Thirteen Libyan soldiers, among them two generals, have crossed the border and fled to Tunisia after clashes with rebels, the Tunisian state news agency TAP reported Thursday.
According to broadcaster Al Jazeera, however, as many as 100 Moamer Gaddafi loyalists may have handed themselves over to Tunisian border guards after rebels took control of the al-Wazin crossing, DPA reported.
Also in the western part of Libya, residents in the city of Misurata continued to appeal for stronger intervention by NATO and Western forces.
Rebels say NATO airstrikes against Gaddafi's forces are insufficient, following weeks of ground battle with opposition fighters unable to control key cities.
Misurata has been turned into a battleground, with rebels fighting Gaddafi's forces for control of neighbourhoods.
According to opposition fighters based in the rebel stronghold city of Benghazi, in the east, 10 civilians were killed and more than 100 injured in Misurata on Wednesday. That toll does not include the deaths of two foreign journalists.
Food, electricity, and medicine were in short supply, and activists said Gaddafi's forces had even blocked the city's sewer system.
Some United Nations agencies were, however, able to deliver medical supplies to city's main hospital.
Meanwhile, Libyan state media reported that seven civilians were killed and 18 injured in NATO airstrikes in the Khellet al-Ferjan area in the capital of Tripoli.
The Libyan government has warned that any foreign ground troop deployment would worsen and conflict.
The statement comes after France, Italy, and Britain said they were ready to send military experts to the North African country to assist the armed struggle against Gaddafi.
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