LIBYAN REBELS SAY they are closing in on Tripoli from the west and the front line is now less than 30 kilometers from the capital.

They say a 600-strong rebel force that set out eastward from the coastal city of Zawiya has reached the outskirts of the town of Jedaim.

Murad Dabdoub, a rebel fighter who returned to Zawiya from the front, says forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi were shelling the rebel force with rockets, mortars and anti-aircraft fire.

An Associated Press reporter in Tripoli, meanwhile, says the city is largely quiet after a night of gunfire and explosions.

Tripoli has been Gaddafi’s stronghold since the Libyan civil war began some six months ago, but it is not clear whether the embattled leader is still there.

Last night, Gaddafi’s son Saif al-Islam made a speech on state television claiming that the rebels would be suppressed. He said: “This is our country and we will never leave it”. Gaddafi himself had an audio message broadcast on television calling the rebels “traitors”. Gaddafi insisted in his message that he was speaking live – “They will say this message is recorded… It’s Sunday, the 21st of August. Time is 1.37 Libya time” – according to Al Jazeera’s transcript.

Meanwhile, a senior official in Barack Obama’s US administration said that the government was in close contact with the Libyan opposition and US allies and partners, and believes that Gaddafi’s days in power are numbered. However, locals in Tripoli said that the gunfire and rockets heard overnight indicated that Gaddafi’s forces still have a tight grip on the city:

If Gaddafi flees or is otherwise deposed, the administration plans to voice the support of the US and its partners in the international community for the opposition and assist it as the country makes a transition to democracy, officials say. But the administration will also continue to stress that this is a matter for the Libyan people to decide.

- additional reporting by AP