Gadhafi Calls UN Resolution on Libya ‘Invalid’ as Battle

Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi has sent urgent messages to world leaders Saturday, claiming that his country is fighting al- Qaida and that the United Nations resolution on Libya was invalid¹.
The messages come as fighting intensified² on the outskirts³ of the main rebel-held city Benghazi and French President Nicholas Sarkozy confirms that French jets are now enforcing a no fly zone around Benghazi.
U.S. President Barack Obama, speaking in Brazil, said the people of Libya must be protected and he said the coalition⁴ enforcing the no fly zone in Libya is prepared to act to do that.
Forces loyal to Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi shelled targets inside the main rebel-held city of Benghazi Saturday as battles intensified in several outer suburbs. Both al Arabiya TV and al Jazeera TV, quoting eyewitnesses⁵, said tanks loyal to Mr. Gadhafi had entered Benghazi.
AP
French President Nicolas Sarkozy delivers a speech, March 19, 2011 at the Elysee Palace in Paris after a crisis summit on Libya
In Paris, western diplomats⁶ held a summit at Paris' Elysee Palace to discuss military action in Libya. French President Nicholas Sarkozy spoke⁷ after the meeting, indicating that French, Arab and other western states had begun to enforce a no-fly zone near the rebel controlled city of Benghazi, but that Colonel Gadhafi could still comply with U.N. Security Council demands.
He says [the West] is intervening in Libya according to the U.N. Security Council mandate⁸ with Arab League approval in order to protect the Libyan people from the murderous folly⁹ of a regime that has lost all legitimacy¹⁰ by assassinating¹¹ its own people. The Libyan people he adds must be able to chose their own destiny. He stresses that there is still time for Mr. Gadhafi to respect the demands of the international community, at which point diplomatic activity will resume.
In the Libyan capital Tripoli, government spokesman Ibrahim Moussa told reporters that Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi had sent urgent messages to world leaders, including President Barack Obama, calling a U.N. Security Council resolution on Libya illegal:
He says that Mr. Gadhafi wrote that the Libyan people support him and he is ready to die for his people. He claims that Libya is fighting al- Qaida's North African branch (AQAM) and no one else. He asks Mr. Obama what he would do, if al-Qaida captured and took control of an American city? He goes on to say that the U.N. Security Council resolution is illegal and unjust, because it infringes¹² on the U.N. charter, which forbids meddling¹³ in a country's internal affairs. He adds that Libya is not targeting civilians¹⁵ and asks outside observers to come and confirm this.
In Benghazi, former interior minister Abdel Fattah Younes, now a top rebel leader told al Jazeera TV that Gadhafi tanks were "beaten back by rebel fighters using rocket-propelled grenades."
Early Saturday a warplane belonging to rebel forces was shot down over Benghazi, crashing in a ball of smoke and flames. Rebel leader Younes confirmed that pro-Gadhafi gunners downed the plane but that the pilot ejected safely.
Arab satellite TV channels showed images of civilian¹⁴ homes damaged by shelling inside the city. Numerous casualties were reported. Rounds of automatic rifle fire crackled into the air throughout the day, punctuated¹⁶ by the intermittent¹⁷ sounds of explosions.
Amid the fighting, hundreds of civilian vehicles were seen fleeing Benghazi towards Tobruk and the Egyptian border. Witnesses at the Egyptian border post of Salloum saw scores of Libyans, including women and children, who had entered Egypt.
Witnesses reported that pro-Gadhafi forces also attacked the rebel-held western Libyan towns of Zentan, Nalout and Misrata. Tanks and field artillery¹⁸ reportedly pounded all three cities.

1 invalid   

n.病人，伤残人；adj.有病的，伤残的；无效的

参考例句：

• He will visit an invalid.他将要去看望一个病人。
• A passport that is out of date is invalid.护照过期是无效的。

2 intensified   

v.（使）增强， （使）加剧( intensify的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Violence intensified during the night. 在夜间暴力活动加剧了。
• The drought has intensified. 旱情加剧了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 outskirts   

n.郊外，郊区

参考例句：

• Our car broke down on the outskirts of the city.我们的汽车在市郊出了故障。
• They mostly live on the outskirts of a town.他们大多住在近郊。

4 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

5 eyewitnesses   

目击者( eyewitness的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The examination of all the eyewitnesses took a week. 对所有证人的质询用了一周的时间。
• Several eyewitnesses testified that they saw the officers hit Miller in the face. 几位目击证人证明他们看见那几个警官打了米勒的脸。

6 diplomats   

n.外交官( diplomat的名词复数 )；有手腕的人，善于交际的人

参考例句：

• These events led to the expulsion of senior diplomats from the country. 这些事件导致一些高级外交官被驱逐出境。
• The court has no jurisdiction over foreign diplomats living in this country. 法院对驻本国的外交官无裁判权。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

8 mandate   

n.托管地；命令，指示

参考例句：

• The President had a clear mandate to end the war.总统得到明确的授权结束那场战争。
• The General Election gave him no such mandate.大选并未授予他这种权力。

9 folly   

n.愚笨，愚蠢，蠢事，蠢行，傻话

参考例句：

• Learn wisdom by the folly of others.从别人的愚蠢行动中学到智慧。
• Events proved the folly of such calculations.事情的进展证明了这种估计是愚蠢的。

10 legitimacy   

n.合法，正当

参考例句：

• The newspaper was directly challenging the government's legitimacy.报纸直接质疑政府的合法性。
• Managing from the top down,we operate with full legitimacy.我们进行由上而下的管理有充分的合法性。

11 assassinating   

v.暗杀( assassinate的现在分词 )；中伤；诋毁；破坏

参考例句：

• They struck a blow for freedom by assassinating the colonial governor. 他们为了自由而奋力一博，暗杀了那位殖民地总督。 来自互联网

12 infringes   

v.违反（规章等）( infringe的第三人称单数 )；侵犯（某人的权利）；侵害（某人的自由、权益等）

参考例句：

• Congressmen may be reluctant to vote for legislation that infringes the traditional prerogatives of the states. 美国国会议员可能不情愿投票拥护侵犯各州传统特权的立法。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法
• I can't say whether CP21 infringes it or not. 我就不能说CP21是否侵犯了SPOT的专利。 来自企业管理英语口语（第二版）(2)

13 meddling   

v.干涉，干预（他人事务）( meddle的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• He denounced all "meddling" attempts to promote a negotiation. 他斥责了一切“干预”促成谈判的企图。 来自辞典例句
• They liked this field because it was never visited by meddling strangers. 她们喜欢这块田野，因为好事的陌生人从来不到那里去。 来自辞典例句

14 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

15 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

16 punctuated   

v.（在文字中）加标点符号，加标点( punctuate的过去式和过去分词 )；不时打断某事物

参考例句：

• Her speech was punctuated by bursts of applause. 她的讲演不时被阵阵掌声打断。
• The audience punctuated his speech by outbursts of applause. 听众不时以阵阵掌声打断他的讲话。 来自《简明英汉词典》

17 intermittent   

adj.间歇的，断断续续的

参考例句：

• Did you hear the intermittent sound outside?你听见外面时断时续的声音了吗？
• In the daytime intermittent rains freshened all the earth.白天里，时断时续地下着雨，使整个大地都生气勃勃了。

18 artillery   

n.(军)火炮，大炮；炮兵(部队)

参考例句：

• This is a heavy artillery piece.这是一门重炮。
• The artillery has more firepower than the infantry.炮兵火力比步兵大。