Tripoli says the UN decision to back a no-fly zone over the country is an invitation for “Libyans to kill each other.”

The Libyan army says it will surround, but not enter the city of Benghazi. It is reported that Gaddafi’s forces plan to send in snatch squads to disarm rebels. State media say military operations will cease on Sunday to allow opposition forces to hand over weapons under a general amnesty.

Khaled Kaim, the country’s deputy foreign minister, said:

“Actually regarding the ceasefire we told the Secretary General of the United Nations that the armed forces, that we are ready immediately to do that, but we need to talk to someone to talk about the technicalities of this decision.”