Gaddafi vows to never leave Libya

Embattled Libyan ruler Muammar Gaddafi has told his supporters that he will never leave the land of his "ancestors" and those who have “sacrificed” their lives for him. “They are asking me to leave. That's a laugh. I will never leave the land of my ancestors or the people who have sacrificed themselves for me," he said in an audio address to his supporters in the city of Zawiya, some 50 kilometers (31 miles) west of Tripoli on Saturday. “After we gave our children as martyrs, we can't backtrack, or surrender or give up or move an inch," he said. Gaddafi's fresh remarks came after the opposition National Transitional Council (NTC) was recognized as the legitimate authority of the country by representatives of countries involved in NATO-led war in Libya, Xinhua reported on Sunday. More than 30 countries attending the so-called Libya Contact Group meeting in Istanbul, Turkey, in June agreed to recognize the National Transitional Council (NTC). Earlier on Sunday, more than a dozen explosions were heard in Tripoli. Witnesses reported a number of dull rumbles and flashes and huge plumes of smoke billowing to the east of Tripoli in the aftermath of the NATO aerial attacks. The state-run Al Jamahiriya television network said that there have been several casualties as a result of the attack but did not give any figures.