A member of Libya's National Interim Council has called on Europe to recognise that body as the sole representative of the Libyan people.
Dr Mahmud Gebril, head of the council's Crisis Committee, was addressing MEPs in Strasbourg.
He said Libya's people had been exposed to manslaughter and genocide on a scale never experienced in their history before.
Dr Gebril said the National Interim Council is trying to mobilise the world community to support the resistance of the Libyan people. He also said they would prove claims of a political vacuum in the absence of the Gaddafi regime were not true at all.
Appealing for international support, Dr Gebril said this is a time of crisis where humanity should rise above narrow political interests and across boarders.
Airstrikes against rebels in eastern Libya
Muammar Gaddafi's forces have launched at least four air strikes on areas in and around the oil town of Ras Lanuf in east Libya.
Reuters correspondent Alexander Dziadosz said: 'An air strike hit a house in a residential area of Ras Lanuf. There is a big hole in the ground floor of the two-storey home.
'A massive plume of smoke and dust flew up in the area from the strike.'
There are no reports of any injuries from the latest airstrikes.
Gaddafi forces are also surrounding the towns of Misrata and Zawiyah.
Rebels have rejected overtures by a representative of Gaddafi to negotiate his exit as his grip on power weakens.
'I confirm that we received contact from a Gaddafi representative seeking to negotiate Gaddafi's exit. We rejected this,' a media officer for the rebel Libyan National Council said.
He added: 'We are not negotiating with someone who spilled Libyan blood and continues to do so. Why would we trust the guy today?'
Al Jazeera television reported that the Libyan government has denied having talks with the rebels.
Gaddafi's son, Saadi, told an Arabic channel that if the leader bowed to international pressure and left Libya would erupt into civil war.
UN aid coordinator Valerie Amos has warned that more than 1m people fleeing or inside the country need humanitarian aid.
'Humanitarian organisations need urgent access now,' she said. 'People are injured and dying and need help immediately.'
The UN has appealed for $160m to fund an operation over the next three months to prepare shelter, food and medicines.
UK and France plan Libya no-fly zone
Elsewhere, Britain and France say they are seeking UN authorisation for a no-fly zone over Libya.
On the issue of a no-fly zone, British Foreign Secretary William Hague said the UK was working closely with its partners - 'making clear the need for regional support, a clear trigger for such a resolution and an appropriate legal basis'.
Gulf states have already called for a no-fly zone and an urgent Arab League meeting.
US Defence Secretary Robert Gates said action should be taken only with international backing. The White House said all options are on the table, including arming rebels.
Russia, a permanent member of the UN Security Council with veto powers, said it opposed foreign military intervention.
NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen has stressed the need for UN authorisation. 'I can't imagine the international community and the United Nations would stand idly by if Gaddafi and his regime continue to attack their own people,' he said.
NATO has launched 24-hour surveillance of Libya with AWACS reconnaissance aircraft, the US ambassador to NATO said.
US President Barack Obama said he wants to 'send a very clear message to the Libyan people that we will stand with them in the face of unwarranted violence and the continuing suppression of democratic ideals'.
