ZAWIYA, Libya — Libyan state television has aired what it says is an audio message from Moammar Gadhafi urging loyalists to take arms and fight "traitors and NATO."
The Libyan leader's message was broadcast early Monday and contained much of the same rhetoric used in previous addresses aimed to pump confidence in the fight against the rebels.
He calls on Libyans to "dance, sing and fight" and says that as the number of "martyrs" increased, so does Libyan resolve.
It is his first message since rebels in the western mountains launched an offensive toward Tripoli.
On Sunday, the opposition fighters also battled government forces for control of the strategic city of Zawiya, just 30 miles (48 kilometers) from the capital, Tripoli.