Gaddafi warns 'thousands' will die

ELEANOR HALL: To Libya now and Colonel Moamar Gaddafi ramped up his threats in another speech overnight, this one warning that he would arm the population and that thousands would die if the West intervened to support the uprising against him.
At the same time his military forces launched an attack aimed at retaking some of the opposition-held ground in the east of the country.
Opposition groups drove back the Gaddafi forces in the strategic oil town of Brega.
But despite reports that the Gaddafi attack involved aerial bombing Western powers dampened down expectations that they would impose a no-fly zone over Libya anytime soon.
Barney Porter has more.
BARNEY PORTER: Colonel Gaddafi made a two-and-a-half hour speech to a gathering of loyalists in the capital Tripoli, vowing to fight to the end.
He again blamed what he called foreign forces for the uprisings, saying neo-colonialists wanted to seize control of his country again.
MOAMAR GADDAFI (translated): The neo-colonialists don't dare to admit it, not openly, because there is a conspiracy to control Libya's oil, to control Libya's territory, to colonise Libya once more.
But this is impossible, impossible, impossible. We will fight to the last man and last woman in the defence of Libya from one end to the other.
BARNEY PORTER: He also repeated his claim that all power in Libya was in the hands of the people.
MOAMAR GADDAFI (translated): The Libyan system is a system of people's authority, people's congresses and people's committees. It's not a system of president, government, political party, nor of class.
Now whoever wants to verify this let him come here and we will challenge him and we will stick our fingers in his eyes. We challenge him to come here to meet the Libyan people and find out the truth.
BARNEY PORTER: In the latest fighting Libyan warplanes have launched air strikes on the western town of Ajdabiyah, targeting either an arms dump or a military base taken over by opposition forces.
Earlier about 40 kilometres away in Brega rebels armed with rocket launchers managed to fight off repeated attempts by pro-government forces to retake the strategic town.
As news of the government attack filtered out up to 40 pick-up trucks packed with volunteers sped to Brega from the main eastern city of Benghazi to shore up the rebel defences. It worked.
Back in Benghazi officials opposed to the Gaddafi regime have formed what they've called an interim national government.
Its spokesman Abdel-Hafiz Hoga says the rebels would welcome some kind of international military assistance.
ABDEL-HAFIZ HOGA (translated): It's since Gaddafi uses his mighty power against the people and we have really no other option.
And he is recruiting missionaries from all over Africa and from some of the countries in the Arab world such as Algeria.
We are most likely to request from the world to give us help, not necessary with having foot soldiers on our land, however possibly with a precision bombing with missiles or air force.
And maybe have a ban, no-fly zones on Libya in order for us to protect our own people and make sure that this revolution succeeds.
BARNEY PORTER: Much of the talk among Western nations keen to help has focused on the creation of a no-fly zone.
Secretary of state Hillary Clinton has admitted the US is a "long way" from deciding on whether to impose such a zone but she remains resolute.
HILLARY CLINTON: We are taking no option off the table so long as the Libyan government continues to turn its guns on its own people.
BARNEY PORTER: But not everyone is convinced there'll be immediate action from the West.
Richard Downie is with the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
RICHARD DOWNIE: Officially the US is saying that all options are on the table. But the practical difficulties of mounting a complex thing like a no-fly zone are really quite immense in terms of logistics, organisation, the expense of the thing.
BARNEY PORTER: Meanwhile refugees are continuing to flow to Libya's border with Tunisia where thousands are already waiting.
Aid workers are warning of a humanitarian disaster.
Langdon Greenhalgh is with the Red Cross and Red Crescent.
LANGDON GREENHALGH: What we have seen is approximately 82,000 people move through this particular point at the actual border itself. There are more that are moving through on a daily base, between 12,000 and 14,000 per day.
We are providing support. We were from the very beginning and we will be to the end. We are providing water, sanitation, critical supplies to help these people through this difficult time.
ELEANOR HALL: That's Langdon Greenhalgh who's with the Red Cross and Red Crescent on the Libyan border ending that report from Barney Porter.