Forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi have recaptured a town in Libya's mostly rebel-held east, rebel military officers said on Wednesday, in an attempt to break the momentum of a popular rebellion against his 41-year-old rule.

Increasingly violent clashes in Libya are threatening to transform a 15-day popular rebellion into a civil war, the AP reported.

The United Nations on Tuesday suspended Libya from its main human rights body over Muammar Gaddafi's crackdown on protests amid warnings of new Security Council action against the regime.

Two amphibious assault ships, USS Kearsarge, which can carry 2,000 Marines, and USS Ponce, entered the Suez Canal on Wednesday en route to the Mediterranean in an attempt to increase diplomatic and military pressure on Gaddafi to quit.

Britain and France have backed moves toward a no-fly zone but France has said there must be a UN Security Council resolution first. Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has rejected such action however.

Military leaders weighing a no-fly zone over Libya said it would be a complex task that would require taking out Gaddafi's air defenses, and Russia's top diplomat dismissed the idea as “superfluous” and said world powers should focus on sanctions.