TRIPOLI - Muammar Gaddafi told Libyan rebels on Thursday his armed forces were coming to their
capital Benghazi tonight and would not show any mercy on fighters who resisted them.
In a radio address, he told Benghazi residents that soldiers would search every house in the city and people who had no arms had no reason to fear.
RELATED:
Libya: At least 30 dead as rebels try to halt Benghazi push
Gaddafi shells city, threatens rebel stronghold
UN's Ban calls for immediate ceasefire in Libya
Lion's Den: Back to the shores of Tripoli?
Gaddafi also told his troops not to pursue any rebels who drop their guns and flee tonight when government forces reach the city.
Earlier on Thursday, Libya warned foreign powers, only hours before a United
Nations Security Council vote on a no-fly zone, that any outside attack
on it would trigger retaliation and destabilize the Mediterranean
region.
"Any foreign military act against Libya will expose all air and maritime
traffic in the Mediterranean Sea to danger and civilian and military
(facilities) will become targets of Libya's counter-attack," said the
statement broadcast on Libyan television and distributed by the official
news agency JANA.
"The Mediterranean basin will face danger not just in the short-term, but also in the long-term," it said.
The Defense Ministry said foreign military action to aid opponents to Muammar Gaddafi's 41-year rule would result in both short and long terms risks to the region.
The UN Security Council was due to vote on a resolution for a no-fly zone over Libya later on Thursday, raising the prospect of bombing raids against loyalist forces advancing on the rebel capital of Benghazi in eastern Libya.
France, the only country to recognize the interim rebel council in Benghazi, believes there is enough support for the resolution to pass and military intervention could take place within hours of that, senior French diplomatic sources said.
The
Libyan remarks came as the the United States wants the United Nations
to authorize not just a no-fly zone to aid Libyan rebels but also air
strikes against Libyan tanks and heavy artillery, according to US
officials.
The
United States has concluded a "no-fly" zone should be adopted and other
measures that go well beyond a no-fly zone, should be taken, including
air strikes against Libyan armor and artillery, US officials said.