Moscow: A Russian newspaper is quoting the Kremlin's special envoy to Libya as saying Moammar Gaddafi has threatened to blow up Tripoli if it falls into rebel hands.
Mikhail Margelov is quoted in Thursday's edition of the Izvestia newspaper as saying Libyan Prime Minister Al-Baghdadi al-Mahmudi recently told him, "If the rebels seize the city, we will deluge it with missiles and blow it up."
Margelov also is cited as saying: "I presume that the Gaddafi regime has a suicidal plan of this kind."
The civil war in Libya appears to have hit a stalemate, despite a protracted NATO bombing campaign against Gaddafi-loyal forces under a UN mandate on protecting civilians. Margelov has been a mediator in the standoff.
Russia abstained in the UN vote on military intervention and has voiced concern about civilian casualties.
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