Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi has addressed the people of Az-Zawiyah, a town west of the capital, where fierce fighting had erupted between his forces and rebels, accusing them of being linked to Osama bin Laden.
In what was said to be a live audio feed on state television on Thursday, Gaddafi also accused the protesters of being on drugs, AAP reported.
"You in Zawiyah turn to Bin Laden," he said. "They give you drugs."
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This was the embattled leader's second television appearance since protests broke out against his 41-year rule on February 15.
On Tuesday, in a defiant, sometimes rambling speech on television, Gaddafi vowed to remain in Libya as head of its revolution, saying he would die as a martyr in the land of his ancestors and fight to the "last drop" of his blood.
He ordered the army and police to crush the popular uprising against his iron-fisted, four-decade rule that has left hundreds dead.
Residents of Libya's dissident-held east vowed on Thursday to march on Tripoli to oust the veteran leader.
'Terrorist' uprising
State news agency Jana said three "terrorists" attacked a security forces post in Az-Zawiyah and slit the throats of three policemen on Thursday amid reports of heavy fighting in the town, AFP reported.
Az-Zawiyah lies on the Mediterranean, 50km west of Tripoli.
Fighting around the capital intensified after much of the country's east had reportedly fallen to rebels.
Al Jazeera television said there were fierce clashes between pro- and anti-government forces for control of Az-Zawiyah and there had been a heavy, but indeterminate number of casualties.
It quoted witnesses as saying an army unit led by Gaddafi-ally Naji Shifsha blasted the minaret of a mosque being occupied by protesters in Az-Zawiyah.
The Qatar-based channel also quoted witnesses as saying pro-Gaddafi forces had attacked Sabratha, which lies between Al-Zawiyah and the capital; Misrata, 200km east of Tripoli and Sabha, about 650km to the south.
Protesters hold captives
Meanwhile, opponents of Gaddafi are holding about 200 regime loyalists in a school in a `liberated' city on Libya's Mediterranean coast, reporters have found.
Many claim they had no clear orders when they were sent to Al-Baida in the east, a city of 210,000 people and Libya's third biggest after Tripoli and Benghazi.
Bloody fighting earlier this week saw the eastern part of Libya - the vanguard of the uprising against Gaddafi's authoritarian rule - slip from the longtime leader's grip.
The detainees, held in four or five rooms, include Chadians as well as members of the elite Khamees and Jafar militia - the former named for one of Gaddafi's sons.
The Chadians told reporters on Thursday they did not know what they were supposed to do when they got to Al-Baida.
Some militiamen also claimed they were sent from Tripoli with no clear instructions.
But one of the militiamen said: "We came to protect the airport. Our orders were to protect the airport".
When another militiaman claimed his outfit came to Al-Baida for training, a dissident guarding him said: "Don't be afraid. Tell the journalists the truth. The regime is over."
