US president Barack Obama has warned Libya's Muammar Gadafy to comply with UN demands for a ceasefire or face consequences that included military action.
Mr Obama, laying out the rationale for deeper US involvement in Libya's turmoil, said the United States would work with its partners to enforce UN demands on Libya but promised that no US ground troops would be involved and that the United States would not use force beyond well-defined goals.
He said the international community's chief goal was to protect Libyan civilians and he called on Gadafy to withdraw his forces in the eastern part of the country, where they threaten to overwhelm opposition strongholds such as Benghazi.
"All attacks against all civilians must stop," Mr Obama said in his first public comments on the crisis since the UN Security Council voted last night to authorise a "no-fly" zone and other steps to help rebels under attack by Gadafy's forces.
"These terms are not subject to negotiation. If Gadafy does not comply with the resolution, the international community will impose consequences," Mr Obama said.
Libya's government earlier declared a ceasefire, pledging to end all military operations against rebel forces following the UN Security Council's decision last night.
“Libya is a full member of the United Nations. We accept that it is obliged to accept the UN Security Council resolution,” foreign minister Moussa Koussa told a news conference in Tripoli. “Therefore Libya has decided an immediate ceasefire and the stoppage of all military operations.”
He said Libya "takes a great interest in protecting all civilians" and it also protect all foreigners and foreign assets in the country.
He said the ceasefire “will take the country back to safety”, but also criticised the authorisation of international military action, calling it a violation of Libya’s sovereignty.
A Libyan rebel spokesman dismissed the ceasefire announcement, claiming Col Gadafy’s forces are still attacking key cities in the east and the west. Mustafa Gheriani, a spokesman for the national opposition council based in Benghazi, said Libyan forces are shelling the eastern city of Ajdabiya and Misrata, the last rebel-held city in the western half of the country.
The regime's announcement, which came as British, French and US prepared to send military aircraft to protect the rebel stronghold of Benghazi, will be treated with caution by Western powers, mistrustful of Libyan leader Muammar Gadafy.
Mr Obama said he was sending secretary of state Hillary Clinton to Paris tomorrow to take part in an international meeting on the next steps.
Ms Clinton said earlier that the immediate goal was stopping violence against civilians.
"We don't know what the final outcome will be. The first and overwhelmingly urgent action is to end the violence," she told reporters.
“We will judge him by is actions, not his words,” British prime minister David Cameron told Channel 4 this afternoon, shortly after telling the House of Commons that RAF fighters would start heading to the Mediterranean later today to join international operations.
France, which along with Britain had led the calls for a no-fly zone, has offered the use of military bases on its Mediterranean coast, about 1,200km from the Libyan coast. Italy said it would make seven military bases available along with equipment and troops and Naples could be the coordination centre. Denmark and Canada said they planned to contribute warplanes.
French president Nicolas Sarkozy will host talks in Paris with Mr Cameron and members of the Arab League tomorrow.
Nato secretary-general Anders Fogh Rasmussen said after a meeting of alliance ambassadors that Nato was "completing its planning in order to be ready to take appropriate action... as part of the broad international effort".
The UN Security Council last night voted to establish the no-fly zone and “all necessary measures” to protect Libyan citizens.Ten of the Council's 15 member states voted in favour of the resolution, while Russia, China and Germany were among five that abstained. The resolution was co-sponsored by France, Britain, Lebanon and the United States.
It allows not only a no-flight zone but also any measures short of a ground invasion to halt attacks that might result in civilian fatalities. It also expands sanctions against Col Gadafy and his associates.
While other countries or Nato may play roles in military action, the US is expected to do the heavy lifting in a campaign likely to include air strikes on tanks and artillery.
Libyan airspace was closed to civil aviation today, according to European air traffic control organisation Eurocontrol.
Fighter planes carried out attacks in eastern Libya earlier today, targeting rebels Benghazi, the country's second largest city. Col Gadafy had promised to retake Benghazi, saying his forces would show "no mercy".
His forces
also bombarded the rebel-held town of Misrata in the west with heavy weapons today, reportedly killing at least 25 people, including children.
Misrata,
which has a population of 300,000 and is about 200km east of Tripoli, has been under siege by Libyan forces for days. Water supplies have been cut off, there are frequent power cuts and communications are difficult.
There were also reports of fighting further west, near the border with Tunisia. Rebels in the town of Nalut said they attacked government positions close to the border this morning, and that four government soldiers and one insurgent were killed in the fighting. Al Arabiya also said the rebel-held western town of Zintan was attacked by rockets today.
The reports could not be independently verified because journalists are prevented from travelling to the areas.
Germany, which opposed the no-fly zone, said today it would take no part in military operations against Libya.
Foreign minister Guido Westerwelle said last night that Berlin remained strongly opposed to any military intervention in Libya or the use of air strikes. He warned that the consequences of western military intervention were unpredictable and could affect freedom movements in the Arab world.
Additional reporting: Agencies