TRIPOLI, Libya - Embattled Libyan leader Muammar Gadhafi accused Western nations of wanting to control Libya's oil in a television interview in which he also branded rebels seeking his ouster as "traitors".

"The colonialist countries are hatching a plot to humiliate the Libyan people, reduce them to slavery and control the oil," Gadhafi said in the interview broadcast early on Wednesday on Libyan television.

In a separate interview screened by France's LCI television, the leader accused the West, especially France, of plotting to "colonize" his oil-rich nation.

When questioned on the stand taken by Western powers, and France in particular, Gadhafi said they "want to colonize Libya again", adding, "it's a colonialist plot."

The United Kingdom and France have made the most aggressive calls among Western powers for a no-fly zone to stop Libyan troops attacking opposition forces staging a rebellion now into its fourth week.

Libya was annexed by Italy in 1912 after an Italian invasion of the north African country ostensibly to safeguard its interests.

When asked if he envisaged "reprisals" against France, Gadhafi replied: "We'll see."

Agence France-Presse