Gaddafi days are numbered: Panetta

"I think the sense is that Gadhafi`s days are numbered," US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said said at the National Defense University where he made a public appearance with the Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

The opposition is moving, he said in response to a question on Libya.

"They`re moving in the west towards Tripoli, towards the coast line, and moving in that direction. The opposition in the east is moving to Brega and moving in the direction of Tripoli as well. That that pressure is having an impact," he underlined.

He said the regime forces are weakened, "Gadhafi`s forces are weakened". "And this latest defection is another example of how weak they`ve gotten," the Pentagon boss said noted.

He said the combination of NATO forces, the opposition, the global sanctions and international pressure, had made it difficult for the Libyan regime.

"So I think considering how difficult the situation has been, the fact is the combination of NATO forces there, the combination of what the opposition is doing, the sanctions, the international pressure, the work of the Arab League, all of that has been very helpful in moving this in the right direction," Panetta