Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi has accused NATO states of murder in an audio speech broadcast late last night, days after the alliance acknowledged for the first time its bombs may have caused civilian casualties.
'You said, 'we hit our targets with precision', you murderers!' he said in a tirade against NATO on state television.
'One day we will respond to you likewise and your homes will be legitimate targets,' he said, warning of war in Europe, the US and Asia.
The date on the screen was 22 June but Gaddafi referred to a 19 June strike on a house in Tripoli as 'yesterday's crime', suggesting he was speaking on 20 June and raising questions over his location.
Gaddafi's message came hours after NATO chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen vowed there would be no halt to the Libyan bombing campaign.
He said more civilians would die if operations were not maintained under a UN mandate to protect Libyans from the exactions of Gaddafi's regime.
'NATO will continue this mission because if we stop, countless more civilians could lose their lives,' Mr Rasmussen said in a video statement on the NATO website.
Elsewhere, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on the rebels are making very clear progress on the ground in Libya.
Mrs Clinton said there's no doubt that Gaddafi's men have 'their backs against the wall' and 'there is very clear progress being made' by the opposition.
