Gadhafi vows 'no surrender'
Source: Agencies |
June 8, 2011, Wednesday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi defiantly vowed to fight to the death in an audio recording broadcast yesterday after NATO military craft unleashed a ferocious series of nearly 30 daytime airstrikes on Tripoli.
In a phone call to Libyan state television station, Gadhafi angrily denounced the rebels and said he would not surrender.
"We will not kneel!" he shouted in the phone call that appeared to also take state television by surprise.
"We will not surrender: we only have one choice - to the end! Death, victory, it does not matter, we are not surrendering!" he shouted.
"We are stronger than your weapons, than your planes. The voices of the Libyan people are stronger than the sounds of explosions," he said, angrily calling the rebels who have risen up against him "bastards."
Minutes after he spoke, another explosion shook the capital as NATO apparently launched another strike.
As he spoke, the sound of low-flying military craft could be heard whooshing through Tripoli again and Gadhafi quickly hung up.
Gadhafi has mostly been in hiding since NATO strikes in April targeted one of his homes. Libyan officials said one of his sons, Saif al-Arab, and three of his grandchildren were killed.
Gadhafi's last phone call lasted less than a minute and was in mid-May. He was last seen in a brief glimpse of television footage sitting with visiting South African President Jacob Zuma in late May.
Libyan television said several structures in the Gadhafi compound were badly damaged in yesterday's strikes. Daylight NATO raids have been rare and signal an intensification of the alliance bid to drive Gadhafi from power.
There were no immediate reports about casualties.
The daylong raids shook the ground and sent thundering sound waves across the capital. Some of the strikes were believed to have targeted a military barracks near Gadhafi's sprawling central Tripoli compound, said spokesman Moussa Ibrahim.
A dark gray plume of smoke rose from the direction of the compound after one of the afternoon attacks. Ambulances, sirens blaring, could be heard in the distance.
"Instead of talking to us, they are bombing us. They are going mad. They are losing their heads," said Ibrahim.
The spokesman said the daylight strikes came as families were separated during the day. Libyan school children are taking their final school exams.
Yesterday Tripoli dispatched Foreign Minister Abdul-Ati al-Obeidi to Beijing for a three days of talks. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei yesterday said the talks would focus on the need for a political solution to the Libyan crisis.
He reiterated China's appeals for an immediate cease-fire and called on all parties to "fully consider the mediation proposals put forward by the international community so as to defuse the tensions as soon as possible."
In a phone call to Libyan state television station, Gadhafi angrily denounced the rebels and said he would not surrender.
"We will not kneel!" he shouted in the phone call that appeared to also take state television by surprise.
"We will not surrender: we only have one choice - to the end! Death, victory, it does not matter, we are not surrendering!" he shouted.
"We are stronger than your weapons, than your planes. The voices of the Libyan people are stronger than the sounds of explosions," he said, angrily calling the rebels who have risen up against him "bastards."
Minutes after he spoke, another explosion shook the capital as NATO apparently launched another strike.
As he spoke, the sound of low-flying military craft could be heard whooshing through Tripoli again and Gadhafi quickly hung up.
Gadhafi has mostly been in hiding since NATO strikes in April targeted one of his homes. Libyan officials said one of his sons, Saif al-Arab, and three of his grandchildren were killed.
Gadhafi's last phone call lasted less than a minute and was in mid-May. He was last seen in a brief glimpse of television footage sitting with visiting South African President Jacob Zuma in late May.
Libyan television said several structures in the Gadhafi compound were badly damaged in yesterday's strikes. Daylight NATO raids have been rare and signal an intensification of the alliance bid to drive Gadhafi from power.
There were no immediate reports about casualties.
The daylong raids shook the ground and sent thundering sound waves across the capital. Some of the strikes were believed to have targeted a military barracks near Gadhafi's sprawling central Tripoli compound, said spokesman Moussa Ibrahim.
A dark gray plume of smoke rose from the direction of the compound after one of the afternoon attacks. Ambulances, sirens blaring, could be heard in the distance.
"Instead of talking to us, they are bombing us. They are going mad. They are losing their heads," said Ibrahim.
The spokesman said the daylight strikes came as families were separated during the day. Libyan school children are taking their final school exams.
Yesterday Tripoli dispatched Foreign Minister Abdul-Ati al-Obeidi to Beijing for a three days of talks. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei yesterday said the talks would focus on the need for a political solution to the Libyan crisis.
He reiterated China's appeals for an immediate cease-fire and called on all parties to "fully consider the mediation proposals put forward by the international community so as to defuse the tensions as soon as possible."
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