LIBYA’S OPPOSITION BATTLED to keep Muammar Gaddafi’s forces at the gateway to rebel-held territory on Thursday, hoping for help from the UN Security Council before his tanks and troops break through the city of Ajdabiya.

Gaddafi’srapid advance on the rebels appears to have spurred the United States to leave behind weeks of doubts about a no-fly zone in Libya, and start pushing for broader UN authorization for international air, sea and land forces.

The Obama administration and other supporters of action against Gaddafi were pushing for a Thursday vote on a draft resolution. Russia and China have expressed doubts about the UN and other outside powers getting involved.

By Thursday afternoon, Gaddafi’s army had surrounded Ajdabiya on three sides, leaving open only the road north to the larger rebel stronghold of Benghazi.

Charred vehicles, bullet-riddled pickup trucks and an overturned tank littered the desert highway where pro-Gaddafi forces had fought up to the entrance of Ajdabiya, a city of 140,000. Government troops were bringing in a stream of truckloads of ammunition, rockets and supplies.

A rebel spokesman told The Associated Press that Benghazi, 100 miles (160 kilometers) to the north along the Mediterranean coast, was “armed to the teeth” and the opposition is ready to defend it.

A Benghazi resident who did not want to be identified for fear of reprisals said the city’s young men were volunteering to undergo basic military training. Those already trained were seeking more preparation to be battle ready.

More checkpoints were popping up at intersections and on main roads, manned by men in uniform armed with Ak-47s and backed by anti-aircraft guns mounted on pickup trucks.

Rebel spokesman Mustafa Gheriani said that the government tried to hit Benghazi’s airport with an airstrike but missed.

The Red Cross said it was leaving Benghazi because of deteriorating security and moving to the city of Tobruk, further east.

Gheriani said by telephone from Benghazi that the opposition was hoping for a positive UN Security Council vote but “if not, we’ll rely on ourselves and do what we can.”

The US wants the Security Council to approve planes, troops or ships to stop attacks by Gaddafi on the rebels, according to a diplomat familiar with closed-door negotiations Wednesday.

The Obama administration said it would not act without Security Council authorization, did not want to put US ground troops into Libya, and insists on broad international participation, especially by Arab states, the diplomat said.

Ajdabiya ha reportedly been hit by hours of airstrikes but it was not clear if the government or rebels, who say they have at least three planes, are carrying them out.

“Gadhafi troops have not invaded the city on foot until now,” said Moataz al-Ghariani, who lives in downtown Ajdabiya and is in touch with the rebels. “They are only imposing a siege from three fronts: the western, the southern and the eastern. No one can leave and no one can enter.”

He said the rebels were surrounding a unit of Gaddafi forces at the eastern gates of the city.

- AP