Libya Rebels: Massacre Will Be on World's Conscience

As Moammar Gadhafi's forces make their way toward Libyan rebel stronghold Benghazi, the situation in the city is getting tenser by the moment, reports the BBC. A spokesman for the rebels' council says there will be a "massacre" if the international community fails to intervene. Gadhafi will "kill civilians, he will kill dreams, he will destroy us," he said. "It will be on the international community's conscience." Libya's ambassador to the UN—who has defected from the Gadhafi regime—warns that "we will see a real genocide if the international community does not act quickly."

The International Committee of the Red Cross, fearing an imminent attack, has withdrawn from Benghazi and moved its staff to the eastern city of Tobruk. The Libyan Red Crescent has been left with supplies for some 15,000 people. "We are extremely concerned about what will happen to civilians, the sick and wounded, detainees and others who are entitled to protection in times of conflict," said a Red Cross spokesman. Gadhafi, meanwhile, says he expects to recapture the city without a fight. Benghazi residents, he says, have been helping to "oust al-Qaeda elements." (More Benghazi stories.)