Libya: Gaddafi announces ceasefire in Benghazi

The western countries blamed Libya for not implementing the United Nations Security Council’s resolution.Britain said that jets were being deployed as part of an international operation against Libya.Before the announcement of the ceasefire, heavy fighting between troops loyal to Libyan leader Col Muammar Gaddafi and rebel forces was reported to be continuing.Libyan Foreign Minister Mussa Kussa said his country was obliged to accept the UN resolution and to observe the air exclusion zone that had been agreed.The ceasefire announcement came only hours after Col Gaddafi had insisted that the Security Council had no mandate for such a resolution, which we absolutely do not recognise.This is not a war between two countries that permits the council to intervene, he said in an interview on Portuguese television. The UN Charter does not permit interference in domestic affairs, he added.The Libyan military had previously warned that civilian and military activities in the Mediterranean would become the target of a Libyan counter-attack following any foreign operation.