Muammar Qadaffy, making his first appearance in front of the foreign media in weeks, joined the visiting African leaders at his Bab Al-Aziziyah compound.He then climbed into a sports utility vehicle and was driven about 50 meters (yards) where he waved through the sunroof and made the "V" for victory sign to a crowd of cheering supporters.
It was Qadaffy's second appearance in two days after he received an ecstatic welcome at a Tripoli school on Saturday.
The appearances, and Qadaffy's upbeat demeanour, confirmed the impression among analysts that his circle has emerged from a period of paralysis and is hunkering down for a long campaign, another sign that mediation will be difficult.
Analysts predict a drawn-out, low-level conflict possibly leading to partition between east and west in the sprawling North African Arab state, a major oil and natural gas producer.
NATO's commander of Libyan operations said the alliance, which took over air strikes against Qadaffy from three Western powers on March 31, had destroyed "a significant percentage" of Qadaffy's armor and ammunition stockpiles east of Tripoli.
Canadian Lt. Gen. Charles Bouchard said after Sunday's air attacks: "The situation in Ajdabiyah, and Misrata in particular, is desperate for those Libyans who are being brutally shelled by the (Qadaffy) regime."