Thaindian News

Tripoli, Mar.17 (ANI): Taunting the West over its failure to impose a no- fly zone over Libya, the Gaddafi regime has said it will “finish the job” of defeating the rebels by Friday.

Latest reports suggest that troops loyal to Gaddafi are closing in on the rebel head quarters at Benghazi. Gaddafi’s son, Saif al-Islam, warned “traitors and mercenaries” to flee the country or face the consequences.

When asked about the continuing British and French attempts to persuade the United Nations Security Council to impose a no-fly zone, he said: “Military operations are over. Within 48 hours, everything will be finished. Our forces are almost in Benghazi. Whatever the decision, it will be too late.”

The Group of Eight nations had failed to reach an agreement on military intervention in Libya after Tuesday’s meeting. China and Russia had opposed an immediate decision and even the United States did not support the idea.

In Benghazi, Gaddafi’s warplanes spread panic among the town’s defence forces, who had been busy preparing for an attack. Addressing residents via state television, army commanders said: “This is a humanitarian operation being undertaken in your interests, and is not aimed at taking revenge against anyone.”

The residents could hear the sound of explosions coming from a military airfield, which caused panic. People began fleeing from the city on Wednesday, most of them driving east towards Tobruk.

Majdi al-Heaid, a Tobruk’s revolutionary council member, said he feared an attack by government forces once Ajdabiya had fallen, opening up the desert road that runs all the way to Libya’s border with Egypt, The Telegraph reports.
Meanwhile, Government forces have also attacked Misurata, a city that has been under rebel control since the beginning of the uprising. (ANI)