US President Barack Obama and British Prime Minister David Cameron agreed to plan a "full spectrum" of action on Libya, including a possible no-fly zone, surveillance and a relief effort, the White House said.

As the fighting raged in the three-week-old rebellion, a rebel spokesman said a Kadhafi intermediary had offered talks but was rejected outright.

That claim was dismissed as "rubbish" by a government official in Tripoli where a defiant Kadhafi made a late-night appearance at a hotel used by many foreign correspondents in the Libyan capital.

He did not respond to questions but clenched his fists in the air as he strolled through a scrum of reporters in the lobby of the Rixos Hotel, who had been waiting for hours.

Wearing a chocolate brown cloak and his trademark fawn headdress, he was accompanied by one of his female bodyguards.

On the front line with the rebel-held east, the sound of heavy shelling was heard.

Rebels said government troops had unleashed a torrent of fire west of the rebel-held oil town of Ras Lanuf, and dozens of rebel fighters could be seen moving up the desert road.

An AFP reporter said that at one point, he counted 10 shells in two minutes; at another six in five minutes.

When the shelling was heaviest, rebels dived to the ground, then jumped up and shouted "Allahu Akhbar" (God is greatest) before having to hit the ground again.

Saad Hamid, a "media official" for the rebel national council, said government forces had been seen digging trenches and had brought up rocket launchers, tanks and artillery, as well as intensifying air strikes.

"We now have reinforcements on the way and they are also making preparations," he told AFP.

Earlier, warplanes staged a series of raids on the town, wounding one person.

A former official said Kadhafi's forces have launched a final onslaught on the western city of Zawiyah and described the situation there as "very critical".

"Round every corner there are people shooting. He (Kadhafi) wants to take it before Wednesday. The international community must do something," Murad Hemayma said of the strategic city, besieged for days by Kadhafi tanks and troops.

Libyan opposition website Al-Manara said "fierce battles" took place in the city on Monday.

As pressure grew from inside Libya and elsewhere in the Arab world for a no-fly zone, the White House said Obama and Cameron" agreed to press forward with planning, including at NATO, on the full spectrum of possible responses.

Measures under consideration included surveillance, humanitarian assistance, enforcement of the arms embargo and a no-fly zone, the White House said.

Washington has been markedly less enthusiastic about the possibility of such a step than some of its allies, with some officials noting that it would likely require bombardment of Libya's air defences.

But the chief of the US Marine Corps, General James Amos, told a Senate hearing Tuesday that Libya's air force would pose only a "modest" threat to the imposition of a no-fly zone.

Britain and France have been drawing up a draft UN Security Council resolution on a no-fly zone and a senior UN official in New York said the council had discussed the matter.

UN Under Secretary General Lynn Pascoe told reporters "there were lots of issues that were discussed this morning; the no-fly zone was one of the issues."

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said any decision to impose a no-fly zone should be taken by the United Nations and "not the United States."

"I think it's very important that it's not a US-led effort because this comes from the people of Libya themselves," Clinton told Sky News. "We think it is important that the United Nations make that decision."

The rebel leadership went to the European Parliament with a demand to be recognised as "legitimate" and an invitation to the West to impose a no-fly zone.

Mahmud Jibril, Libya's former planning minister and a founding member of the national council, called for "military assistance without direct military intervention."

"Empowering the people to continue their armed struggles against Kadhafi can be done by different means," he said.

He underlined that a "no-fly zone is one of them," while also asking for urgent medical aid, saying the "capacity of Libyan hospitals is way, way less than the demand for immediate treatment."

US ambassador to Libya Gene Cretz and other US officials met in Cairo with members of the opposition seeking to topple Kadhafi, the State Department said.

"We are engaging a wide range of leaders, and those who both understand and can potentially influence events in Libya," State Department spokesman Philip Crowley told reporters.

Amid speculation about Kadhafi's future, the International Criminal Court said it would move "very quickly" to determine whether war crimes were being committed in Libya.

Speaking in Madrid, ICC prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo said: "We warn very clearly that any party which commits war crimes can be the target of an investigation."

Unconfirmed reports that Kadhafi was seeking a safe exit brought oil prices off 30-month highs, as OPEC held discussions over Libya, traders said.

Prices dipped further after Saudi Oil Minister Ali Naimi said world oil supplies were adequate and that his country had 3.5 million barrels a day in spare capacity if it were to be needed.

New York's main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in April, shed $1.12 to $104.32 a barrel, a day after soaring to its highest level in 30 months.

In late London trade on Tuesday, Brent North Sea crude for April was down $2.23 at $112.81.

burs/kir

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