Libyan forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi struck hard at rebels advancing towards Tripoli and pounded the oil port eastern city of Ras Lanuf. Al-Jazeera channel said that pro-Gaddafi troops used fighters, gunships, tanks and heavy artillery to hold back the movement of the rebels towards Tripoli and used artillery and rockets to target them in Bin Jawad, Tobruk, Ras Lanuf and Misurata. Amid an exodus of foreign workers, the United Nations and the European Union announced that they were dispatching fact-finding missions to the North African nation. US President Barack Obama said that the Libyan leader would be held accountable for any violence that happens in the country now.The New York Times said the US military had prepared a blue print of land, air and sea options in Libya in case Washington and its NATO allies decide to intervene there. Russia is opposed to any form of military intervention in Libya.