In a new audio message carried by a loyalist TV channel, Moammar Gaddafi has said he is ready to fight a long guerrilla war. His messages were broadcast on the Syria-based al-Rai television.

It was the second message in a day attributed to Gaddafi, whose whereabouts continue to be unidentified. The colonel has not been seen in public for months, and it is not known where he is hiding.

Gaddafi vowed to fight a long drawn-out war against what he termed as the occupation of Libya. He said Tripoli would be liberated inch-by-inch but his hometown of Sirte, which remains in the hands of loyalists, was now the capital of Libya.

In the meantime, Western leaders have insisted upon the interim authorities to engage in reconciliation with their enemies. Delegates from 63 countries met in Paris to discuss the situation in Libya.

Earlier in the week, Col. Gaddafi's wife, two of his sons and his daughter fled to neighboring Algeria. Libyan rebels are furious at Algeria for sheltering Gaddafi family members and demanded the family be sent back.

There have been conflicting reports about Gaddafi's location since his Tripoli compound was overrun on Aug. 23.

In the meantime, anti-Gaddafi forces have surrounded his home town Sirte. They have given loyalists holed up there a deadline of Saturday to quit. Otherwise they will have to face a military onslaught. Gaddafi, 69, was rumored to be hiding in his Saharan desert stronghold of Sabha, 480 miles south of the capital city of Tripoli.

The NTC controls most of the country after a dramatic assault on Tripoli last week in which the capital fell.
The members of the NTC met senior international diplomats at the Paris summit hosted by the French President, Nicolas Sarkozy, and the British Prime Minister, David Cameron.

Mr Sarkozy said everyone had agreed to unfreeze blocked assets when Gaddafi was still in power.

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