Gaddafi vows to fight no-fly zone

Moammar Gaddafi has warned that if a no-fly zone is imposed upon Libya by the UN Security Council, he and his military will respond with armed resistance. The measure would also prove, he contends that western powers want to take Libya’s oil reserves and very control of his country.

Gaddafi made the comments during a face-to-face interview with a state-run Turkish television station.

If they take such a decision it will be useful for Libya, because the Libyan people will see the truth, that what they want is to take control of Libya and to steal their oil,” Gaddafi told the Turkish reporter.

They want to take [our] petrol. This is what America, this is what the French, those colonialists, want.
Gaddafi added: The Libyan people will take up arms against them.

The UK and the US governments are discussing the formation of an internationally-supported no-fly zone over Libya as a backup plan in the event that Gaddafi remains adamantly opposed to resigning.

US President Barack Obama and UK Prime Minister David Cameron have planned to press forward with planning, including at NATO, on the full spectrum of possible responses, including surveillance, humanitarian assistance, enforcement of the arms embargo, and a no-fly zone.

Hilary Clinton, the US secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, has emphasized that any measure to impose a no-fly zone should be decided by the UN and not by the US.

Rebel groups in Libya are pleading with international governments to close airspace over Libya in order to prevent Gaddafi from launching airstrikes upon their strongholds.

They had a no-fly zone in Iraq, a rebel in the key oil town of Ras Lanuf told Reuters. Why is Gaddafi their darling and Saddam Hussein was not?

The rebel leaders in the eastern city of Benghazi have indicated that they are in consultation with foreign governments about the possibility of a no-fly zone.

We are concentrating our diplomatic efforts and working hard. But as always, they [foreign powers] are reluctant. One day we think they will take action soon, a rebel spokesman told Western media.

Gaddafi also warned that the collapse of Libya would mean chaos in the region.

The world will change its attitude towards Libya because Libyan stability means the security of the Mediterranean sea,” he told Turkish TV.

It will be a huge disaster if al-Qaeda takes over Libya. Al-Qaeda would flood Europe with immigrants. We are the ones who prevent al-Qaeda from taking over control. They would drag the whole region into chaos … Al-Qaeda would take over north Africa.

Meanwhile, Gaddafi’s soldiers continue to attack rebels in the city of Zawiyah, one of the few parts of western Libya where the opposition have established any kind of footprint.