Pressure has been mounting on Libya's leader Colonel Muammar Gaddafi as more pictures have emerged of his brutal crackdown on protesters.
The United Nations Security Council has called for all those responsible for the bloodshed to be held to account.
And a senior aide to Colonel Gaddafi's son - Saif al-Islam Gaddafi has resigned to protest against the violence sweeping the country.
Youssef Sawani who was the executive director of the Gaddafi Foundation said: "I resigned from the Gaddafi Foundation to express dismay against violence."
Meanwhile, The Arab League has barred Libya from attending meetings of the bloc until it ends its violent crackdown on protesters, which it said involved violations of human rights.
If the Gaddafi regime were to fall, there is no obvious power structure to take its place. The possible resulting vacuum could even result in civil war and the break up of the country.
A defiant Gaddafi has refused to step down as Libya's leader. He declared on state TV last night: "I will die here as a martyr."Read blog by Sky's Tim Marshall
The embattled tyrant vowed to fight to his "last drop of blood" and called on supporters to attack protesters he labelled rats.
Thousands have taken to the streets in recent days to oppose Gaddafi's 41-year rule.
Reports have emerged that 250 died in Libyan capital Tripoli overnight as military aircraft fired on crowds.
Nearly 300 people have been killed during the unrest in the oil-rich nation, according to a partial count by Human Rights Watch.
But the Italian foreign minister said he believed as many as 1,000 people have likely to have been killed.
The belligerent 68-year-old Libyan leader - shouting loudly and punching the air throughout his tirade - warned that armed protesters and "spies" would face a "death sentence".
He insisted foreign leaders were conspiring against the country.
Celebratory gunfire by Gaddafi supporters rang out in the capital of Tripoli after the speech.
But in protester-held Benghazi, Libya's second-largest city, people threw shoes at a screen showing his address, venting their contempt.
The Arab world's longest-serving leader has seen his reign come under threat as cracks formed within his government and the army this week.
UK Foreign Secretary William Hague joined the widespread international condemnation of Gaddafi.
He also said urgent steps were being taken to help British nationals leave Libya, including plans for a charter flight and talks with several airlines.
The bloody unrest - which follows a wave of uprisings in North Africa and the Middle East - has been difficult to report because of bans on foreign journalists.