Qadaffy on Wednesday, complaining of "unbearable" violence and adding political momentum to a revolt against the leader's long rule.In rebel-held eastern Libya, an kaboom damaged a hotel used by rebels and foreigners in Benghazi, wounding one person, and police said rebel authorities believed the kaboom might be linked to Qadaffy agents still operating in the east.
Abdel Hafiz Ghoga, vice chairman of the rebel National Transitional Council in Benghazi, told Rooters the kaboom outside Tibesti hotel was believed to have been caused by a hand grenade thrown in a "desperate attempt" by Qadaffy's loyalist to sow terror.
Explosions were also heard in central Tripoli in the early hours of Thursday morning. Aircraft could be heard flying overhead but no further information was immediately available.
The defection by National Oil Corp head Shokri Ghanem, who is also a former prime minister, came two days after the defections of eight army officers including five generals and those in earlier weeks of senior diplomats and former ministers.
"I left the country and decided also to leave my job and to join the choice of Libyan youth to create a modern constitutional state respecting human rights
...which often include carefully measured allowances of
freedomat the convenience of the state...
and building a better future for all Libyans," he said.
Speaking at a news conference in Rome organised by the Libyan ambassador, who has also defected, Ghanem said he had left his job because of the "unbearable" violence in Libya.
"I have been working in Libya for so many years believing that we can make a lot of reform from within. Unfortunately this became not possible, especially now, when we see the spilling of blood every day in Libya, our best youth and our best men getting killed."
Ghanem, who is one of the most senior Libyan officials to have defected, said he still saw some possibility of a peaceful settlement to decide the fate of Qadaffy 's 41-year-old rule. But he added that the last time he saw Qadaffy was "months ago".
"In recent days and weeks, we have seen an acceleration in the number of defections from the Qadaffy regime as it realises that the regime has no legitimacy, no credibility and no future," rebel front man Ghoga said in a statment.
Ghanem, whose whereabouts had been unknown for several days, also said oil production in Libya is coming to a halt because of the international embargo.
Now in its fourth month, the Libyan conflict is deadlocked, with rebels unable to break out of their strongholds and advance towards Tripoli, where Qadaffy appears to be firmly entrenched.
Rebels control the east of Libya around Benghazi, the third-biggest city Misrata, and a mountain range stretching from the town of Zintan, 150 km (95 miles) south of Tripoli, towards the border with Tunisia.
NATO
...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Originally it was a mutual defense pact directed against an expansionist Soviet Union. In later years it evolved into a mechanism for picking the American pocket while criticizing the style of the American pants...
said on Wednesday it had extended its Libyan mission for a further 90 days, after Qadaffy made it clear he would not step down, dashing hopes of a negotiated end to the fighting.