Libya will strike back at civilian and foreign targets if the country comes under attack from foreign forces, the Libyan Defense Ministry said in a statement broadcast on television.

Libya's embattled leader Muammar Gadhafi also warned Libyan rebels on Thursday that his armed forces were coming to their capital Benghazi tonight and would not show any mercy on fighters who resisted them.

Open gallery view A rebel holds a man-portable air-defense system during clashes with pro-Gaddafi forces between Ras Lanuf and Bin Jawad March 9, 2011. Credit: Reuters

In a radio address, he told Benghazi residents that soldiers would search every house in the city and people who had no arms had no reason to fear.



The Libyan Defense Ministry statement also warned that any foreign attack on Libya will endanger air and maritime traffic in the Mediterranean basin and expose the area to both short and long term risks.

"Any foreign military act against Libya will expose all air and maritime traffic in the Mediterranean Sea to danger and civilian and military (facilities) will become targets of Libya's counter-attack," said the statement.

"The Mediterranean basin will face danger not just in the short-term, but also in the long-term," it said.

The statements from the defense ministry and from the embattled leader come just hours before the United Nations Security council is set to vote on a resolution to authorize a no-fly zone over Libya and stepped-up sanctions, raising the prospect of bombing raids against loyalist forces advancing on the rebel capital of Benghazi in eastern Libya.

France, the only country to recognize the interim rebel council in Benghazi, believes there is enough support for the resolution to pass and military intervention could take place within hours of that, senior French diplomatic sources said.