Gaddafi spokesman rejects ultimatum to surrender from Libya’s Transitional National Council

Moussa Ibrahim, a spokesman for Libyan tyrant Moammar Gaddafi’s collapsing government, has publicly rejected an ultimatum issued by transitional rebel leadership.

“No dignified, honorable nation would accept an ultimatum from armed gangs,” Ibrahim told The Associated Press in a phone interview.

Libya’s Transitional National Council has ordered Gaddafi loyalists to relinquish control of Sirte, Sabha, and Bani Walid by Saturday. The rebels are prepared to converge on Sirte, Gaddafi’s hometown, and take part in a standoff if loyalists remain unwilling to surrender.

“Sometimes to avoid bloodshed you must shed blood, and the faster we do this the less blood we will shed,” Ali Tarhouni, the head of the country’s de facto government, said in a statement, according to The Christian Science Monitor.

NATO hopes the two sides will manage to negotiate a settlement, but Ibrahim alleges that the organization has launched missile strikes in Sirte that have killed upwards of 1,000 people.

“Maybe they have been advised by some of the leaders of the rebels to attack the city with such vigor and power in hope that the leader is there praying with his people,” he said.

Ibrahim countered the ultimatum by stating that Gaddafi’s son, Saadi, hopes to negotiate the formation of a transitional government in conjunction with the rebels. Opposition leaders have described Ibrahim’s offer as an unacceptable solution.