Libyan Rebels Win Backing of U.S., EU as Qaddafi Says `My People Love Me'

Libyan Rebels Win Backing of U.S., EU as Qaddafi Says `My People Love Me'"The U.S. and European nations solidified their support for Libya’s opposition, promising humanitarian aid and planning for a no-fly zone, as leader Muammar Qaddafi declared that “my people love me” and suggested that the U.S. wants to occupy his country.

The European Union today imposed an arms embargo and other sanctions, and the U.S. said it has frozen $30 billion in Libyan assets. The U.S. said refugee-aid teams were sent to Libya’s borders while U.S. American naval and air units were being repositioned in the Mediterranean.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton met with ministers from the E.U. and Russia in Geneva. The actions by the U.S. and Europe, a major consumer of Libyan oil, were designed to pressure Qaddafi to quit. He has “lost the legitimacy to govern and it is time for him to go without further violence or delay,” Clinton said.

Middle East shares tumbled, sending Dubai’s stock index to the lowest level in almost seven years, as political unrest in the region spread to the Sultanate of Oman and reignited in Tunisia, prompting investors to trim riskier assets."