The Libyan Crisis [Threads Merged]
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Pakistan_1st
Councller (250+ posts)
Breaking newss... Libya under attack
The UK, the US and France have begun attacking Libya as enforcement of the UN-mandated no-fly zone gets under way.
UK Prime Minister David Cameron has confirmed that British planes are in action over Libya. French planes flew reconnaissance missions and destroyed Libyan vehicles earlier on Saturday.
US media say the US has fired Cruise missiles on Libya from a warship.
Western planes bombed targets in the capital, Tripoli, said the AFP news agency, quoting witnesses and state TV.
A British submarine has fired a number of missiles at Libyan air defence targets, the Ministry of Defence said.
Prime Minister David Cameron said that launching military action against Libya was "necessary, legal and right".
Libyan state TV reported that what it called the "crusader enemy" had bombed civilian areas of Tripoli, as well as fuel storage tanks supplying the western city of Misrata.
Sources in Tripoli told BBC Arabic that the attacks on the city had so far targeted the eastern areas of Sawani, Airport Road, and Ghasheer. These are all areas believed to host military bases
The UK, the US and France have begun attacking Libya as enforcement of the UN-mandated no-fly zone gets under way.
UK Prime Minister David Cameron has confirmed that British planes are in action over Libya. French planes flew reconnaissance missions and destroyed Libyan vehicles earlier on Saturday.
US media say the US has fired Cruise missiles on Libya from a warship.
Western planes bombed targets in the capital, Tripoli, said the AFP news agency, quoting witnesses and state TV.
A British submarine has fired a number of missiles at Libyan air defence targets, the Ministry of Defence said.
Prime Minister David Cameron said that launching military action against Libya was "necessary, legal and right".
Libyan state TV reported that what it called the "crusader enemy" had bombed civilian areas of Tripoli, as well as fuel storage tanks supplying the western city of Misrata.
Sources in Tripoli told BBC Arabic that the attacks on the city had so far targeted the eastern areas of Sawani, Airport Road, and Ghasheer. These are all areas believed to host military bases
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Pakistan_1st
Councller (250+ posts)
Re: Breaking newss... Libya under attack
IF Mr Ghdaffi isn`t the part of the game, i think he should step down and handover the country to its own people rather than America, U.K or Any other hungry of OIL Country....
IF Mr Ghdaffi isn`t the part of the game, i think he should step down and handover the country to its own people rather than America, U.K or Any other hungry of OIL Country....
GeoG
Chief Minister (5k+ posts)
Re: Breaking newss... Libya under attack
They will assure him that you are part of the game
and one day he will be caught from a cell in a far off village before hanging
US Europe take pride that they have saved democracy and take care of oil reserves for free...
It is France's time to take its turn and share of oil from the LOOOOOOOOT..
They will assure him that you are part of the game
and one day he will be caught from a cell in a far off village before hanging
US Europe take pride that they have saved democracy and take care of oil reserves for free...
It is France's time to take its turn and share of oil from the LOOOOOOOOT..
simple_and_peacefull
Chief Minister (5k+ posts)
Re: Breaking newss... Libya under attack
its like sadaam hussain story
its like sadaam hussain story
gazoomartian
Prime Minister (20k+ posts)
Re: Breaking newss... Libya under attack
first they brought public to revolt against the govt. then they go to protect the very same public.
And how they protect them? By bombing the country.
Free Mason at work. 'Do it my way or we will destroy you'
Hadeeth hai: Qyamah key qareeb, her taraf kafiron ka bol bala hoga.
May be thats what it means by 'bol bala'
Subhan, teri qudrat aur maslihat
first they brought public to revolt against the govt. then they go to protect the very same public.
And how they protect them? By bombing the country.
Free Mason at work. 'Do it my way or we will destroy you'
Hadeeth hai: Qyamah key qareeb, her taraf kafiron ka bol bala hoga.
May be thats what it means by 'bol bala'
Subhan, teri qudrat aur maslihat
Re: Breaking newss... Libya under attack
Even if Ghadaffi is not part of the game, he should now step down. Otherwise he should be prepared for the end similar to Saddam Hussain.
Even if Ghadaffi is not part of the game, he should now step down. Otherwise he should be prepared for the end similar to Saddam Hussain.
gazoomartian
Prime Minister (20k+ posts)
Re: Breaking newss... Libya under attack
of course, the King is a puppet. He will be soon the next victim of free madonic terror
pata nahi Allah ka qahar kab ayega, ayega bhi key nahi
Fawad saheb, kahan chup ler baithey hain aap? kuch to likh dijeye. zar amain bhi dekhon aap kaya kya ilzamat lagatey hain qaddafi per
of course, the King is a puppet. He will be soon the next victim of free madonic terror
pata nahi Allah ka qahar kab ayega, ayega bhi key nahi
Fawad saheb, kahan chup ler baithey hain aap? kuch to likh dijeye. zar amain bhi dekhon aap kaya kya ilzamat lagatey hain qaddafi per
Pakistan_1st
Councller (250+ posts)
Re: Breaking newss... Libya under attack
Same mission but different tactics... this time France & U.k Lead the Attack....
Same mission but different tactics... this time France & U.k Lead the Attack....
Pakistan_1st
Councller (250+ posts)
Re: Breaking newss... Libya under attack
This is what going to happen to all Muslims becuase we have been fooled over and over again... we are not muslims anymore we are IRAQI`S YAMENI, AFGHANI, PAKISTANI, SAUDI, TURKISH, LIBYAN, MOROCISH, MALYSHIAN, EGYPTIAN AND IRANIAN... IN ISLAM there is no border.. and in todays world there is borders. Firstly it was Afghani`s war, than Iraqi`s War now Libyan`s War and i won`t be surprised one day it will be Pakistans turn... We all know its war against Muslims/ Islam. When will Muslim Brotherhood will help each other?
This is what going to happen to all Muslims becuase we have been fooled over and over again... we are not muslims anymore we are IRAQI`S YAMENI, AFGHANI, PAKISTANI, SAUDI, TURKISH, LIBYAN, MOROCISH, MALYSHIAN, EGYPTIAN AND IRANIAN... IN ISLAM there is no border.. and in todays world there is borders. Firstly it was Afghani`s war, than Iraqi`s War now Libyan`s War and i won`t be surprised one day it will be Pakistans turn... We all know its war against Muslims/ Islam. When will Muslim Brotherhood will help each other?
famamdani
Minister (2k+ posts)
Re: Breaking newss... Libya under attack
Please dont disturb to Mr Fawad ..............................he is very busy to think for better exist Mr RAWAIND ..............DEVIL................................with Asif Evil..................
Please dont disturb to Mr Fawad ..............................he is very busy to think for better exist Mr RAWAIND ..............DEVIL................................with Asif Evil..................
M
mimran301
Guest
Re: France attacks Libya
Welcome France ; kill Qaddafi, next stop is Bahrain.... and the Saudi Arabia.These Arab kings will not leave otherwise.
Welcome France ; kill Qaddafi, next stop is Bahrain.... and the Saudi Arabia.These Arab kings will not leave otherwise.
Re: Breaking newss... Libya under attack
Don't worry people, it is time for oil again and the best way to steal the wealth of these people is to destroy their country and then rob them by selling them their services at a price to suck them dry.
Qadafi is proving to be an enemy of his people who wants to save himself at the expense of his people. It was better for him to go when his people rose up against him that might have saved people from this humiliation and may have given him some respect in their eyes. Now it is going to end up in total humilation of all people.
http://www.siasat.pk/forum/showthread.php?50607-Pakistan-religion-secularism-amp-tribalism/page2
http://www.siasat.pk/forum/showthre...en-plz!-Nice-Column-by-Orya-Maqbool-Jan/page5
Don't worry people, it is time for oil again and the best way to steal the wealth of these people is to destroy their country and then rob them by selling them their services at a price to suck them dry.
Qadafi is proving to be an enemy of his people who wants to save himself at the expense of his people. It was better for him to go when his people rose up against him that might have saved people from this humiliation and may have given him some respect in their eyes. Now it is going to end up in total humilation of all people.
http://www.siasat.pk/forum/showthread.php?50607-Pakistan-religion-secularism-amp-tribalism/page2
http://www.siasat.pk/forum/showthre...en-plz!-Nice-Column-by-Orya-Maqbool-Jan/page5
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simple_and_peacefull
Chief Minister (5k+ posts)
Re: Breaking newss... Libya under attack
Now they start slaughtering Libyan people like Iraq and afghan openly. and Pakistani from Hidden points.
i
Now they start slaughtering Libyan people like Iraq and afghan openly. and Pakistani from Hidden points.
i
M_Adnan.L
Councller (250+ posts)
BREAKING NEWS: Coalition ( USA, UK & France) launches Libya attacks
The UK, the US and France fire dozens of missiles at Libya as enforcement of the UN-mandated no-fly zone gets under way.
Tripoli, Libya (CNN) -- Hours after French, British and American military forces unleashed cruise missiles and fighter jets, a defiant Moammar Gadhafi said Libya will fight back against undeserved "naked aggression."
A coalition that includes Canada and Italy made good Saturday on international warnings to Gadhafi, hammering Libyan military positions in the first phase of an operation that will include enforcement of a no-fly zone.
More than 110 Tomahawk missiles fired from American and British ships and submarines hit about 20 Libyan air and missile defense targets in western portions of the country, U.S. Vice Adm. William Gortney said at a Pentagon briefing.
The U.S. will conduct a damage assessment of the sites, which include SA-5 missiles and communications facilities. A senior U.S. military official, who was not authorized to speak on the record, said the cruise missiles, which fly close to the ground or sea at about 550 miles per hour, landed near Misrata and Tripoli, the capital and Gadhafi's stronghold.
The salvo, in an operation dubbed "Odyssey Dawn," was meant "to deny the Libyan regime from using force against its own people," said Gortney.
U.S. Navy photos showed flashes of light and smoke funnels as missiles soared from a destroyer into the night sky.
Earlier, French fighter jets deployed over Libya fired at a military vehicle Saturday, the country's first strike against Gadhafi's military forces, which earlier attacked the rebel stronghold of Benghazi.
Prime Minister David Cameron said late Saturday that British forces also are in action over Libya. "What we are doing is necessary, it is legal and it is right," he said. "I believe we should not stand aside while this dictator murders his own people."
While there were no U.S. warplanes flying over Libya late Saturday, the coalition was softening Libyan positions before enforcing a no-fly zone, Gortney said.
Nearly 1,000 people gathered Saturday night at Gadhafi's palace in Tripoli, CNN's Nic Robertson reported. The crowd chanted, waved flags and shot off fireworks in support of the government.
Gadhafi, speaking early Sunday on Libyan state TV, said the U.N. charter provides for Libya's right to defend itself in a "war zone." Weapons depots will be opened, he said.
"All you people of the Islamic nations and Africa, and Latin America and Asia, stand with the Libyan people in its fight against this aggression," Gadhafi said.
Obama has called on Gadhafi to pull back from Zawiya, west of Tripoli, where his troops defeated rebel forces. CNN's Nic Robertson visited the city Saturday and witnessed residents -- encouraged by the government -- celebrating the victory. Tank tracks and damaged buildings showed the ferocity of the fighting.
Air attacks on several locations in Tripoli and Misrata have caused "real harm" to civilians, a Libyan government spokesman said.
An eyewitness in Misrata said Gadhafi's forces are targeting fuel and power stations in an effort to make citizens believe the damage is being done by coalition forces. The eyewitness, who was not identified for security reasons, said people celebrated allied airstrikes on loyalist positions in the city. CNN could not verify the account.
Shortly after the first missile attacks, U.S. President Barack Obama informed the American people of the efforts by a "broad coalition."
"The use of force is not our first choice," the president said from Brasilia, Brazil. "It is not a choice I make lightly. But we cannot stand idly by when a tyrant tells his own people that there will be no mercy."
Obama is planning for the U.S. portion of the military action in Libya to only last for a few days, according to a senior administration official, who was not authorized to speak about sensitive military matters.
"In terms of the heavy kinetic portion of this military action, the president envisions it as lasting days, not weeks," the senior official said. "After that we'll take more of a supporting role."
In an interesting symbolic twist, Obama authorized U.S. military force from Brazil on what happened to be the eighth anniversary of the start of the war in Iraq.
Coalition partners say Gadhafi has failed to adhere to a United Nations resolution that imposed the no-fly zone and ordered him to stop attacks on civilians.
"He's clearly been on the offensive," the senior U.S. military official said of Gadhafi. "He said that he was going to do a cease-fire and he continued to move his forces into Benghazi."
The international show of force is much welcomed by besieged rebel forces who have called for backup to help them stave off a government offensive against their positions in Benghazi and other rebel-held enclaves.
An opposition spokesman in Benghazi said Gadhafi forces that assaulted the city earlier Saturday are now positioned outside the town.
Rebel forces in Benghazi used a captured army tank as a victory symbol, CNN's Arwa Damon reported.
Earlier Saturday, Gadhafi issued defiant messages to international powers.
"I have all the Libyan people with me and I'm prepared to die. And they are prepared to die for me. Men, women and even children," Gadhafi said in a letter addressed to Obama and read to reporters by a government spokesman in Tripoli.
Obama, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Gortney used the term "unique capabilities" to describe the U.S. part of the effort. Officials have said American military forces are meant to augment Arab, European and other Western troops.
In the next few days, U.S. military officials expect to hand over control to a coalition commander.
"Our air force will oppose any aggression by Colonel Gadhafi against the population of Benghazi," said French President Nicolas Sarkozy, speaking after a top-level meeting in Paris over the Libyan crisis.
The international meeting -- which included Western and Arab partners -- focused on how to take on a Libyan government bent on destroying the fledgling opposition movement under the U.N. resolution authorizing force to protect civilians against the Gadhafi government.
In Rome, Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's office confirmed to CNN that Berlusconi has proposed the use of the NATO base in southern Italy as a command center for allied action in Libya.
Earlier Saturday, incoming artillery rounds landed inside the city, and pro-Gadhafi tanks rolled into the town firing rounds, witnesses said.
A flaming fighter jet plummeted from the sky, nose-diving to the ground. Khaled el-Sayeh, the opposition military spokesman, said the plane was an old MiG-23 that belonged to the rebels.
As night fell over Benghazi on Saturday, the city became quiet and calm. While plumes of smoke could be spotted, the pro-Gadhafi tanks seen earlier were not in sight. El-Sayeh told CNN that "tens" have been killed in Benghazi on Saturday.
He said Gadhafi forces have withdrawn from the city and that they are now positioned 50 kilometers (31 miles) outside Benghazi on the road east to Ajdabiya. CNN could not independently verify those details.
In Tripoli, Gadhafi's supporters took to the streets, waving green Libyan flags and singing pro-regime songs.
Gadhafi -- in a separate letter addressed to Sarkozy, Cameron and U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon -- called the U.N. moves "invalid" because the resolution does not permit intervention in the internal affairs of other countries.
Violence has raged in Libya following protests calling for democracy and freedom and demanding an end to Gadhafi's almost 42-year-long rule. It's a conflict spurred by anti-government protest and resulting regime violence against civilians -- which the U.N. resolution cites as "outrageous" and Sarkozy calls "murderous madness."
Gadhafi defended his actions in his note to Obama. He said his opponents are from al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, the group's North African wing, and asked Obama what he would do if such an armed movement controlled American cities.
"Tell me, how would you behave so I could follow your example?"
CNN's Arwa Damon, Chris Lawrence, Jill Dougherty, Elise Labott, Ed Henry, Jim Bittermann, Paula Newton, Richard Roth and Nic Robertson contributed to this report
The UK, the US and France fire dozens of missiles at Libya as enforcement of the UN-mandated no-fly zone gets under way.
Tripoli, Libya (CNN) -- Hours after French, British and American military forces unleashed cruise missiles and fighter jets, a defiant Moammar Gadhafi said Libya will fight back against undeserved "naked aggression."
A coalition that includes Canada and Italy made good Saturday on international warnings to Gadhafi, hammering Libyan military positions in the first phase of an operation that will include enforcement of a no-fly zone.
More than 110 Tomahawk missiles fired from American and British ships and submarines hit about 20 Libyan air and missile defense targets in western portions of the country, U.S. Vice Adm. William Gortney said at a Pentagon briefing.
The U.S. will conduct a damage assessment of the sites, which include SA-5 missiles and communications facilities. A senior U.S. military official, who was not authorized to speak on the record, said the cruise missiles, which fly close to the ground or sea at about 550 miles per hour, landed near Misrata and Tripoli, the capital and Gadhafi's stronghold.
The salvo, in an operation dubbed "Odyssey Dawn," was meant "to deny the Libyan regime from using force against its own people," said Gortney.
U.S. Navy photos showed flashes of light and smoke funnels as missiles soared from a destroyer into the night sky.
Earlier, French fighter jets deployed over Libya fired at a military vehicle Saturday, the country's first strike against Gadhafi's military forces, which earlier attacked the rebel stronghold of Benghazi.
Prime Minister David Cameron said late Saturday that British forces also are in action over Libya. "What we are doing is necessary, it is legal and it is right," he said. "I believe we should not stand aside while this dictator murders his own people."
While there were no U.S. warplanes flying over Libya late Saturday, the coalition was softening Libyan positions before enforcing a no-fly zone, Gortney said.
Nearly 1,000 people gathered Saturday night at Gadhafi's palace in Tripoli, CNN's Nic Robertson reported. The crowd chanted, waved flags and shot off fireworks in support of the government.
Gadhafi, speaking early Sunday on Libyan state TV, said the U.N. charter provides for Libya's right to defend itself in a "war zone." Weapons depots will be opened, he said.
"All you people of the Islamic nations and Africa, and Latin America and Asia, stand with the Libyan people in its fight against this aggression," Gadhafi said.
Obama has called on Gadhafi to pull back from Zawiya, west of Tripoli, where his troops defeated rebel forces. CNN's Nic Robertson visited the city Saturday and witnessed residents -- encouraged by the government -- celebrating the victory. Tank tracks and damaged buildings showed the ferocity of the fighting.
Air attacks on several locations in Tripoli and Misrata have caused "real harm" to civilians, a Libyan government spokesman said.
An eyewitness in Misrata said Gadhafi's forces are targeting fuel and power stations in an effort to make citizens believe the damage is being done by coalition forces. The eyewitness, who was not identified for security reasons, said people celebrated allied airstrikes on loyalist positions in the city. CNN could not verify the account.
Shortly after the first missile attacks, U.S. President Barack Obama informed the American people of the efforts by a "broad coalition."
"The use of force is not our first choice," the president said from Brasilia, Brazil. "It is not a choice I make lightly. But we cannot stand idly by when a tyrant tells his own people that there will be no mercy."
Obama is planning for the U.S. portion of the military action in Libya to only last for a few days, according to a senior administration official, who was not authorized to speak about sensitive military matters.
"In terms of the heavy kinetic portion of this military action, the president envisions it as lasting days, not weeks," the senior official said. "After that we'll take more of a supporting role."
In an interesting symbolic twist, Obama authorized U.S. military force from Brazil on what happened to be the eighth anniversary of the start of the war in Iraq.
Coalition partners say Gadhafi has failed to adhere to a United Nations resolution that imposed the no-fly zone and ordered him to stop attacks on civilians.
"He's clearly been on the offensive," the senior U.S. military official said of Gadhafi. "He said that he was going to do a cease-fire and he continued to move his forces into Benghazi."
The international show of force is much welcomed by besieged rebel forces who have called for backup to help them stave off a government offensive against their positions in Benghazi and other rebel-held enclaves.
An opposition spokesman in Benghazi said Gadhafi forces that assaulted the city earlier Saturday are now positioned outside the town.
Rebel forces in Benghazi used a captured army tank as a victory symbol, CNN's Arwa Damon reported.
Earlier Saturday, Gadhafi issued defiant messages to international powers.
"I have all the Libyan people with me and I'm prepared to die. And they are prepared to die for me. Men, women and even children," Gadhafi said in a letter addressed to Obama and read to reporters by a government spokesman in Tripoli.
Obama, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Gortney used the term "unique capabilities" to describe the U.S. part of the effort. Officials have said American military forces are meant to augment Arab, European and other Western troops.
In the next few days, U.S. military officials expect to hand over control to a coalition commander.
"Our air force will oppose any aggression by Colonel Gadhafi against the population of Benghazi," said French President Nicolas Sarkozy, speaking after a top-level meeting in Paris over the Libyan crisis.
The international meeting -- which included Western and Arab partners -- focused on how to take on a Libyan government bent on destroying the fledgling opposition movement under the U.N. resolution authorizing force to protect civilians against the Gadhafi government.
In Rome, Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's office confirmed to CNN that Berlusconi has proposed the use of the NATO base in southern Italy as a command center for allied action in Libya.
Earlier Saturday, incoming artillery rounds landed inside the city, and pro-Gadhafi tanks rolled into the town firing rounds, witnesses said.
A flaming fighter jet plummeted from the sky, nose-diving to the ground. Khaled el-Sayeh, the opposition military spokesman, said the plane was an old MiG-23 that belonged to the rebels.
As night fell over Benghazi on Saturday, the city became quiet and calm. While plumes of smoke could be spotted, the pro-Gadhafi tanks seen earlier were not in sight. El-Sayeh told CNN that "tens" have been killed in Benghazi on Saturday.
He said Gadhafi forces have withdrawn from the city and that they are now positioned 50 kilometers (31 miles) outside Benghazi on the road east to Ajdabiya. CNN could not independently verify those details.
In Tripoli, Gadhafi's supporters took to the streets, waving green Libyan flags and singing pro-regime songs.
Gadhafi -- in a separate letter addressed to Sarkozy, Cameron and U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon -- called the U.N. moves "invalid" because the resolution does not permit intervention in the internal affairs of other countries.
Violence has raged in Libya following protests calling for democracy and freedom and demanding an end to Gadhafi's almost 42-year-long rule. It's a conflict spurred by anti-government protest and resulting regime violence against civilians -- which the U.N. resolution cites as "outrageous" and Sarkozy calls "murderous madness."
Gadhafi defended his actions in his note to Obama. He said his opponents are from al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, the group's North African wing, and asked Obama what he would do if such an armed movement controlled American cities.
"Tell me, how would you behave so I could follow your example?"
CNN's Arwa Damon, Chris Lawrence, Jill Dougherty, Elise Labott, Ed Henry, Jim Bittermann, Paula Newton, Richard Roth and Nic Robertson contributed to this report
M_Adnan.L
Councller (250+ posts)
Usa attacks libya!
U.S. cruise missiles strike more than 20 targets in Libya
The U.S. military has launched airstrikes on Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi's air defenses. More than 110 Tomahawk cruise missiles were fired from both U.S. and British ships and submarines, according to the U.S. military.
source: CNN
U.S. cruise missiles strike more than 20 targets in Libya
The U.S. military has launched airstrikes on Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi's air defenses. More than 110 Tomahawk cruise missiles were fired from both U.S. and British ships and submarines, according to the U.S. military.
source: CNN
digitalzygot
Senator (1k+ posts)
Libya: crusader aggression against Muslims, many dead
BENGHAZI, Libya - Libyan state TV is quoting the armed forces command as saying 48 people have been killed and 150 wounded in the the allied assault by US and European forces. The report can't be independently confirmed.
The US and European nations have pounded Muammar Gaddafi's forces and air defences with cruise missiles and airstrikes today, launching the broadest international military effort since the Iraq war in support of an uprising that had seemed on the verge of defeat.
The longtime Libyan leader vowed to defend his country from what he called "crusader aggression" and warned the involvement of international forces will subject the Mediterranean and North African region to danger and put civilians at risk.
The US military said 112 Tomahawk cruise missiles were fired from American and British ships and submarines at more than 20 coastal targets to clear the way for air patrols to ground Libya's air force.
French fighter jets fired the first salvos, carrying out several strikes in the rebel-held east.
President Barack Obama said military action was not his first choice and reiterated that he would not send American ground troops to Libya.
"This is not an outcome the US or any of our partners sought," Obama said from Brazil, where he is starting a five-day visit to Latin America. "We cannot stand idly by when a tyrant tells his people there will be no mercy."
Thousands of regime supporters, meanwhile, packed into the sprawling Bab al-Aziziya military camp in Tripoli where Gaddafi lives to protect against attacks.
Anti-aircraft guns could be heard firing overnight in Tripoli.
The strikes, which were aimed at enforcing a UN-mandated no-fly zone, were a sharp escalation in the international effort to stop Gaddafi after weeks of pleading by the rebels who have seen early gains reversed as the regime unleashed the full force of its superior air power and weaponry.
Gaddafi, who has ruled Libya for 41 years, said in a telephone call to Libyan state TV that he was opening weapons depots to allow his people to arm themselves in defence.
He said the international action against his forces was unjustified, calling it "simply a colonial crusader aggression that may ignite another large-scale crusader war."
He also said the UN Security Council and the international community were responsible for "stopping this unjust flagrant aggression against a sovereign country immediately."
His regime also acted quickly in the run-up to the strikes, sending warplanes, tanks and troops into the eastern city of Benghazi, the rebel capital and first city to fall to the rebellion that began Feb. 15. Then the government attacks appeared to go silent.
Operation Odyssey Dawn, as the allied assault has been dubbed, followed an emergency summit in Paris during which the 22 leaders and top officials agreed to do everything necessary to make Gaddafi respect a UN Security Council resolution Thursday calling for the no-fly zone and demanding a cease-fire, French President Nicolas Sarkozy said.
"Our consensus was strong, and our resolve is clear. The people of Libya must be protected, and in the absence of an immediate end to the violence against civilians our coalition is prepared to act, and to act with urgency," Obama said earlier.
Navy Vice Adm. William E. Gortney, director of the Pentagon's Joint Staff, told reporters in Washington that US ships and a British submarine had launched the first phase of a missile assault on Libyan air defences to clear the way for the imposition of a UN-mandated no-fly zone over the North African country.
Gortney said the mission has two goals: prevent further attacks by Libyan forces on rebels and civilians, and degrade the Libyan military's ability to contest a no-fly zone.
Defence officials cautioned it was too early to fully gauge the impact of the onslaught. But a senior defence official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the mission was ongoing, said the Americans felt that Libya's air defences had been heavily damaged given the precision targeting of the cruise missiles.
Mohammed Ali, a spokesman for the exiled opposition group the Libyan Salvation Front, said the Libyan air force headquarters at the Mateiga air base in eastern Tripoli and the Aviation Academy in Misrata had been targeted.
About 20 French fighter jets carried out "several strikes" earlier Saturday, military spokesman Thierry Burkhard told The Associated Press. He said earlier that one of the planes had fired the first shot against a Libyan military vehicle.
"All our planes have returned to base tonight," he said, and denied a Libyan TV report that a French plane had been hit.
He would not elaborate on what was hit or where, but said French forces are focusing on the Benghazi area and US forces are focused in the west.
British Prime Minister David Cameron said his country's forces were in action over Libya.
The US has struck Libya before. Former President Reagan launched US airstrikes on Libya in 1986 after a bombing at a Berlin disco -- which the US blamed on Libya - that killed three people, including two American soldiers. The airstrikes killed about 100 people in Libya, including Gaddafi's young adopted daughter at his Tripoli compound.
Libyan regime official Mohammed al-Zwei said a large number of civilians were injured when several civilian and military sites in the capital, Tripoli, and the nearby city of Misrata were hit. He also reiterated the Libyan allegation that the rebels were linked to al-Qaida. There was no way to independently verify the claims.
The rebels said earlier that they had hoped for more, sooner from the international community, after a day when crashing shells shook the buildings of Benghazi and Gaddafi's tanks rumbled through the university campus.
"People are disappointed, they haven't seen any action yet. The leadership understands some of the difficulties with procedures but when it comes to procedures versus human lives the choice is clear," said Essam Gheriani, a spokesman for the opposition. "People on the streets are saying where are the international forces? Is the international community waiting for the same crimes to be perpetrated on Benghazi has have been done by Gaddafi in the other cities?"
A doctor said 27 bodies had reached hospitals by midday. As night fell, though, the streets grew quiet.
Libyan state television also showed Gaddafi supporters converging on the international airport and a military garrison in Tripoli, and the airport in Gaddafi's hometown of Sirte, in an apparent attempt to deter bombing.
In an open letter, Gadhafi warned: "You will regret it if you dare to intervene in our country."
In Paris, US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Gaddafi's government had lost all legitimacy and lied when it declared Friday it would abide by a cease-fire.
"We have every reason to fear that left unchecked, Gaddafi will commit unspeakable atrocities," she said.
Saturday's emergency meeting in Paris, which included UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa and the foreign ministers of Jordan, Morocco and the United Arab Emirates, was the largest international military action since the beginning of the Iraq war, launched almost exactly eight years ago.
"The time for action has come, it needs to be urgent," Cameron said after the summit.
Earlier Saturday, a plane was shot down over the outskirts of Benghazi, sending up a massive black cloud of smoke. An Associated Press reporter saw the plane go down in flames and heard the sound of artillery and crackling gunfire.
Before the plane went down, journalists heard what appeared to be airstrikes from it. Rebels cheered and celebrated at the crash, though the government denied a plane had gone down - or that any towns were shelled on Saturday.
The fighting galvanised the people of Benghazi, with young men collecting bottles to make petrol bombs. Some residents dragged bed frames and metal scraps into the streets to make roadblocks.
"This city is a symbol of the revolution, it's where it started and where it will end if this city falls," said Gheriani.
But at Jalaa hospital, where the tile floors and walls were stained with blood, the toll was clear.
"There are more dead than injured," said Dr. Ahmed Radwan, an Egyptian who had been there helping for three weeks.
Jalaa's Dr. Gebreil Hewadi, a member of the rebel health committee, said city hospitals had received 27 bodies.
At a news conference in the capital, Tripoli, the government spokesman read letters from Gaddafi to Obama and others involved in the international effort.
"Libya is not yours. Libya is for the Libyans. The Security Council resolution is invalid," he said in the letter to Sarkozy, Cameron, and the UN secretary-general.
To Obama, the Libyan leader was slightly more conciliatory: "If you had found them taking over American cities with armed force, tell me what you would do."
In a joint statement to Gaddafi late on Friday, the United States, Britain and France -- backed by unspecified Arab countries - called on Gaddafi to end his troops' advance toward Benghazi and pull them out of the cities of Misrata, Ajdabiya and Zawiya. It also called for the restoration of water, electricity and gas services in all areas. It said Libyans must be able to receive humanitarian aid or the "international community will make him suffer the consequences" with military action.
Foreign Minister Moussa Koussa said that Libyan officials had informed the UN and the Security Council that the government was abiding by the cease-fire it had announced Friday and called for a team of foreign observers to verify that.
In the course of the rebellion, Libya has gone from a once-promising economy with the largest proven oil reserves in Africa to a country in turmoil. The foreign workers who underpinned the oil industry have fled; production and exports have all but ground to a halt; and its currency is down 30 per cent in just two weeks.
The oil minister, Shukri Ghanem, held a news conference calling on foreign oil companies to send back their workers. He said the government would honour all its contracts.
"We are still considering all our contracts and agreements with the oil companies valid," he said. "We hope from their part that they will honour their agreements, that they will send back their experts and their people to work."
He suggested future decisions on oil deals would favour countries that did not join the international force against Gaddafi: "A friend in need is a friend indeed," he told reporters in Tripoli.
Italy, which had been the main buyer for Libyan oil, offered the use of seven air and navy bases already housing US, NATO and Italian forces to enforce the no-fly zone over Libya.
Italy's defence minister, Ignazio La Russa, said Saturday that Italy wasn't just "renting out" its bases for others to use but was prepared to offer "moderate but determined" military support.
Warplanes from the United States, Canada, Denmark arrived at Italian air bases Saturday as part of an international military buildup. Germany backed the operation but isn't offering its own forces.
- AP
BENGHAZI, Libya - Libyan state TV is quoting the armed forces command as saying 48 people have been killed and 150 wounded in the the allied assault by US and European forces. The report can't be independently confirmed.
The US and European nations have pounded Muammar Gaddafi's forces and air defences with cruise missiles and airstrikes today, launching the broadest international military effort since the Iraq war in support of an uprising that had seemed on the verge of defeat.
The longtime Libyan leader vowed to defend his country from what he called "crusader aggression" and warned the involvement of international forces will subject the Mediterranean and North African region to danger and put civilians at risk.
The US military said 112 Tomahawk cruise missiles were fired from American and British ships and submarines at more than 20 coastal targets to clear the way for air patrols to ground Libya's air force.
French fighter jets fired the first salvos, carrying out several strikes in the rebel-held east.
President Barack Obama said military action was not his first choice and reiterated that he would not send American ground troops to Libya.
"This is not an outcome the US or any of our partners sought," Obama said from Brazil, where he is starting a five-day visit to Latin America. "We cannot stand idly by when a tyrant tells his people there will be no mercy."
Thousands of regime supporters, meanwhile, packed into the sprawling Bab al-Aziziya military camp in Tripoli where Gaddafi lives to protect against attacks.
Anti-aircraft guns could be heard firing overnight in Tripoli.
The strikes, which were aimed at enforcing a UN-mandated no-fly zone, were a sharp escalation in the international effort to stop Gaddafi after weeks of pleading by the rebels who have seen early gains reversed as the regime unleashed the full force of its superior air power and weaponry.
Gaddafi, who has ruled Libya for 41 years, said in a telephone call to Libyan state TV that he was opening weapons depots to allow his people to arm themselves in defence.
He said the international action against his forces was unjustified, calling it "simply a colonial crusader aggression that may ignite another large-scale crusader war."
He also said the UN Security Council and the international community were responsible for "stopping this unjust flagrant aggression against a sovereign country immediately."
His regime also acted quickly in the run-up to the strikes, sending warplanes, tanks and troops into the eastern city of Benghazi, the rebel capital and first city to fall to the rebellion that began Feb. 15. Then the government attacks appeared to go silent.
Operation Odyssey Dawn, as the allied assault has been dubbed, followed an emergency summit in Paris during which the 22 leaders and top officials agreed to do everything necessary to make Gaddafi respect a UN Security Council resolution Thursday calling for the no-fly zone and demanding a cease-fire, French President Nicolas Sarkozy said.
"Our consensus was strong, and our resolve is clear. The people of Libya must be protected, and in the absence of an immediate end to the violence against civilians our coalition is prepared to act, and to act with urgency," Obama said earlier.
Navy Vice Adm. William E. Gortney, director of the Pentagon's Joint Staff, told reporters in Washington that US ships and a British submarine had launched the first phase of a missile assault on Libyan air defences to clear the way for the imposition of a UN-mandated no-fly zone over the North African country.
Gortney said the mission has two goals: prevent further attacks by Libyan forces on rebels and civilians, and degrade the Libyan military's ability to contest a no-fly zone.
Defence officials cautioned it was too early to fully gauge the impact of the onslaught. But a senior defence official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the mission was ongoing, said the Americans felt that Libya's air defences had been heavily damaged given the precision targeting of the cruise missiles.
Mohammed Ali, a spokesman for the exiled opposition group the Libyan Salvation Front, said the Libyan air force headquarters at the Mateiga air base in eastern Tripoli and the Aviation Academy in Misrata had been targeted.
About 20 French fighter jets carried out "several strikes" earlier Saturday, military spokesman Thierry Burkhard told The Associated Press. He said earlier that one of the planes had fired the first shot against a Libyan military vehicle.
"All our planes have returned to base tonight," he said, and denied a Libyan TV report that a French plane had been hit.
He would not elaborate on what was hit or where, but said French forces are focusing on the Benghazi area and US forces are focused in the west.
British Prime Minister David Cameron said his country's forces were in action over Libya.
The US has struck Libya before. Former President Reagan launched US airstrikes on Libya in 1986 after a bombing at a Berlin disco -- which the US blamed on Libya - that killed three people, including two American soldiers. The airstrikes killed about 100 people in Libya, including Gaddafi's young adopted daughter at his Tripoli compound.
Libyan regime official Mohammed al-Zwei said a large number of civilians were injured when several civilian and military sites in the capital, Tripoli, and the nearby city of Misrata were hit. He also reiterated the Libyan allegation that the rebels were linked to al-Qaida. There was no way to independently verify the claims.
The rebels said earlier that they had hoped for more, sooner from the international community, after a day when crashing shells shook the buildings of Benghazi and Gaddafi's tanks rumbled through the university campus.
"People are disappointed, they haven't seen any action yet. The leadership understands some of the difficulties with procedures but when it comes to procedures versus human lives the choice is clear," said Essam Gheriani, a spokesman for the opposition. "People on the streets are saying where are the international forces? Is the international community waiting for the same crimes to be perpetrated on Benghazi has have been done by Gaddafi in the other cities?"
A doctor said 27 bodies had reached hospitals by midday. As night fell, though, the streets grew quiet.
Libyan state television also showed Gaddafi supporters converging on the international airport and a military garrison in Tripoli, and the airport in Gaddafi's hometown of Sirte, in an apparent attempt to deter bombing.
In an open letter, Gadhafi warned: "You will regret it if you dare to intervene in our country."
In Paris, US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Gaddafi's government had lost all legitimacy and lied when it declared Friday it would abide by a cease-fire.
"We have every reason to fear that left unchecked, Gaddafi will commit unspeakable atrocities," she said.
Saturday's emergency meeting in Paris, which included UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa and the foreign ministers of Jordan, Morocco and the United Arab Emirates, was the largest international military action since the beginning of the Iraq war, launched almost exactly eight years ago.
"The time for action has come, it needs to be urgent," Cameron said after the summit.
Earlier Saturday, a plane was shot down over the outskirts of Benghazi, sending up a massive black cloud of smoke. An Associated Press reporter saw the plane go down in flames and heard the sound of artillery and crackling gunfire.
Before the plane went down, journalists heard what appeared to be airstrikes from it. Rebels cheered and celebrated at the crash, though the government denied a plane had gone down - or that any towns were shelled on Saturday.
The fighting galvanised the people of Benghazi, with young men collecting bottles to make petrol bombs. Some residents dragged bed frames and metal scraps into the streets to make roadblocks.
"This city is a symbol of the revolution, it's where it started and where it will end if this city falls," said Gheriani.
But at Jalaa hospital, where the tile floors and walls were stained with blood, the toll was clear.
"There are more dead than injured," said Dr. Ahmed Radwan, an Egyptian who had been there helping for three weeks.
Jalaa's Dr. Gebreil Hewadi, a member of the rebel health committee, said city hospitals had received 27 bodies.
At a news conference in the capital, Tripoli, the government spokesman read letters from Gaddafi to Obama and others involved in the international effort.
"Libya is not yours. Libya is for the Libyans. The Security Council resolution is invalid," he said in the letter to Sarkozy, Cameron, and the UN secretary-general.
To Obama, the Libyan leader was slightly more conciliatory: "If you had found them taking over American cities with armed force, tell me what you would do."
In a joint statement to Gaddafi late on Friday, the United States, Britain and France -- backed by unspecified Arab countries - called on Gaddafi to end his troops' advance toward Benghazi and pull them out of the cities of Misrata, Ajdabiya and Zawiya. It also called for the restoration of water, electricity and gas services in all areas. It said Libyans must be able to receive humanitarian aid or the "international community will make him suffer the consequences" with military action.
Foreign Minister Moussa Koussa said that Libyan officials had informed the UN and the Security Council that the government was abiding by the cease-fire it had announced Friday and called for a team of foreign observers to verify that.
In the course of the rebellion, Libya has gone from a once-promising economy with the largest proven oil reserves in Africa to a country in turmoil. The foreign workers who underpinned the oil industry have fled; production and exports have all but ground to a halt; and its currency is down 30 per cent in just two weeks.
The oil minister, Shukri Ghanem, held a news conference calling on foreign oil companies to send back their workers. He said the government would honour all its contracts.
"We are still considering all our contracts and agreements with the oil companies valid," he said. "We hope from their part that they will honour their agreements, that they will send back their experts and their people to work."
He suggested future decisions on oil deals would favour countries that did not join the international force against Gaddafi: "A friend in need is a friend indeed," he told reporters in Tripoli.
Italy, which had been the main buyer for Libyan oil, offered the use of seven air and navy bases already housing US, NATO and Italian forces to enforce the no-fly zone over Libya.
Italy's defence minister, Ignazio La Russa, said Saturday that Italy wasn't just "renting out" its bases for others to use but was prepared to offer "moderate but determined" military support.
Warplanes from the United States, Canada, Denmark arrived at Italian air bases Saturday as part of an international military buildup. Germany backed the operation but isn't offering its own forces.
- AP
