Gaddafi defiant as air strikes loom
Muammar Gaddafi's regime has defiantly closed Libya's airspace to all traffic while the West makes plans to enforce a no-fly zone and prevent his forces from attacking rebels.
The move came after the UN authorised "all necessary measures" to protect the Libyan people, including air strikes.
The UN Security Council resolution was approved late on Thursday with the backing of the United States, France and Britain, hours after Gaddafi vowed to launch a final assault and crush the nearly five-week-old rebellion against him.
President Barack Obama telephoned the leaders of Britain and France after the vote, the White House said.
US officials speaking after a closed-door briefing in Congress, said the attempt to ground Gaddafi's air force could begin by Sunday or Monday with the use of jet fighters, bombers and surveillance aircraft.
The British Cabinet held an emergency meeting as British planes were expected to take part in the international military action. Nato envoys in Brussels were also considering next steps.
France said today strikes would come "soon".
Military experts cautioned that the consequences of such action are unpredictable.
The former head of the British army, General Richard Dannatt, said it was crucial to proceed cautiously "so we don't get into the kind of situation that we got into in Iraq by not having a Plan B for the morning after".
But the Western powers faced pressure to act urgently after weeks spent deliberating over what to do about Gaddafi as his regime gained momentum.
Gaddafi, calling in to Libyan television on Thursday, said his forces would "rescue" the people of Benghazi, the eastern Mediterranean port city that has become the unofficial rebel capital. For those who resist, Gaddafi said, there would be "no mercy or compassion".
"This is your happy day, we will destroy your enemies," he said, warning the people of Benghazi not to stand alongside the opposition. "Prepare for this moment to get rid of the traitors. Tomorrow we will show the world, to see if the city is one of traitors or heroes."
Gaddafi also pledged to respond harshly to UN-sponsored attacks in an interview with Portuguese television broadcast just before the vote. "If the world is crazy," he said, "we will be crazy, too."
His ground forces were about 130 kilometres south of the city yesterday evening, so it was unclear whether they would move on the city as quickly as he suggested.
A large crowd in Benghazi was watching the vote on an outdoor TV projection and burst into cheers, with green and red fireworks exploding overhead. In Tobruk, east of Benghazi, happy Libyans fired weapons in the air to celebrate the vote.
Europe's air traffic control agency, Eurocontrol, said that "the latest information from Malta indicates that Tripoli (air control centre) does not accept traffic."
The Brussels-based agency had no information on how long Libya's airspace would be closed but said it had halted all air traffic to Libya for 24 hours.
Libyan Deputy Foreign Minister Khaled Kaim struck a more conciliatory tone, offering to negotiate a cease-fire with the rebels.
He welcomed the Security Council's concern for the people of Libya but called on the world not to allow them to receive weapons. "If any countries do that, they will be inviting Libyans to kill each other," he said.
In Tripoli today, foreign journalists were barred from leaving their hotel.
The shift toward international action reflected dramatic change on the ground in Libya in the past week.
The rebels, once confident, found themselves in danger of being crushed by an overpowering pro-Gaddafi force using rockets, artillery, tanks, warplanes. That force has advanced along the Mediterranean coast aiming to recapture the rebel-held eastern half of Libya.
Gaddafi troops encircled the city of Ajdabiya, the first in the path of their march, but also had some troops positioned beyond it toward Benghazi.
The unrest in Libya began on February 15 in the eastern city of Benghazi and spread east to Tripoli, the capital. Like others in the Mideast, the protest started with popular demonstrations against Gaddafi, rejecting his four decades of despotic and often brutal rule.
The tone quickly changed after Gaddafi's security in Tripoli forcefully put down the gatherings there.
Soon rebel forces began arming themselves, quickly taking control of the country's east centred on Benghazi, the second largest Libyan city, with a population of about 700,000. Some Libyan army units joined the rebels, providing them with some firepower, but much less than Gaddafi's remaining forces, and crucially, no air power.
There are no official death tolls. Rebels say more than 1,000 people have been killed in a month of fighting, while Gaddafi claims the toll is only 150.
At least six people have died as Gaddafi's forces bombard the last rebel-held western city, a witness says.
Tanks moved into Misrata today and opened fire, shelling a hospital and a mosque, a doctor said.
The doctor, who asked not to be named because he feared reprisals, said the tanks then pulled back to the outskirts of the city.
Misrata, Libya's third-largest city, 125 miles (200 kms) south-east of Tripoli, has been sealed off by Gaddafi troops in a blockade that has cut off most water and food supplies for days.
