Anti-aircraft fire and explosions have reverberated across the Libyan capital Tripoli for a third night and state television said several sites had come under attack, including Muammar Gaddafi's compound.
The international forces began bombarding Libya on Saturday to enforce a United Nations Security Council resolution last week that set up a no-fly zone over the country and authorised the use of "all necessary measures" to protect civilians.
The Libyan government says foreign attacks on ports and an airport have killed many people.
A United States general says the attacks are likely to slow in the coming days.
The compound of Libyan leader Colonel Gaddafi in Tripoli was rocked by blasts for a second night on Monday.
Witnesses say a navy base near the capital was also bombarded, while a government spokesperson says coalition warplanes targed the southern town of Sebha, the stronghold of Colonel Gaddafi's Guededfa tribe.
Clashes also continued near Ajdabiya in eastern Libya, contradicting reports Colonel Gaddafi's forces had been repelled by the rebels, a BBC correspondent says.
In Misrata, a city that has been under siege by government troops, rebel spokesmen said pro-Gaddafi forces had bombarded the city for a fourth day.
The head of the US Africa Command, General Carter Ham, said there was no intent to destroy completely the Libyan military and no direct co-ordination with anti-Gaddafi rebels.
Between 70 and 80 coalition sorties were flown on Monday, the BBC reports.
US insists Gaddafi not a target
US president Barack Obama has joined other western leaders in making it clear they are not targeting the Libyan leader in their air strikes against the country.
A White House official says the military action is not about regime change.
France has stressed that even if Colonel Gaddafi's exact location was known, he would not be fired on.
However Britain's foreign secretary, William Hague, has to be drawn on whether or not the colonel is a target. He says coalition forces will do only what is consistent with the UN resolution.
UN turns down special meeting request
The UN Security Council on Monday turned down a Libyan request for a special meeting to discuss Western air strikes.
The council decided instead simply to hold a briefing already planned for Thursday by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on how the resolution that set up the zone to protect civilians in Libya's internal conflict is being implemented.
Diplomats said Libyan Foreign Minister Moussa Koussa had written to the council over the weekend requesting that the 15-nation body hold an emergency session to debate the "military aggression" against Libya.
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has called the UN resolution "defective and flawed" and likened it to medieval calls for crusades.
Council member Russia did not veto the resolution last week, but rather abstained, as did China, which has also criticised the air strikes on Libya.
