The comments, made in a telephone call to a pro-Gaddafi TV channel in Syria, apparently came from inside Libya.

Col Gaddafi also promised his forces would defeat Nato and the National Transitional Council (NTC).

Earlier, Niger said it was considering how to deal with him if he decided to enter the country to seek refuge.

Niger would decide later whether to accept Col Gaddafi or hand him to the International Criminal Court (ICC), the country's foreign minister told the BBC.

There has been speculation that Col Gaddafi may go to Niger after groups of loyalists fled there in recent days.

Libya's transitional authorities have asked Niger not to take him in.

The NTC has been trying to negotiate a peaceful resolution to stand-offs in a handful of Libyan towns or cities still controlled by Gaddafi loyalists.