Libyan leader Muammar Gadafy said today his people were preparing for a long war and would defeat the Western powers which attacked his forces with air strikes overnight.
The colonel, in power for four decades, sounded defiant, saying repeatedly he would not be forced out of by a "crusader alliance" led by the United States, Britain and France.
“This is a crusader war against the Muslim people, especially against the Libyan people. They believe they will terrify the Libyan people. These are only terrorist means, and only the forces on the ground will be victorious," he said.
"They will be inevitably defeated. They will not be able to make the people give in. All the people are now carrying weapons. We will fight you if you continue your aggression against us," Col Gadafy said in a speech broadcast on Libyan television.
The television station carried only the sound of his voice, without pictures. "You are terrorists. You are fighting a people that hasn't invited you. Libya has become a hell in the face of enemies. This is an unjustified aggression. We will not leave our land and we will liberate it," Col Gadafy said.
"We will not let America and France and Britain or allied forces enjoy our oil," he said.
"All Libyan cities will revolt and we will eliminate all traitors who cooperate with America, and the crusader alliance. We will remain alive and you will die. You will fail. We are not afraid. Our victory is inevitable.
"In defending our honour we are prepared for a long war. You will be defeated and you will withdraw."
. Thousands of Libyans packed into Gol Gadafy’s heavily fortified Tripoli compound yesterday to form a human shield against possible air strikes by allied forces.