Gaddafi appears on state TV, calls foreign channels 'dogs'

Facing an unprecedented revolt against his 41-year rule, Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi today appeared on state television dismissing reports that he had fled the country, calling foreign news channels "dogs".

"I am in Tripoli and not in Venezuela. Do not believe these channels - they are dogs," he told Libyan TV, which said he was speaking outside his house.

68-year-old Gaddafi, who was sitting on the passenger seat of an old, white van and holding up an umbrella to shield himself from rain, appeared for less than a minute on the state television shortly after 0200 am local time (0530 HRS IST).

The statement of Gaddafi, who is battling an Egypt-like crisis, came amid fresh clashes between security forces and protesters. According to human rights groups, over 300 people have been killed in the revolt which entered the eighth day today.

Al-Jazeera said Libyan Justice Minister Mustapha Abdul Jalil had resigned in protest against the "excessive use of violence" against demonstrators and joined the agitation.

In Washington, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton sent out a tough message to the Libyan leader, warning against the use of lethal force on peaceful demonstrators.

"The government of Libya has a responsibility to respect the universal rights of the people, including the right to free expression and assembly. Now is the time to stop this unacceptable bloodshed," Clinton said in a statement.

The anti-government protests reached the capital Tripoli yesterday for the first time after days of violent unrest in the eastern city of Benghazi, but Gaddafi's son pledged to fight the revolt to the "last man standing", warning protesters that Libya was neither Tunisia nor Egypt.

A wave of anti-regime protests has gripped the Arab world, but the suppression is turning out to be the most brutal in Libya.

As people in the capital joined the protests, the Libyan leader's son Saif al-Islam Gaddafi appeared on television and said the regime will not back out even to the last bullet.

"We will keep fighting until the last man standing, even to the last woman standing ... We will not leave Libya to the Italians or the Turks," he said.