Sarkozy to propose air strikes in Libya: source

France and Britain favour targeted strikes in Libya in case Moamer Kadhafi uses chemical wepaons or air strikes against his people, President Nicolas Sarkozy said Friday at an EU summit.Sarkozy said Paris had "many reservations" on military or NATO intervention in Libya "because Arab revolutions belong to Arabs".But he and British Prime Minister David Cameron were "ready on condition that the UN wishes, that the Arab League accepts and the Libyan opposition agrees, for targeted actions if Mr Kadhafi uses chemical weapons or air strikes against peaceful citizens".

Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi insisted his people loved him but was slammed as "delusional" as the United States slapped a record-breaking $30 billion in sanctions on his brutal regime.US and European leaders weighed the use of NATO air power to impose a no-fly zone over Libya and stop Kadhafi from using air strikes against his own people, as the strongman fights a bloody rearguard action against encroaching rebels.

Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi has insisted his people loved him but was slammed as "delusional" as the United States slapped a record-breaking $30 billion in sanctions on his brutal regime.US and European leaders weighed the use of NATO air power to impose a no-fly zone over Libya and stop Kadhafi from using air strikes against his own people, as the strongman fights a bloody rearguard action against encroaching rebels.

Pressure is piling on Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi after an apparent defection from his oil minister, a rebuke from Moscow, NATO air strikes on Tripoli and a leading prosecutor sought his arrest.A Tunisian government official told AFP that Oil Minister Shukri Ghanem, a veteran of Kadhafi's regime, had left Libya and was in neighbouring Tunisia.Ghanem, also chairman of Libya's national oil company, crossed the border by car on Saturday and checked into a hotel on the southern tourist island of Djerba, the official said.

Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi's youngest son and three grandchildren were killed in an air strike, a spokesman said Sunday, after rebels and NATO dismissed an offer for talks to end Libya's crisis.The house of Seif al-Arab Kadhafi, 29, "was attacked tonight with full power," government spokesman Moussa Ibrahim told a news conference after the late Saturday strikes in confirming the deaths.

The international response to the Libyan crisis has come at warp-like speed compared to past conflicts when military action was bogged down for months, even years, amid endless diplomatic drives.This time it took just 32 days from the start of the uprising against Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi on February 15 to March 19 when the United Nations passed a resolution allowing for air strikes against regime forces to protect civilians.

Pressure mounted on Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi Tuesday as the International Criminal Court prosecutor sought his arrest, NATO jets pounded his capital and his truce offer was snubbed.Compounding the strongman's woes, a security services building and the headquarters of Libya's anti-corruption agency were on fire in Tripoli early Tuesday after apparently being hit by NATO air strikes.