Libya Declares Immediate Ceasefire Following UN Vote

ABC News(TRIPOLI, Libya) -- Libya’s foreign minister declared a ceasefire on Friday, just hours after the United Nations Security Council approved a resolution that authorized the international community to take "all necessary measures" short of sending in ground troops, to protect civilians in Libya.

The UN’s vote on Thursday came just as Col. Moammar Gadhafi said his forces were planning a major offensive on the rebel stronghold of Benghazi.

The council voted 10-0 with five abstentions, including Russia and China.

With attacks likely imminent, Gadhafi warned rebels Thursday, "We will find you."

"We are coming tonight," he said. "There won't be any mercy."

The resolution also authorized the imposition of a no-fly zone over Libya as a way to protect the opposition fighters and civilians from Gadhafi's jets.

Following the vote, Col. Gadhafi’s son, Saif Gadhafi, spoke to ABC News, calling the resolution "unfair because, as you know, from the beginning we told to everybody there were no air strikes against civilians, no bombing of civilian districts or demonstrations.  And thousands of those reports showed they were false."

“You are not helping to the people if you are going to bomb Libya, to kill Libyans," Gadhafi told ABC’s Christiane Amanpour.

“We have to be very careful.  This is a trick,” said Ali Sulaiman Aujali, the former Libyan ambassador to the U.S. who has sided with anti-Gadhafi forces, at a press conference Friday.  “[Col. Gadhafi] will commend the resolution, but in the same time, he’s invading Misratah, he’s killing the people, he’s moving his arms from to strategic points.  You have to be very careful.”

Copyright 2011 ABC News Radio