Libyan leader Muammar Gadhafi said he is ready for a ceasefire and negotiations, if and when NATO "stop their aircraft," but refused to cede power as required by the rebels and the Western powers. However, the rebels and NATO rejected the offer of the Libyan colonel, saying it lacked credibility. A spokesman for the insurgents said the timing of engagement was over and the Western alliance said that air strikes would continue as long as civilians are threatened.
Weeks of Western air strikes failed to remove the Libyan leader, but instead a war stalled Gadhafi appeared to be winning and held off forces in the west and the city of Misrata, the only rebel stronghold in western Nepal , as they struggled to gain control of the mountains in the west.
But as neither side apparently gained the advantage, Gadhafi has adopted a conciliatory tone in a 80-minute televised speech addressed to the country in the early hours of Saturday. "(Libya) is ready to quite a ceasefire," Gadhafi said, speaking from behind a desk, supported by piles of paper covered with what appeared to be handwritten notes.
"We were the first to welcome a ceasefire and we were the first to accept a ceasefire (...) but the Crusaders attack NATO has not stopped," he said. "The door to peace open," he added. Gadhafi refused to have launched massive attacks on civilians and challenged NATO to find a thousand people have died in the conflict.
"We did not cross the sea and attack (...) Why are we attacking them?" Gadhafi said, referring to European countries involved in the airstrikes. "Let us negotiate with you, countries that attack us. Let us negotiate," he added. But as he spoke, warplanes attacked three targets NATO near a television building in Tripoli, in what state media said was an attempt to kill Gadhafi, who has ruled Libya for 41 years.
The air strikes have left a huge crater outside the attorney general's office, but did not damage the building and hit two other buildings of the colonial era. It was not immediately clear whether there were any casualties. The national transitional council of the rebels rejected the gesture of Gadhafi and the Libyan leader said he had repeatedly offered ceasefires in which still committing human rights abuses.
"Gaddafi's regime has lost credibility," said rebel spokesman of the council, Abdel Hafiz Ghoga, in a statement. "The time for compromise is over. The people of Libya can not accept or expect a future in which Libya's Gadhafi regime has any role," he said. A rebel military spokesman, Colonel Ahmed Bani said Gadhafi was "playing dirty games (...) it.
Not speak honestly. We do not trust him. "In Brussels, a NATO official said the Libyan authorities had repeatedly announced ceasefires and that nevertheless continued their attacks against civilians in the cities." We need to see actions, not words (. ..) any truce must be credible and verifiable, "the official said." NATO will continue its operations until all threats and attacks against civilians have stopped, until all forces return to base Gaddafi and until there is a full and safe access of humanitarian aid to all people in need, "he said.
He declined to start if the Western alliance would be open to meet with representatives of Gadhafi for negotiations, if such contact is made. In his speech , Gadhafi said he wanted the two sides would stop fighting at once, as they said "a cease-fire can not be just one side." However, the Libyan leader refused to leave or resign, the central demand of the rebels, the United States, France and the UK who are leading the NATO air campaign.
"I did not go to my country," Gadhafi said. "Nobody can force me to leave my country and nobody can tell me no fight for my country, "he added. 
Weeks of Western air strikes failed to remove the Libyan leader, but instead a war stalled Gadhafi appeared to be winning and held off forces in the west and the city of Misrata, the only rebel stronghold in western Nepal , as they struggled to gain control of the mountains in the west.
But as neither side apparently gained the advantage, Gadhafi has adopted a conciliatory tone in a 80-minute televised speech addressed to the country in the early hours of Saturday. "(Libya) is ready to quite a ceasefire," Gadhafi said, speaking from behind a desk, supported by piles of paper covered with what appeared to be handwritten notes.
"We were the first to welcome a ceasefire and we were the first to accept a ceasefire (...) but the Crusaders attack NATO has not stopped," he said. "The door to peace open," he added. Gadhafi refused to have launched massive attacks on civilians and challenged NATO to find a thousand people have died in the conflict.
"We did not cross the sea and attack (...) Why are we attacking them?" Gadhafi said, referring to European countries involved in the airstrikes. "Let us negotiate with you, countries that attack us. Let us negotiate," he added. But as he spoke, warplanes attacked three targets NATO near a television building in Tripoli, in what state media said was an attempt to kill Gadhafi, who has ruled Libya for 41 years.
The air strikes have left a huge crater outside the attorney general's office, but did not damage the building and hit two other buildings of the colonial era. It was not immediately clear whether there were any casualties. The national transitional council of the rebels rejected the gesture of Gadhafi and the Libyan leader said he had repeatedly offered ceasefires in which still committing human rights abuses.
"Gaddafi's regime has lost credibility," said rebel spokesman of the council, Abdel Hafiz Ghoga, in a statement. "The time for compromise is over. The people of Libya can not accept or expect a future in which Libya's Gadhafi regime has any role," he said. A rebel military spokesman, Colonel Ahmed Bani said Gadhafi was "playing dirty games (...) it.
Not speak honestly. We do not trust him. "In Brussels, a NATO official said the Libyan authorities had repeatedly announced ceasefires and that nevertheless continued their attacks against civilians in the cities." We need to see actions, not words (. ..) any truce must be credible and verifiable, "the official said." NATO will continue its operations until all threats and attacks against civilians have stopped, until all forces return to base Gaddafi and until there is a full and safe access of humanitarian aid to all people in need, "he said.
He declined to start if the Western alliance would be open to meet with representatives of Gadhafi for negotiations, if such contact is made. In his speech , Gadhafi said he wanted the two sides would stop fighting at once, as they said "a cease-fire can not be just one side." However, the Libyan leader refused to leave or resign, the central demand of the rebels, the United States, France and the UK who are leading the NATO air campaign.
"I did not go to my country," Gadhafi said. "Nobody can force me to leave my country and nobody can tell me no fight for my country, "he added.
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