South Africa's Jacob Zuma and leaders from Mauritania, Congo, Mali and Uganda will also meet Libyan rebels in Benghazi
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Mark Tran and agencies
guardian.co.uk, Sunday 10 April 2011 11.50 BST
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Libyan rebels have been firing rockets into the desert on the outskirts of Ajdabiya. Photograph: Ben Curtis/AP
Jacob Zuma is due to meet Muammar Gaddafi as part of an African Union peace effort, as Libyan government forces and rebels battle for control of the strategic eastern town of Ajdabiya.
The South African president and leaders from Mauritania, Congo, Mali and Uganda will also meet Libyan rebels in Benghazi as part of the AU diplomatic initiative.
South Africa voted in favour of UN resolution 1973, which authorised military action in Libya to protect civilians, but Zuma subsequently criticised western air strikes against Gaddafi.
After criticism from his African National Congress party's youth wing and political allies in the Communist party for voting for the resolution, Zuma accused the US and its allies of going against its "letter and spirit".
The AU delegation arrives in Libya as Libyan government forces continue to push back the disorganised rebel forces. The rebels said forces loyal to Gaddafi killed four of their fighters on Saturday in Ajdabiya, about 100 miles from their stronghold in Benghazi.
A Reuters witness near Ajdabiya's eastern gate heard shooting and artillery fire and saw plumes of black smoke, suggesting Gaddafi's forces had pushed towards the centre of the town.
"There is resistance inside the city. Gaddafi forces are fighting with rebels. They have a presence inside," said a rebel at a checkpoint on Ajdabiya's eastern fringes.
One rebel fighter, Hassan Bosayna, said eight Gaddafi loyalists and four rebels were killed on Saturday. One of the rebels was shot in the forehead by a sniper.
Muftah, another rebel, said: "There are Gaddafi forces inside Ajdabiya in sand-coloured Land Cruisers and we know there are Gaddafi snipers in civilian clothing in the city as well."
Rebels were firing rockets from pickup trucks into the desert on the outskirts of the town, possibly in an attempt to stop any flanking manoeuvre by Gaddafi loyalists.
The mostly untrained rebels have tried to reorganise and re-equip but were unable to hold their ground last week against Gaddafi's better-armed forces in the oil terminal of Brega, west of Ajdabiya, the last major town on the Mediterranean coastal road before Benghazi to the north and the oil terminal of Tobruk further east.
Libya's deputy foreign minister said government forces shot down two US-built helicopters being used by rebel forces. Khaled Kaim accused the international community of double standards for allowing rebel forces to operate aircraft despite the existence of a no-fly zone over the country.
"A clear violation was committed by the rebels to resolution 1973 relating to the no-fly zone. The rebels used two Chinook helicopters and they were shot down" near the eastern oil facilities of Brega, he said. "We have a question for the allied forces: Is this resolution made for the Libyan government only or everyone in Libya?"
Kaim's claims could not be confirmed with the rebels, but journalists in the area described seeing at least one helicopter apparently engaged in fighting in the area on Saturday, although it appeared to be a Russian-built model.
The government forces still have most of the military aircraft in the country, but a few were taken by the rebels when some air force units defected.
Nato, which enforces the no-fly zone, said it has been applying it to both sides and on Saturday intercepted a rebel MiG-23 fighter jet and forced it back to the airport.
Nato forces continue to carry out air strikes against Gaddafi's forces, destroying 17tanks and damaging nine others, the alliance said on Saturday.
Rebels have bitterly criticised the alliance for giving insufficient support as government forces continue to push eastwards and for Nato attacks mistakenly against them.
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