UN chief Ban Ki-Moon has blasted Muammar Gaddafi for ignoring his call to stop a violent crackdown against protesters in Libya, warning that the situation could turn "very dangerous" in the North African country.
The Secretary General referred to his 40-minute conversation with Gaddafi earlier this week, and expressed disgust that the Libyan ruler had not responded positively to a string appeal by him.
"After such long and extensive discussions and my strong urging, and even appeal to him, he has not heeded... This is not acceptable," he said.
Ban had spoked to Gaddafi on Monday and asked him to stop the violent crackdown against peaceful protesters and initiate a broad-based dialogue to address their concerns.
"What he (Gaddafi) has done is totally unacceptable," Ban told journalists yesterday.
Ban warned that the volatile situation in the North African nation could take several directions -- many of them could be dangerous.
"The situation is developing rapidly towards a very dangerous situation... Therefore we need to very carefully monitor the situation," he said.
Internatio11:49 AM 2/24/2011nal censure against Gaddafi escalated after reports that protesters had been fired upon from war planes.
On Tuesday, the UN Security Council issued a strongly worded statement calling on the Libyan regime to stop attacking pro-democracy protesters, and also called for accountability against those who had carried out these attacks against civilians.
In its statement, the Council, "condemned the violence and use of force against civilians, deplored the repression against peaceful demonstrators, and expressed deep regret at the deaths of hundreds of civilians."
Observers, however, are calling for stronger action on part of the UN such as establishing no-fly zones, imposing sanctions and setting up a humanitarian corridor.
"The specific measures, like no-fly zones and some other specific sanctions, including specific measures, like sanctions, are the ones which the Security Council needs to determine," Ban said.
The Arab League also issued a statement barring Libya from attending its meetings until it stopped attacking its citizens.
Gaddafi, however, has refused to relent in the face of a massive uprising against his 42-year-old reign, vowing to die a martyr and asking his supporters to snatch back the streets of Libya from the opponents.
Ban also welcomed the decision by the Geneva-based UN Human Rights Council to meet in a special session tomorrow with the possibility of setting up an international investigation into the recent events in Libya.
