Libyan President Moamar Gadhafi declared a ceasefire Friday against the rebel uprising as he tries to avert military intervention from the United States and its allies. But the opposition accused their leader of lying as shells continued to rain down on the rebel forces after his declaration.

The United Kingdom and France spearheaded the imposition of the “no-fly” zone by dispatching warplanes in the Mediterranean and calling for a crisis summit in Paris with the United Nations and its Arab allies. President Barack Obama ruled out sending American ground forces but said would participate in military action. The US has several naval and air forces in the Middle East.

The US, Britain, France, and some undeclared Arab allies issued a joint statement to the Libyan leader calling for immediate declaration of a ceasefire. The statement called on Gadhafi to terminate the advance of his troops to Benghazi, the rebel headquarters. Aside from that, the statement called for the pullout of troops in the cities of Misrata, Ajdabiya, and Zawiya and demanded for the restoration of water, electricity, and gas services in all regions and to allow humanitarian aid. If not, he will suffer the consequences with military action.

Despite the UN resolution, Misrata, the third largest city in Libya and the last rebel stronghold, remained under heavy assault from government forces. According to some rebels and a doctor, Gahafi’s snipers were stationed on rooftops and were searching homes for rebels. Khaled Kaim, Libya’s Deputy Foreign Minister, denied they violated the declaration of ceasefire and even invited Germany, China, Turkey, and Malta to send observers to monitor compliance.

Kaim said that although the military forces were outside Benghazi, Gadhafi had no plans of sending them into the city. He also invited the UN chief to send a fact-finding commission and made the assertion that the rebels had committed crimes against humanity. Susan Rice, US Ambassador to the UN, maintained that Gadhafi was indeed violating the UN resolution.

The United Nations Security Council passed the resolution allowing US military intervention, paving the way for possible airstrikes, no-fly zone, and other military measures short of  a ground invasion. Libyan Foreign Minister Moussa Kossa said that the government complied immediately within 12 hours by declaring a ceasefire.

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