DUSHANBE, February 23, 2011, Asia-Plus  -- On Tuesday February 22, the U.N. Security Council condemned Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi’s crackdown on anti-government protesters and demanded an immediate end to the violence against civilians, the U.N. News Center reports.

A press statement agreed to by all 15 members of the U.N.''s most powerful body expressed "grave concern" at the situation in Libya, "deplored the repression against peaceful demonstrators, and expressed deep regret at the deaths of hundreds of civilians."

The council called for an "immediate end to the violence and for steps to address the legitimate demands of the population, including through national dialogue."

Council members said the Libyan government should "meet its responsibility to protect its population," act with restraint, and respect human rights and international humanitarian law.  They said the Libyan government should hold accountable those people, including government forces, who have attacked civilians.  The council issued the statement after several hours of closed consultations.

It came hours after Gaddafi vowed in a television address to keep fighting to his "last drop of blood" and urged his supporters to take to the streets, setting the stage for even more deadly violence.

CBS News reports Libya''s deputy U.N. ambassador Ibrahim Dabbashi, who has called for Qaddafi to step down, said the council statement was "not strong enough" but was "a good message to the regime in Libya about stopping the bloodshed."  He said he had received information that Gaddafi’s collaborators have started "attacking people in all the cities in western Libya."