Gaddafi's son warns of civil war

Saif Gaddafi speaking on Libyan State Television.

The son of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi has appeared on that country's state-owned television to make a statement denouncing the current civil unrest.

Saif Gaddafi, saying up front that he will speak "without notes ...from the heart", was quick to criticise proponents of the uprisings that have swept across North Africa and the Middle East.

"These people try to use Facebook for a revolution to copy Egypt", he said.

Gaddafi made a distinction between Libya from its eastern and western neighbours, where popular uprisings have brought about changes in leadership over the last month:

"Libya is not Egypt", he said "It is not Tunisia.

"There are no political parties in Libya."

Refering to the deadly violence in the city of Benghazi, where protesters have clashed with army and police, Gaddafi blamed it on "drug addicts".

He said troops had opened fire on protesters because they were not trained to handle civil unrest.

He went on to warn that billions of dollars of unfinished projects will fall idle - or be destroyed - if the violence and unrest continues.

He concluded by swearing that the National Guard will defend Libya "to the last man".

He went as far as to warn of a civil war. Gaddafi said that if the violence continues, "it will be worse than Yugoslavia".

Protests, at first confined to Benghazi, have now been seen in Tripoli, traditionally a stronghold for Colonel Gaddafi and his family.

A short time before his address, intense gunfire was heard in the heart of the Libyan capital, and several quarters of the city, witnesses said.

"We are hearing bursts of gunfire everywhere and they are approaching the city centre," a resident of the Al-Andalous quarter told AFP by telephone about the unrest in the early hours of Monday.

Another resident reported gunfire in the Mizran area, near downtown Tripoli.

A resident of the working-class Gurgi area said security forces fired teargas to disperse anti-government protesters.

"There are demonstrations. We are hearing anti-regime slogans and firing. Our house is filled with teargas," he said.

- AGENCIES, AP, AFP