Two members of Libya's rebel Transitional National Council are meeting French President Nicolas Sarkozy Wednesday amid international efforts to further support the Libyan opposition.

The two representatives are visiting the French leader in Paris. France was the first country to officially recognize the rebel council as the legitimate representatives of the Libyan people. Several nations, including the United States, have since followed France's lead.

Meanwhile, clashes have intensified in Libya's eastern oil port of Brega, as anti-government fighters fought to expand their control beyond the city's residential sectors.

Opposition forces Tuesday said loyalist troops in trucks disguised with rebel flags had shelled their positions, killing eight rebels and wounding dozens more.

But a rebel spokesman also said radio intercepts from Brega suggest forces loyal to leader Moammar Gadhafi are low on food and weapons. He said many pro-government troops have retreated to the west, leaving only a reduced force to defend the strategic city.

Opposition commanders have played down their chances of swiftly capturing Brega and its petrochemical complex. They say hundreds of land mines planted by Mr. Gadhafi's forces continue to delay their advance.

In an audio address to a pro-government rally in the western town of al-Aziziya Tuesday, Mr. Gadhafi vowed again that he will not bow to the pressure of NATO or the rebellion against him. The Libyan strongman also made a rare reference to the fuel shortages caused by Tripoli's international isolation that have made life hard in government-controlled areas.

In a separate development, reports said Libya's foreign minister will meet his Russian counterpart in Moscow Wednesday, in a visit requested by the Libyan government. Russia has been heavily involved in attempts to mediate between the rebels – who control much of eastern Libya – and Mr. Gadhafi's inner circle.

Opposition forces have been fighting since February to end the Libyan leader's four decades of autocratic rule. NATO warplanes have been helping the rebels by bombing pro-Gadhafi forces under a U.N. mandate to prevent government attacks on civilians.