Gaddafi Vows to 'Blow Up' Tripoli if Rebels Capture City

If I can't have it, no one will. That's the sentiment embraced my Col. Muammar Gaddafi as he vows to "blow up Tripoli" and all other cities his troops cannot hold as they battle rebel forces.

The Telegraph reports that Libya's prime minister has revealed Gaddafi's sinister plan:

Mikhail Margelov, the Kremlin's special representative for Africa, said Libya's prime minister Baghdadi al-Mahmudi had revealed the plan. "The Libyan premier told me: if the rebels seize the city, we will cover it with missiles and blow it up," said Mr Margelov who was in Libya last month for talks with both the government and the rebels.

"I imagine that the Gaddafi regime does have such a suicidal plan," he added.

According to The Telegraph, a top Nato commander in Libya, Lt Gen Charles Bouchard, said Gaddafi's regime had ordered his troops to destroy infrastructure and facilities as they retreated.  He told The Telegraph: "I can report that the Gaddafi regime has given direction to its forces to destroy certain facilities as they withdraw back, such as fuel refineries and other aspects."

Some troops, however, are reportedly resentful of being ordered to destroy their own homeland and might not obey orders.

Western officials reportedly believe the embattled Gaddafi is resorting to desperate measures in the wake of rebel forces' advances on the capital.

Even the Kremlin has allegedly supported calls for Gaddafi's departure. The Telegraph reports Margelov said the Kremlin hoped that "pragmatic parts" of the regime would drive Gaddafi out and that the "situation" could be "solved without the colonel."

The Telegraph also reports about steps taken by Libya's prime minister:

Mr Mahmudi, the prime minister, tore up Italy's huge oil concessions in Libya and said that ENI, the Italian operator that has invested £25 billion in the country, was "finished". The announcement is the first wholesale retaliation by the regime against countries that are involved in the Nato-led bombing campaign.

Is Gaddafi mad enough to blow up Tripoli and any other city he cannot capture? What say you?