Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi appeared briefly on state television on Tuesday signaling his defiance in the face of a mounting revolt against his 41-year rule.
Gaddafi’s forces have fought an increasingly bloody battle to keep him in power, with fighting spreading to the capital Tripoli and local residents saying warplanes had bombed the city.
In his first address since the protests started last week, he made a 22-second statement in front of his house to deny the reports he had fled to Venezuela, ruled by his friend President Hugo Chavez.
“I want to show that I’m in Tripoli and not in Venezuela. Do not believe the channels belonging to stray dogs,” Gaddafi said, under a large umbrella and leaning out of a van.
“I wanted to say something to the youths at Green Square (in Tripoli) and stay up late with them but it started raining. Thank God, it’s a good thing,” added Gaddafi, who took power in a military coup in 1969 when he toppled King Idriss.
Security forces have killed dozens of protesters across the vast, thinly populated nation stretching from the Mediterranean deep into the Sahara desert, human rights groups and witnesses said, prompting widespread condemnation from world leaders.
Demonstrations spread to Tripoli after several cities in the east — including Benghazi where the protests had first erupted — appeared to fall to the opposition, according to residents.
Cracks were beginning to appear among Gaddafi’s supporters, with a group of army officers calling on soldiers to “join the people” and two senior fighter pilots defecting to nearby Malta.
The U.N. Security Council will hold a closed-door meeting on Tuesday to discuss the crisis, diplomats said.
Tripoli, a Mediterranean coastal city, appeared calm in the early hours of Tuesday. “There is heavy rain at the moment, so people are at home,” one resident said. “I am in the east of the city and have not heard clashes.”
Earlier, residents reported gunfire in parts of Tripoli and one political activist said warplanes had bombed the city.
“What we are witnessing today is unimaginable. Warplanes and helicopters are indiscriminately bombing one area after another. There are many, many dead,” Adel Mohamed Saleh said in a live broadcast on al Jazeera television. “Anyone who moves, even if they are in their car, they will hit you.”
U.S.-based Human Rights Watch said at least 233 people had been killed in five days of violence. Opposition groups put the figure much higher. No independent verification was available and communications with Libya from outside was difficult.
WORLD CONDEMNATION
Revolutions which deposed the presidents of Tunisia and Egypt have shaken the Arab world and inspired protests across the Middle East and North Africa, threatening the grip of long-entrenched autocratic leaders.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said it was “time to stop this unacceptable bloodshed.” EU foreign ministers condemned the killing of protesters and pledged to support democratic transition resulting from the unrest.
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