Libya is run by its people, says Gaddafi

Addressing his supporters in Tripoli on Wednesday, Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi on Wednesday dismissed allegations about his tyrannical rule and claimed that power was in the hands of the people of the nation.

"We freed Libya in 1977 and handed it over to the people. I challenge everyone who says I am exercising power," said Gaddafi.

Targeting western nations which have repeatedly called for his resignation, he said, "The world doesn't understand the people committee's rule here."

Gaddafi's comments came on a day he unleashed his force of heavily armed mercenaries, who stormed the rebel-held oil exporting terminal town of Brega. Forces loyal to Gaddafi also regained control of the strategic town in the country's north-west. To strike back, opposition fighters are preparing for a march into Tripoli.

Deploying tanks and heavy artillery, Gaddafi sent hundreds of cars packed with mercenaries to storm the rebel-held Brega, as his Russian built warplanes bombed the nearby Ajdabiya, 40 kms from the oil-town.

Though initially Gaddafi's militiamen managed to recapture the town, they were later overwhelmed by a big force of rebels from the adjoining Ajdabiya. The Libyan despot used a lull in fighting to time his offensive to break the momentum of popular rebellion against his 41-year-old rule.

Top United States and North Atlantic Treaty Organisation leaders are mulling over the complexities of enforcing a 'no-fly' zone, which would effectively ground Gaddafi's airpower. The fast paced developments come after the strife-torn nation's newly emerged opposition leaders approached the United Nations to ask for foreign air strikes to pulverise Gaddafi's capabilities to hit civilian targets.

The opposition leaders, based in the rebel-held eastern city of Benghazi, Libya's second largest town, said they wanted to invoke the United Nations, "to pre-empt more massacres by Gaddafi's air force in the coming days as the tide turns against the despot."