Libyan rebels plea for weapons

Libya's rebel forces called on foreign allies to urgently provide them with weapons Thursday, amid a bloody stalemate on the ground and doubts about Nato's mission in the air.

Rebel colonel Ahmed Omar Bani made a plea for foreign allies to provide the arms, training and communications systems needed to defeat Moamer Kadhafi's better armed and better drilled army.

"It is so urgent" he said, "we will fight, just support us, just give us the equipment."

Speaking at the Rajma military installation, 30 kilometers (18 miles) from the rebel stronghold of Benghazi, Bani said the rebels were up against vastly superior firepower.

The mostly volunteer force has, with the help of Nato air strikes, kept Kadhafi's forces at bay on several fronts across the country, but has made limited progress toward Tripoli -- allowing loyalist forces to dig in to key positions.

Much of the rebels' arsenal is comprised of Soviet-era tanks and artillery, which is up to 50 years old.

While the allied forces have supplied rebels with some non-lethal equipment, there has been a reluctance to transport large quantities of weapons after experiences in Afghanistan and Iraq.

But Bani's comments came amid unease in Benghazi about statements from Washington and Rome, that hinted backing for the war had ebbed.

As some US Republicans sought to clobber President Barack Obama over US involvement in the conflict, Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini called for "an immediate humanitarian suspension of hostilities" in Libya.

That suggestion was quickly shot down by officials in other European capitals and at Nato, but not before questions were raised about the durability of the coalition that has banded together to protect Libyan civilians and oust Kadhafi.

"It would be a shame if the world did not support us now, because everyone knows Kadhafi the tyrant is not our enemy only, he is the enemy of humanity," said Bani.

Gadhafi slams Nato over civilian deaths

Moammar Gadhafi lashed out at Nato over civilian casualties and said Libya is prepared to fight on, calling the alliance "murderers" after an airstrike on a close associate's family home.

A few hundred supporters, most of them women, gathered Thursday in Tripoli's Green Square hours after the speech, vowing to defend the Libyan leader against rebels seeking to oust him and Nato forces giving them air support.

Gadhafi also warned the alliance that its more than three-month mission in Libya is a "crusader's campaign" that could come back to haunt the West.

"What you are doing will rebound against you and against the world with destruction, desolation and terrorism. You are launching a second Crusader war that might extend to Africa, Europe and America," he said in an audio address first aired on Libyan state television late Wednesday.

The address was the first from the Libyan leader since Nato targeted a compound Monday owned by Khoweildi al-Hamidi, a longtime regime insider whose daughter is married to one of Gadhafi's sons.

Gadhafi blasted the alliance for that strike, calling Nato "criminals" and "savages" and asking rhetorically: "Is this house a military target?"

Libya says 19 people, including at least three children and other civilians, were killed in that strike.

Nato has called that target a "command and control" center and says it regrets any civilian deaths.

That bombing came a day after Nato acknowledged that one of its airstrikes may have slammed into a civilian neighborhood in Tripoli. Libyan officials said nine civilians were killed in that strike, though a family member told reporters at the scene that five people died.

Reports of civilian deaths have provoked intense anger among Gadhafi supporters.

Pro-Gadhafi protesters rallying in Tripoli on Thursday railed against Nato for striking civilians. Some women at the demonstration came armed, vowing to fight to defend their country and its leader.

"Everyone is training (to fight) since high school for a day like today," said dentist Hanin Khalil, 30, an aging Beretta submachine gun slung over her shoulder. "Not only (I) have a weapon. All people have their weapons to protect themselves from Nato."

A coalition including France, Britain and the United States began striking Gadhafi's forces under a United Nations resolution to protect civilians on March 19. Nato assumed control of the air campaign over Libya on March 31. It's joined by a number of Arab allies.

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