Gaddafi predicts quick end to rebels and NATO

MOSCOW(RIA Novosti)- Libya's embattled strongman Muammar Gaddafi said the end was close for the rebels and NATO, as opposition forces launched an offensive against towns of strategic importance near Tripoli.

In an audio broadcast, which national TV claimed was a live speech, Gaddafi said "the end of the colonizer is close and the end of the rats is close," referring to the rebels and NATO, The Telegraph said.

"They (the rebels) flee from one house to another before the masses who are chasing them," Gaddafi said.

He also called on Libyans to arm 

themselves and free the country from "traitors and from NATO."

Some parts of the audio message were inaudible which the broadcaster attributed to a technical failure.

The news came shortly after the Libyan rebel government claimed it seized control over strategic towns near the capital Tripoli. 

A Libyan government spokesman denied the report.

Late on Sunday, representatives of Gaddafi's government held talks with rebels at a hotel on the southern Tunisian island of Djerba, Reuters said citing "a source with direct knowledge of the talks."