BREGA, Libya (AFP) ― U.S. President Barack Obama said all options were on the table for driving Libya’s Moammar Gadhafi out of power as rebels angrily ruled out talking to a dictator with “blood” on his hands.

Despite grave reservations expressed by the U.S. military command, Obama said a no-fly zone was among the “full range” of options as he demanded that Gadhafi “step down from power and leave.”

Forces still loyal to the veteran strongman, who has ruled the oil-rich North African state for 41 years, have been bombing rebel-held positions in Libya’s east and thousands of people are desperate to flee the country.

The latest air raids around the vital oil installation of Brega were designed to scare the rebels off rather than inflict serious damage, Gadhafi’s son Seif Al-Islam told Britain’s Sky News.

“This is the oil and gas hub of Libya,” he said, vowing the regime would do all in its power to recapture the port.

“All of us, we eat, we live because of Brega. Without Brega six million people have no future because we export all of our oil from there.”

Rebels managed to beat off a dawn attack on Brega on Wednesday in the first real military battle since the Libyan uprising began on Feb. 15.

The patchwork Libyan opposition now controls swathes of eastern and western Libya including the city of Benghazi and some oil installations. Gadhafi remains firmly in control of the capital Tripoli.

More than 100,000 people have left Libya to escape the violence, which has killed at least 1,000, according to conservative U.N. estimates.

The International Criminal Court’s prosecutor said in The Hague that Gadhafi and key aides would face investigation over alleged crimes against humanity.

“We have identified some individuals with de facto or formal authority, who have authority over the security forces,” Luis Moreno-Ocampo told journalists.