Gaddafi urges Libyan people to fight against "Christian" enemy

PanARMENIAN.Net - Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi says all Libya's people have been armed and are ready to fight a "long war" to defeat foreign forces attacking his country, in a televised audio message.

"All the Libyan people are united. The Libyan men and women have been given weapons and bombs ... You will not advance, you will not step on this land," Gaddafi said.

"We promise you a long, drawn-out war with no limits."

The Libyan leader was speaking on state television for a second straight day without appearing in front of camera, according to AFP.

"We are ready for a long war. You are not prepared for a long war in Libya. We are prepared. This is a very happy moment we are living."

The leaders of Britain, France and the US would "fall like Hitler ... Mussolini", he warned. "All tyrants fall under the pressure of the populist masses."

"America, France, or Britain, the Christians that are in a pact against us today, they will not enjoy our oil ... You are aggressors, you are animals.

"We do not have to retreat from the battlefield because we are defending our land and our dignity." The US, Britain and France bombarded Libya with missiles from air and sea overnight on Saturday in a multinational action against Gaddafi's forces under a UN Security Council resolution authorizing a no-fly zone.

The Libyan strongman has faced a month-long armed uprising focused in the east of the country. Libyan state media quoted the armed forces command as saying 48 people were killed and 150 wounded in the allied assault.

It said most of the casualties were children but gave no more details, news.smh.com.au reported. An army spokesman said strikes also hit fuel tanks feeding the rebel-held city of Misrata, east of Tripoli.