Gaddafi predicts soon end to rebels and NATO
TRIPOLI. August 15. KAZINFORM Libya's embattled strongman Muammar Gaddafi said the end was close to the rebels and the NATO, while opposition forces launched an offensive against towns of strategic importance near Tripoli; Kazinform refers to RIA Novosti.
In an audio broadcast, which the national TV said was the leader's live speech, Gaddafi said "the end of the colonizer is close and the end of the rats is close," referring to the rebels and NATO, The Telegraph said.
"They (the rebels) flee from one house to another before the masses who are chasing them," Gaddafi said.
He also called on Libyans to arm themselves and free the country from "traitors and from NATO."
Some parts of the audio message were inaudible which the broadcaster attributed to a technical failure.
The news came shortly after the Libyan rebel government claimed it seized control over strategic towns near the capital Tripoli. A Libyan government spokesman denied the report, however.
Late on Sunday, representatives of Gaddafi's government were holding talks with rebels at a hotel on the southern Tunisian island of Djerba, Reuters said citing "a source with direct knowledge of the talks."