Eyes full of terror, a gun to his head, the tables are turned on one of Gaddafi's boy soldiers

Cameron's plan for no-fly zone is just 'loose talk' says U.S.
Just hours earlier he had been swaggering around, confident in the knowledge that he was almost untouchable.

But one wrong look from this youngster and the rebels were on him,subjecting him to their own form of interrogation.


With a handgun pointed to his head, the terror in his eyes is clear to see as one man threatens him and others stand guard.

Fists are also clenched at the boy, while accusations shouted at him include that he is loyal to Gaddafi.


The stand off took place on a road between the towns of Brega and Ras Lanuf in the rebels' stronghold in the east of the Libya.


Today, Colonel Gaddafi launched a further wave of air attacks on the strategic oil town of Brega, with calls for a no-fly zone now gathering momentum on both sides of the Atlantic.

In this first remarks about the crisis, President Obama said today that the U.S. was considering enforcing a zone over Libya.


Speaking at a meeting with Mexican premier Felipe Calderon, he insisted that Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi leave office, declaring he had lost his authority to lead.

The President also indicated that he was keeping 'all options open' including enforcing a controversial no-fly zone with American military aircraft.


Obama also announced that U.S. military aircraft would play a humanitarian role by flying Egyptians who had fled Libya home to Egypt from makeshift camps in Tunisia.


He suggested that if a situation existed where Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi was 'hunkered down' in his capital Tripoli, the United States might have to find a way to get food aid to Libyans.


Mr Obama's comments appeared to be at odds with that of his defence secretary Robert Gates however, who had earlier warned of 'loose talk' over military action in the wartorn country.

week, Mr Gates suggested that the zone could only be established if there was an initial military attack on the country first.

His rebuke came as British Foreign Secretary William Hague met with members of the French government to devise a plan of action over the deepening crisis in North Africa.


The no-fly zone had previously gained traction in the UK after Mr Cameron suggested the option as a way to halt Colonel Gaddafi launching attacks on rebels trying to force his removal.

But in recent days, Mr Cameron has faced stiff opposition to his proposals, with both China and Russia governments dismissing his calls.


'There is a lot of, frankly, loose talk about some of these military options,' Gates told a Congressional committee earlier today.


'Let's just call a spade a spade: a no-fly zone begins with an attack on Libya to destroy the air defences.'

‘Then you can fly planes around the country and not worry about our guys being shot down.’


Gates had previously made it clear he had little enthusiasm for direct military intervention but did admit that were the Pentagon ordered by the President to carry out the action, they would be able to get the job done - despite claiming that the operation would require a large number of planes.


In the sprawling tented city straddling Libya’s border with Tunisia, thousands of Egyptian migrant workers pleaded for news yesterday of when they can go home.

With more than 10,000 exhausted new arrivals crossing the crowded border at Ras Jdir during the day, the number of those seeking help to return to their homeland is said to exceed 85,000 in Tunisia alone.

‘We are relieved to have reached safety from Gaddafi’s forces but we are desperate to be able to return to our families,’ said 18-year-old Ahmed Mahmoud, a penniless Egyptian labourer, who had spent four days under canvas.

Britain yesterday began spearheading an international airlift of refugees back to Egypt. There were cheers in the camp as a fleet of buses began ferrying them to Djerba airport in Tunisia where some 40 evacuation flights were due to fly out to Cairo during the day.

Long queues built up outside the airport terminal and the check-in desks were packed.

In Egypt, officials said dozens of flights were being organised to bring some stranded 43,000 Egyptians home from Libya and Tunisia, as well as from Malta, where some had escaped by sea.

Airlifts to other countries supplying legal and illegal labour to Libya are also under way with an estimated 10,000 Vietnamese and 9,000 Bangladeshis requiring help to return home.

Oil exports from Libya have all but stopped.


Production in the southeastern oil fields that feed the facility at Brega has been scaled back because storage facilities there are filling up.

'It is a big operation in a big country,' he added.

Mr Gates' comments came as Mr Hague met with his French counterpart Alain Juppe in Paris ahead of an emergency European summit next week.


Mr Juppe had previously said that no action would be taken without a clear UN mandate, but Mr Hague said the pair had a number of 'bold and ambitious measures' to put forward.

Mr Hague's proposals appear to have put him on a direct collision course with fellow members of the Cabinet as divisions begin to emerge.


Education Secretary Michael Gove made what was described as a ‘Messianic’ intervention at Cabinet last week, saying Britain must be prepared to intervene abroad to promote democracy.

His stance surprised even the Prime Minister, but he did win some backing from Chancellor George Osborne and Defence Secretary Liam Fox.

However last night Mr Hague blew open the divisions, taking a swipe at Mr Gove: ‘I wouldn’t comment on confidential Cabinet meetings or on whatever I might have said about the education department.’

Labour also stepped up its attacks on the Government’s handling of the affair. Lord Mandelson accused Mr Cameron of ‘fumbling’ the crisis while deputy leader Harriet Harman dismissed the Government’s response as ‘a shambles’.

She said: ‘Just because you think you are born to rule doesn’t mean you are any good at it.’


Meanwhile, prior to Mr Obama's statement in Washington, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said that the United States was 'taking no options off the table so long as the Libyan government continues to turn its guns on its own people.'

She warned that the administration had grave concerns about the instability in the country, but somewhat tempered her tone on the possibility of a no-fly zone.



'One of our biggest concerns is Libya descending into chaos and becoming a giant Somalia,' Clinton said.

The administration's concern was underlined on Wednesday in Libya's capital, where Gaddafi lashed out against Europe and the United States for pressuring him to step down.


'We will fight until the last man and woman,' he vowed, warning that thousands of Libyans will die if U.S. and NATO forces intervened



His warning came as two U.S. warships, the USS Kearsarge and USS Ponce, passed through the Suez Canal yesterday on their way to the Mediterranean Sea, closer to Libyan shores, Egyptian officials said.


The officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to talk to media, said the Kearsarge is carrying 42 helicopters.


Gates had previously said on Tuesday that he ordered the two warships into the Mediterranean, along with an extra 400 Marines, in case they are needed to evacuate civilians or provide humanitarian relief.
Daily Mail