Gadhafi loyalists attacked an oil town on the Mediterranean coast previously held by rebel forces. All over the country, fights were intensifying since the weekend, the BBC reports. Western hopes that Gadhafi, much like the ousted leaders in Tunisia and Egypt, would bow to domestic and international pressure by resigning, have been shattered.

The United Nations and the European Union said Sunday they would dispatch humanitarian monitoring teams to Libya to see how the West can help prevent further civilian suffering.

There have been allegations that forces loyal to Gadhafi have attacked civilians in what could result in war crime investigations. Because of the media restrictions, it's difficult to establish a reliable casualty toll, however.

Tripoli gave U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon the green light to send the U.N. mission to the Libyan capital. Ban also appointed former Jordanian Foreign Minister Abdelilah al-Khatib as a special envoy for Libya.

Brussels also decided to send a fact-finding mission -- it's as far as the EU will go at this point.

"I have decided to dispatch this high-level mission to provide me with first-hand, real-time information to feed into the discussions leading up to Friday's extraordinary European Council, when I will update heads of state and government on the situation," Catherine Ashton, the EU's top foreign affairs official, said in a statement.

In addition to the humanitarian concerns, the West has every reason to be worried.

The crisis in Libya could turn the country into a destabilizing factor in the region, increase migrant flows to Europe and undermine the global economic recovery by increasing the oil price.

At the moment, however, the West's options are limited.

Gadhafi has vowed that he would continue to fight what he said were al-Qaida affiliates and thugs attacking government buildings. The rebels, arguing they're trying to end an oppressive regime that has ruled for the past four decades, say they won't negotiate with Gadhafi.

In an interview with the Welt am Sonntag newspaper, German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle called for tougher measures against the Libyan regime as a first way out of the crisis.

"What's happening in Libya fills me with the greatest concern," he told the newspaper."Targeted sanctions are necessary against those people who are responsible for the crimes against the Libyan people. The flow of money must be stopped."

Observers doubt that this can drain the means with which Gadhafi is supporting his military offensive. Diplomats in Europe haven't been eager to mention the military option but it's clear that it's on the table.

Westerwelle is one of 27 EU foreign ministers who are to meet Thursday in Brussels to discuss the Libya crisis. They're expected to at least touch on the issue of a military intervention if the fighting intensifies and develops into a full-fledged civil war.

Several Western countries have moved military vessels toward North Africa. British defense officials said some 600 British troops had been put on 24-hour notice to be deployed to Libya, The Daily Telegraph newspaper reported last week.

earlier related report
NATO warns of 'crimes against humanity' in Libya
Brussels (AFP) March 7, 2011 - NATO warned Monday that Moamer Kadhafi may already have committed "crimes against humanity" by attacking Libyan civilians and that the world might not stand "idly by" if such strikes do not end.

But Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen insisted the Western military alliance would not use force unless expressly ordered by global leaders, saying "we assume that an operational role would be in accordance with and pursuant to a UN Security Council mandate."

As he spoke, Britain and France were drafting a UN resolution on a no-fly zone over Libya which could be put to the Security Council this week, a diplomat said, with France earlier having indicated Arab League backing for such a plan.

Rasmussen said he had spoken to the heads of both the Arab League and the chair of the African Union Commission, after US President Barack Obama said last week he was examining the "full range" of military options.

Speaking at a news conference at NATO headquarters in Brussels, he stressed that "NATO has no intention to intervene," but also underlined: "We stand ready to assist if so requested."

While Rasmussen said the 28-state NATO saw no "threat" to alliance territory as yet from a revolt at risk of turning into sustained civil war, he maintained that "prudent" military planning was under way for "any eventuality" and could be enacted "also at short notice."

"These widespread and systematic attacks against the civilian population may amount to crimes against humanity," Rasmussen said of the "outrageous" response of Colonel Kadhafi's regime as protests evolved into ground fighting and air strikes.

While events were fast-moving with rebels apparently being beaten back since the weekend, Rasmussen underlined: "I can't imagine the international community and the UN standing idly by if Colonel Kadhafi and his regime continue to attack his own people systematically."

The former Danish premier said Kadhafi's "violation of human rights and international humanitarian law" had created "a human crisis on our doorstep which concerns us all."

As the United States came under increasing domestic political pressure to arm the Libyan opposition and the United Nations appointed a special humanitarian envoy, international debate turned ever more towards the question of military intervention.

Rasmussen noted "the fact the current UN mandate doesn't authorise the use of armed force."

He added that the imposition of a no-fly security corridor is "a very comprehensive undertaking (that) will require a wide range of military assets" on land and at sea as well as in the air.

On Thursday, NATO defence ministers are to gather in Brussels at the same time as European Union foreign ministers, with EU foreign and security affairs chief Catherine Ashton acting as a bridge.

Fresh EU sanctions targeting Libya's overseas oil investment fund are set to be endorsed even before EU leaders meet on Friday, in an extraordinary summit initially called to discuss a broader response to instability across north Africa and the Middle East -- and what to do if faced with a mass exodus of refugees.

As things stood on Monday, however, Rasmussen said the outside world should focus primarily "on the full implementation of the (existing UN) resolution, including the arms embargo."

Again, he cautioned that no request for NATO assistance in inspecting ships or aircraft had been received to-date.

In his first official reaction other than television appearances, Kadhafi's regime demanded on Saturday that the UN suspend a travel ban and assets freeze ordered against Kadhafi and his entourage on February 26 "until such time as the truth is established."

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