Libyans celebrate U.N. vote, now want rapid action

EGYPT-LIBYA BORDER (Reuters) - Supporters of Libyan rebels celebrated a U.N. resolution authorising a "no-fly" zone and military attacks on Muammar Gaddafi's forces but said on Friday they were impatient for action.

"It's a great development. We are so thankful. Thousands came out last night, families, everyone celebrating. But we are waiting for it to be implemented. We are tired of talk," said Rajab Mohammed al-Agouri who left Benghazi late on Thursday.

Travelling with five children, he was among many Libyans who have fled to Egypt after waiting weeks for the West to act on rebel pleas to ground Gaddafi's warplanes and stop an offensive that has retaken swathes of once rebel-held territory.

They fear retribution from Gaddafi, who said on Thursday his forces were going to the rebel capital Benghazi and would show no mercy to fighters who resisted.

"The only reason we left was air strikes. We were overjoyed when we heard the news. In Benghazi, people were firing in the air, as were people in Tobruk," said Mahmoud, who was also with his family on the Egyptian border.

"It was like we'd won. But still, they should have done this long ago," the 32-year-old said.

The U.N. Security Council passed a resolution endorsing a no-fly zone to halt government troops now 100 km (60 miles) from Benghazi, where the rebels have set up a national council.

The resolution also authorised "all necessary measures" -- code for military action -- to protect civilians against Gaddafi's forces, who have launched a concerted land, sea and air offensive on rebel-held territory.

'NO' TO FOREIGN SOLDIERS

Some opponents of Gaddafi, while welcoming the resolution, said it should not be used to send in ground forces and warned it could inflame tensions, since Gaddafi loyalists have accused those backing the resolution of being foreign "lackeys."

"The no-fly zone is a great decision. It's there for the protection of women and children. How can a child see this horror?" said Anis al-Majbouri, an accountant, who was travelling to join his family in Benghazi.

"But no Libyan will ever accept foreign soldiers coming to protect us. The U.N. decision will make tension in the nation rise though. The Gaddafi supporters will say 'you're traitors, collaborating with the foreigners'," Majbouri said.

The rebels had moved westward from their stronghold of Benghazi earlier this month, but in less than two weeks they have been rolled back as a series of coastal towns, several with oil terminals, were retaken by Gaddafi's better equipped forces.

"We will not settle for anything but liberation for this country's people from this regime," Libyan National Council head Mustafa Abdel Jalil told Al Jazeera television.

"Our rebels and their determination are capable of defeating them," he said after Gaddafi's speech late on Thursday and before the U.N. resolution was passed. He repeated calls for military intervention to protect civilians.

Overnight, television images showed thousands of people listening to Gaddafi's speech in Benghazi, then erupting in celebration after the U.N. vote, waving anti-Gaddafi tricolours and chanting slogans against the leader of four decades.

Fireworks burst over the city and gunfire rang out.

(Writing by Edmund Blair in Cairo; editing by Philippa Fletcher)