midst

now; I am with you with my rifle. We will not surrender; we won't ever abandon Tripoli for colonisers and traitors; we will sacrifice Tripoli with our blood and soul; we will sacrifice Libya with our blood and soul."

There have been renewed international calls for Colonel Gaddafi to

stand down

immediately. A Nato spokeswoman said his government was crumbling. The White House said it believed his days were numbered. The German Chancellor Angela Merkel said it would be good if Colonel Gaddafi gave up power as quickly as possible. The French President Nicolas Sarkozy said Libya had reached a

decisive

moment.

The Syrian President Bashar al-Assad says his government is in no danger of falling despite five months of street protests. In an interview with state television, he defended his response to the protests.

"The solution in Syria is a political one, but if there is violence, it should be met. Police, security and riot police - any country in the world, they use these means to

quash

any anti-social behaviour."

He said steps were being taken to introduce a multi-party system.

"The main thing is to allow parties time to form their bases, to form their manifestos and to

mobilise

. But as a medium, middle-of-the-road option, maybe within six months, we could see elections."

You're listening to the World News from the BBC.

An emergency meeting of the Arab League has condemned Israel's air attacks on the Gaza Strip and said the United Nations should