Libyan rebel head defiant after Gaddafi threat

CAIRO (Reuters) - Libyan rebels will stand firm and will not be deterred by threats made by Muammar Gaddafi, the head of the rebel council said on Thursday after the Libyan leader threatened to attack Benghazi where the council is based.

"We stand on firm ground. We will not be intimidated by these lies and claims," Libyan National Council head Mustafa Abdel Jalil said, Al Jazeera television reported. "Libyan cities from Ajdabiyah and all of the east are under rebel control."

He was speaking before the U.N. Security Council voted on a resolution that would open the way for air strikes. Abdel Jalil said he would welcome any step that stopped "genocide."

Gaddafi said his armed forces were heading into the rebel capital Benghazi on Thursday night and would not show any mercy to fighters who resisted them.

(Reporting by Dina Zayed)