US, France and Britain launch attack on Gaddafi with air raids and cruise missiles

Paris confirmed that Mirage and Rafale jets are over Libya, that a number Libyan tanks and armoured have been destroyed when engaged by the fighter jets.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy authorised the fighter jets to fly over Libya at the close of an urgent meeting for European, Arab League and African Union leaders who met in Paris to finalise the way of enforcing a no-fly zone over Libya according to the UN Security Council resolution.

Britain, Canada, Belgium and Italy were immediately engaged with fighter jets being deployed to assist the French initiative, as Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi announced that a base in Naples will serve as the central command centre for the operations over Libya.

Earlier, Libya tried to defy the imminent strikes with a spokesman announcing a series of letters sent by Gaddafi to UN secretary General Ban Ki-Moon, US President Barack Obama, French President Nicolas Sarkozy and British Prime Minister David Cameron.

"This is injustice, this is clear aggression," the spokesman, Mussa Ibrahim, quoted Gaddafi as saying in a letter addressed to France, Britain and the United Nations. "You will regret it if you take a step toward interfering in our internal affairs."

He also quoted Gaddafi as telling the United States in a separate letter that he and all Libyans were "prepared to die" to defend the country.

The attacks picked up momentum later in the evening as British jets flew over Libya also bombing a number of military installations, while the US navy has launched a number of Tomahawk Cruise missiles onto land targets in Tripoli and Misurata.

But as Gaddafi stressed that he will not “shoot a single bullet against the people who love me,” world media are broadcasting live images that clearly show that the rebel stronghold of Benghazi is under heavy artillery shelling from pro-Gaddafi forces.

As large plumes of smoke were seen rising over Benghazi, the head of the rebel National Libyan Council said this morning that the international community must act swiftly to protect civilians from Muammar Gaddafi's forces which were bombarding Benghazi.

"Now there is a bombardment by artillery and rockets on all districts of Benghazi," Mustafa Abdel Jalil told Al Jazeera television. "The international community is late in intervening to save civilians from Gaddafi's forces."

"Today in Benghazi there will be a catastrophe if the international community does not implement the resolutions of the U.N. Security Council," he said. "We appeal to the international community, to the all the free world, to stop this tyranny from exterminating civilians."

Meanwhile, The Washington Post newspaper reported this morning that over the past several weeks, Western reconnaissance satellites have been focused on a small garage at a remote site in the Libyan desert.

According to the WP inside the garage, south of the city of Sirte, the Libyan government reportedly keeps around 10 tons of mustard gas in roughly a half-dozen large canisters. If he chose to do so — and could determine how — Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi could use the caustic chemical to kill untold numbers of his own people.

Nothing untoward has been seen there so far, and U.S. officials say that such an attack is unlikely and would be difficult to carry out.

But the chemicals have nonetheless been a focus of concern by former Libyan officials and some European leaders who have worried that the mercurial leader could seek to drain the tanks and either use the gas to terrorize the city of Benghazi the last large rebel stronghold, or try to draw on the stockpile as part of a desperate move to stay in power.

Although Libya’s announcement of a cease-fire may put off the immediate threat of conflict in Benghazi, the country’s former ambassador to the United Nations, Abdurrahman Mohamed Shalgham, who renounced the Tripoli government last month, said in Washington a week ago that “I do expect that he’s going to attack Benghazi with chemical weapons” if the fighting eventually reaches there.