Gaddafi’s forces have also launched a fresh artillery bombardment on the western town of Zawiyah.
**Conflicting Reports Emerge over Gaddafi Offer to Step Down**
There have been conflicting reports about an offer from Col. Muammar Gaddafi to step down. The opposition council says a representative of Gaddafi sought to negotiate his exit, but the Libyan government has denied the report.
**Momentum Grows for No-Fly Zone over Libya**
NATO has deployed reconnaissance aircraft to establish 24-hour surveillance of Libya. CNN reports British, French and U.S. officials are working on a draft U.N. Security Council text that includes language on setting up a no-fly zone in Libya. On Monday, President Obama addressed the crisis in Libya.
President Obama: *”I want to send a very clear message to those who are around Colonel Gaddafi. It is their choice to make how they operate moving forward, and they will be held accountable for whatever violence continues to take place there. In the meantime, we’ve got NATO, as we speak, consulting in Brussels around a wide range of potential options, including potential military options, in response to the violence that continues to take place inside of Libya.”*
**Report: U.S. Develops Secret Plan to Arm Libyan Rebels**
The British journalist Robert Fisk is reporting the United States has developed a secret plan to arm Libya’s rebel fighters. According to Fisk, the United States has asked Saudi Arabia to begin airlifting weapons into the Libyan port city of Benghazi.
