Gaddafi: I Will Still Defeat Rebels

DEFIANT Colonel Gaddafi has claimed he is still in Libya and vowed "never to leave the land of his ancestors". The fallen dictator denied rumours he has fled over the border into Niger in his latest delusional rant broadcast on a Syrian TV station. The tyrant � whose whereabouts are unknown � dismissed a military convoy of former loyalists, which included his security chief, that arrived in Niger this week as "not the first". But he said it did not mean he was going to follow others out of the country. And he claimed he can still win back the country and defeat the rebels and NATO. He said: "The youths are now ready to escalate the resistance against the 'rats' (rebels) in Tripoli and to finish off the mercenaries. "We will defeat NATO...and NATO is rejected by the Libyan people." He said during the five-minute long call: "We are ready to start the fight in Tripoli and everywhere else, and rise against them." Referring to his himself in the third person, he added: "All of these germs, rats and scumbags, they are not Libyans, ask anyone. "They have cooperated with NATO ... Gaddafi won't leave the land of his ancestors." Rebels are still battling regime loyalists in three Gadhafi strongholds - Bani Walid, Sabha and Sirte. Libya's ruling National Transitional Council (NTC) has sent envoys to Niger to try to stop "Mad Dog" Gaddafi and his entourage from evading justice. It is believed they could attempt to leave Libya through Niger on their way to other friendly African states. Fathi Baja, NTC head of political affairs, said: "We're asking every country not to accept him. We want these people for justice." Rebel leaders sent a column of extra fighters towards the tribal bastion of Bani Walid, 90 miles south east of Tripoli, overnight in preparations for a showdown with Gaddafi loyalists. Gaddafi is himself suspected of hiding out in the city � he has not been traced since rebels stormed his Tripoli compound two weeks ago. Those inside Bani Walid have been given an ultimatum to surrender by tomorrow or face a fierce battle. NTC unit commander Jamal Gourji compared Gaddafi's situation with that of hanged Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein after his regime fell. He said: "We will move into Bani Walid slowly. There was a message in Bani Walid from Gaddafi this evening. "He was rallying his troops and calling on people to fight. He is hiding in a hole in the ground, like Iraq." Gaddafi and his son Saif al-Islam are wanted for crimes against humanity by the International Criminal Court in The Hague. British Foreign Secretary William Hague said any country he tried to enter should give him up for trial. It came as home videos found in Gaddafi's Bab al-Aziziya compound in the capital showed a more 'tender side' of the tyrant. The films show him in happier times playing with one of his granddaughters. In one soppy moment, he asks her repeatedly: "Do you not love me?" Libya's interim health minister has issued the first proper estimate for the number of casualties created by the six-month civil war, with at least 30,000 people killed and 50,000 injured.