Gadaffi supporters 'retake Misrata'

If confirmed it would mean that the rebels have lost the only city they held in the Western Tripolitania region.

Mr Ibrahim claimed on Monday night that soldiers had fought their way into the centre of the town, which is the third largest in Libya after Tripoli and Benghazi, and were mopping up isolated pockets of insurgents.

He credited local tribal forces with playing a key role in recapturing the city.

A Nato spokesman said yesterday that the situation on the ground remained "very dynamic."

n Libya's would-be king Mohammed El Senussi declared yesterday that Colonel Muammar Gadaffi, who toppled Mr Senussi's great-uncle King Idris in September 1969, would be ousted "sooner rather than later" if insurgents managed to patch up their differences.

Tensions have dogged the rebels since suspected Islamist insurgents murdered rebel commander General Abdel Fattah Younis on July 28.