A defiant Gaddafi, who has been in power for 42 years, said in a reported telephone call broadcast on state television late Friday that ‚the alliance will be defeated.‘

‚We are in our country, and we are determined to stay and defend it. … We are staying, we are staying. Let them even use nuclear bombs,‘ he said, and described the rebels seeking his ouster as ‚traitors‘ and ‚cowards.‘