Gadhafi remains defiant as US, EU efforts to oust him intensify

 

The US called Gadhafi delusional

Defiant Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi has told international media his people love him, as efforts are stepped up by the EU and the US to force him to step down. On Monday, the EU imposed a raft of sanctions on Libya.

 

In interviews with US and British media, Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi insisted late on Monday that he would not quit and that he had the full support of his people.

"All my people love me. They would die to protect me," he told US network ABC and the BBC in an interview in a Tripoli restaurant.

Asked if he would ever leave Libya, he laughed and also said he could not step down, as he had no official title or position.

The US ambassador to the UN, Susan Rice, had harsh words for the colonel, calling him "frankly delusional", adding that he was "disconnected from reality", "slaughtering his own people" and unfit to lead.

Reports say opposition forces have taken control in many Libyan cities

Sanctions and no-fly zones

Rice also said that the US was in talks with its NATO partners and other allies about military options. She said the US had moved naval and air forces in position around Libya.

Earlier on Monday, British Prime Minister David Cameron said his government was working with its allies on a no-fly zone over Libya, although he admitted any such mission would be fraught with difficulty. Cameron and French President Nicolas Sarkozy called for an emergency EU summit to discuss the situation in Libya.

Also on Monday, the European Union agreed on a raft of sanctions against the North African country.

"In line with the decision by the (UN) Security Council, the council of the EU banned the supply to Libya of arms, ammunition and related material ... At the same time the council enacted the UN measures regarding a visa ban," said Tamas Fellegi, development minister of Hungary which currently holds the EU's rotating presidency.

The visa ban and asset freeze each cover 26 people "responsible for the violent crackdown on the civilian population," including Gadhafi and his family, Fellegi added.

Ashton: "We're trying to respond...and avoid the civil war we fear."

Speaking in Geneva, the EU's foreign policy chief, Catherine Ashton, said the EU would accompany those measures adopted unanimously by the UN Security Council with an embargo on other equipment that could be used against the anti-government protesters.

German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle told reporters after a meeting with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, that he was proposing a 60-day freeze on all payments to Libya in order to deprive Gadhafi of the means of "oppressing the people." 

Meanwhile, Gadhafi's grip on power is weakening, as most of the country appears to be in rebel hands. In the capital Tripoli, Ghadafi's last stronghold, several people were reported dead or injured as government forces tried to disperse protests.

The Reuters news agency reported on Tuesday that forces loyal to Gadhafi were massing near the Tunisian border in an attempt to regain control of Nalut, 60 kilometers (38 miles) from the border in western Libya.

Author; Nicole Goebel (Reuters, AFP, AP)
Editor: Mark Rossman

 

 

dw