— A top Libyan security official arrived unexpectedly in Cairo on Monday apparently in a high-level defection, as the rebels challenging Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi ’s rule fought to hold ground in a strategic oil port just 30 miles from the capital.

The Libyan official, Nassr al-Mabrouk Abdullah, landed in Cairo in a private plane with nine family members who were traveling on tourist visas and headed for a local hotel, according to Egyptian security officials at the airport.

The Qaddafi government’s ambassador, Ali Maria, said in short telephone interview that he had “no information” about Mr. Abdullah’s arrival or defection.

The defection of Mr. Abdullah would signal a new crack in the Qaddafi government after months of seeming stability since Colonel Qaddafi’s right-hand man, Moussa Koussa , and a handful of others deserted after the start of the Libyan uprising and the NATO bombing campaign supporting it.

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Mr. Abdullah arrived in Egypt amid rumors of fresh negotiations between the rebels and representatives of the Qaddafi government in Tunisia and a visit to Tunis, the capital, by the United Nations envoy to Libya . The envoy, Abdelilah al-Khatib, said that he discussed the conflict with Tunisia’s prime minister and that he would meet with some Libyans in Tunisia, although he did not offer specifics.

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“I confine my official talks to the two parties to the crisis,” he said.

Successive rounds of negotiations, most of them conducted in secret, have borne little fruit. But they are growing in urgency, with concerns mounting that the Libyan conflict will become bloodier as the front lines approach Tripoli, the capital. Two senior diplomats with knowledge of the talks, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said Colonel Qaddafi had given no sign that he was serious about negotiating an end to the conflict. At the same time, the rebels, emboldened by their gains in recent days, are losing incentive to make concessions.