kadafi praised the president as a man "who has enough courage to annul a wrong and mistaken action. " The Libyan strongman said his country had suffered economic embargos and sanctions in the past, as well as airstrikes against his regime during Ronald Reagan's presidency.

Rebel fighters drove Moammar Kadafi's loyalist forces from all but one base in Misurata on Saturday and appeared to be on the verge of expelling all government troops from the besieged port city. After furious street fighting, Kadafi's forces abandoned a college and a vegetable market that had been hubs for shelling the city. At least 24 rebel fighters were killed and 70 wounded, doctors at Misurata's Hikma hospital said. But even if rebels push all Kadafi fighters from the city, Misurata would remain surrounded by the Libyan leader's security units.

World leaders vowed to put more money behind emerging democratic governments in North Africa, announcing plans for $40 billion in aid and support from wealthy nations as well as international development agencies. The pledge came at the conclusion of the Group of 8 international summit in France at which President Obama exhorted other leaders to provide economic assistance and debt forgiveness to strengthen new democracies in Egypt and Tunisia and to encourage popular movements elsewhere.

Libyan leader Moammar Kadafi suffered a significant defeat as his forces fled the strategic crossroads city of Ajdabiya, leaving behind a charred trail of smoking tanks and rocket systems destroyed by seven days of punishing allied airstrikes. Rebel fighters in gun trucks raced into the nearly deserted city Saturday, firing their weapons into the air and clamoring over tanks in a daylong celebration of horn-honking and flag-waving. With Kadafi's forces retreating to the south and west, exposing more armor to allied warplanes, the question now is how many working tanks and Grad rocket systems the Libyan leader has left, and how willing his soldiers are to continue facing airstrikes.

Rebels fighting the regime of Libyan leader Moammar Kadafi have retaken the strategic city of Ajdabiya in the country's east, officials in the capital acknowledged. A foreign ministry official told reporters that armed forces loyal to Kadafi, under air assault by an international Western-led coalition including the United States, have been forced to retreat from the coastal city, which controls the road to the rebel-held stronghold of Benghazi as well as the desert road to the country's eastern border.

U.S. and allied forces prepared to conduct military operations against Libya after the United Nations Security Council authorized international action to prevent Libyan leader Moammar Kadafi from using indiscriminate slaughter to quell a monthlong revolt. With the outgunned rebels in retreat, the council on Thursday authorized "all necessary measures" to protect civilians, giving its blessing to attacks on Libyan aircraft and ground forces now encircling the final opposition stronghold of Benghazi.

As President Obama and Western allies reaffirm their resolve to force Moammar Kadafi from power, the government here is promoting an alternative: The embattled Libyan leader remains as a figurehead who would ensure a transition to democracy. The idea not only conflicts with the stated goals of the U.S. and its allies, it would seem absurd to rebels who have set up a de facto government in the eastern city of Benghazi and are seeking to end Kadafi's four decades of violent and erratic rule.

Libyan strongman Moammar Kadafi renewed attacks against strategic cities near the capital Sunday, and though his deputies insisted they were overwhelmingly successful, the reality appeared to be very different. Attacks by tanks, guns and helicopters on Zawiya and Misurata continued to kill scores of civilians, but witnesses widely reported that the cities were retained by rebels at the end of the day. In Misurata, one of Libya's most significant economic engines, Salah Abdel Aziz said that "they got nothing from us. " "They brought tanks inside the city and found themselves trapped," the 60-year-old architect said.