Cairo: Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi said there was no justification for a UN resolution aimed at ending violence in Libya and called it “blatant colonialism”, al Jazeera reported on Saturday.
The United States accused Muammar Gaddafi of defying international demands for an immediate ceasefire, and France’s UN envoy predicted military action within hours of an international meeting on Libya on Saturday.
A unilateral ceasefire declared on Friday by the Libyan government appeared to have done little to convince outside powers to hold off on plans for air strikes to force an end to an increasingly bloody civil war.
Residents in the rebel-held western city of Misrata said they faced heavy bombardment on Friday — a charge the government denied — while a US official said Gaddafi’s forces were still advancing towards the rebels’ eastern stronghold Benghazi.
France, which along with Britain has been leading a drive for military intervention, will host a meeting on Saturday on Libya which will be attended by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Arab leaders.
Obama made clear any military action would aim to change conditions across Libya — rather than just in the rebel-held east — by calling on Gaddafi’s forces to pull back from the western cities of Zawiyah and Misrata as well as from the east.
“All attacks against civilians must stop,” Obama said, a day after the UN Security Council passed a resolution authorizing international military intervention.
“Gaddafi must stop his troops from advancing on Benghazi, pull them back from Ajdabiya, Misrata and Zawiyah, and establish water, electricity and gas supplies to all areas. Humanitarian assistance must be allowed to reach the people of Libya … “Let me be clear, these terms are not negotiable… If Gaddafi does not comply … the resolution will be enforced through military action.”
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