TRIPOLI, Libya, April 2 (UPI) -- A spokesman for Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi has rejected overtures from rebel leaders for a cease-fire.
Moussa Ibrahim said there would be no truce with the rebels, who he said "are making impossible demands."
"If this is not mad, I don't know what is," he said. "We will not leave our cities. We are the government, not them."
Ibrahim's flat rejection of a cease-fire came after Abdul Jalil Ibrahim, head of the rebel Transitional National Council, outlined a proposal after meeting with U.N. special envoy Abdelilah al-Khatib in Benghazi.
"We have no objection to a cease-fire but on condition that Libyans in western cities have full freedom in expressing their views and also that the forces that are besieging the cities withdraw," the rebel leader told reporters.
Government forces pressed their attack on Misurata Friday, the Los Angeles Times said, with rebels claiming civilian casualties.
"Many people died. Many tanks attacked from many directions," businessman Mohammad Darrat told the Times. "They are trying to cut the food around us. They're trying to surround us. They are entering people's homes and slitting throats. The picture is very horrible."
Moussa Ibrahim accused the multinational forces of inflicting civilian casualties as well. He said six civilians were killed and dozens injured in an airstrike Thursday on the village of Bou Aqoub.
NATO said Friday coalition aircraft had flown 74 strike missions Thursday.
