US President Barack Obama has said Libyan leader Colonel Muammar Gaddafi must obey the UN’s demands or face military action.
He said Thursday’s UN Security Council resolution, which demanded an immediate ceasefire, was not negotiable.
Obama said the entire region could be destabilised if Col Gaddafi was allowed to continue attacking his own people.
Earlier, the Libyan government announced an immediate ceasefire and promised to follow the UN resolution.
Obama said Col Gaddafi’s troops must pull back from rebel-held towns including Benghazi, and the authorities must allow in humanitarian aid.
“If he does not comply, the international community will impose consequences,” said Obama. “The resolution will be enforced by military action.”
But the US president stressed that the initiative was an international effort.
“The United States is not going to deploy ground troops into Libya and we’re not going to use force to go beyond a well-defined goal, specifically the protection of civilians in Libya,” he said.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is heading to France for a meeting with her European counterparts on Saturday to discuss how to enforce the UN resolution. (BBC)
