TRIPOLI:MUAMMAR GADAFY has pledged to arm the Libyan people to resist what he called a "crusader colonialist" onslaught after United Nations-mandated forces used missiles and bombs to destroy the country's air defences. According to Tripoli, up to 64 people it called "martyrs" to foreign aggression were killed.
Gadafy, defiant from the moment the attacks began on Saturday night, said Libyans had the patience to wage a “long war” against a coalition that includes Britain, France, the US, Italy and Arab states.
“We will fight if you continue your attacks on us,” he said in a radio address yesterday. “It is now necessary to open the arsenals and arm all the masses with all types of weapons to defend the independence, unity and honour of Libya.”
Explosions and anti-aircraft fire were heard again shortly after darkness fell over Tripoli, although there were no air-raid sirens. Traffic continued to move normally and there were few signs of panic.
Health officials said 64 people had died, although state television earlier reported 48 dead and 150 injured.
Casualty figures and damage could not be verified as government minders refused to take journalists either to the scenes of the attacks or to any hospitals, including one reported to have been hit. An earlier claim that a French Mirage jet had been downed was not confirmed.
Officials in Tripoli had expected the worst since Thursday, when the UN security council voted to use “all necessary means” to protect civilians, in Benghazi, Misurata and elsewhere from attack by the regime. More ordinary people – some likely to be civilians – will now pay the price. Virtually everything else about this story is deeply uncertain. – (Guardian service)