This is a crime against humanity

NATO condemns fiery speech by Libyan leader

          "NATO will be defeated," Gadhafi yelled in a hoarse, agitated voice to the crowd. "They will pull out in defeat."

          NATO accused Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi on Saturday of using mosques and children's parks as shields, saying the longtime ruler who lashed out against alliance airstrikes is the one "brutally attacking the Libyan people."

          In Brussels on Saturday, NATO spokeswoman Oana Lungescu dismissed Gadhafi's speech as "outrageous."

          "We are saving countless lives every day across the country," she said. "We are conducting operations with utmost care and precision to avoid civilian casualties. Civilian casualties figures mentioned by the Libyan regime are pure propaganda."

          NATO has been ramping up the pressure on Gadhafi's more than four-decade-old regime. Though most airstrikes happen under cover of darkness, daytime raids have grown more frequent.

          "It has become clear to us that NATO has moved on to deliberately hitting civilian buildings. ... This is a crime against humanity," he told reporters in the capital.

          NATO attacked the Libyan capital at midday Friday, pounding a target in the south of the city and sending a thick cloud of black smoke rising high into the air.

          A coalition including France, Britain and the United States launched the first strikes against Gadhafi's forces under a United Nations resolution to protect civilians on March 19.