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Eight senior officers who defected from Col Muammar Gaddafi's army have appealed to fellow soldiers to join them in backing the rebels.

One of the eight accused pro-Gaddafi forces of "genocide".

The men - who are said to include five generals - appeared at a news conference in Rome.

Meanwhile South African President Jacob Zuma has held talks with Col Gaddafi in Tripoli, in an attempt to find a diplomatic solution to the conflict.

One of the generals who spoke to reporters in Rome, named as Oun Ali Oun, read an appeal to fellow soldiers and security officials to abandon the regime "in the name of the martyrs who have fallen in the defence of freedom".

He also denounced both "genocide" and "violence against women in various Libyan cities".

Former Libyan Foreign Minister Abdel Rahman Shalgam, who now backs the rebels and appeared at the news conference, said a total of 120 soldiers had defected in recent days.

Since the start of the uprising in February dozens of army officers, government ministers, and diplomats have abandoned Col Gaddafi.

Col Gaddafi - who was last seen on state television meeting tribal leaders on 11 May - was not among the dignitaries who greeted Mr Zuma at Tripoli airport.

As the South African president arrived, his office said the objective was to discuss an immediate ceasefire, the delivery of humanitarian aid and the implementation of reforms needed to end the crisis.

After the meeting at Col Gaddafi's compound, Mr Zuma said the Libyan leader was ready to accept an African Union initiative for a ceasefire.

However the AU's "roadmap", which was drawn up in February, has already been rejected by both the rebel Transitional National Council (TNC) and Nato because it did not call on Col Gaddafi to step down.

The BBC's Andrew North in the Libyan capital says that despite Mr Zuma's personal relationship with Col Gaddafi, the prospects for this peacemaking bid look thin.

On Monday, rebel spokesman Guma al-Gamati told the BBC that he believed Mr Zuma's visit would make a difference as Col Gaddafi was far weaker and more isolated than he was last month.

"The people around him and the aides and people who are fighting for him are diminishing; some are deserting," he added.

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