(Euronews: 1530 PST, February 28, 2011) Libya's leader Muammar Gaddafi has claimed that his people love him despite a popular uprising calling for his ouster. Talking to Western journalists for the first time since the unrest began, he laughed when he was asked if he will leave Libya.

"Why would I leave Libya?," he said. "They love me. All my people are with me. They will die to protect me."

He went on to claim there were no demonstrations being held against him. Yet the latest footage showed anti-Gaddafi protests in the capital.