"To me, it's absolutely clear that the government of the United States is not interested in peace in Libya," said the 84-year old former Cuban leader, who still heads the Cuban Communist Party.

Washington, he said, "will not hesitate to give the order for NATO to invade that rich country, perhaps in the coming hours or days."

"We will have to wait" to see the "truth or lies" behind reports of a bloody repression of protesters, who have taken to the streets in recent days in opposition to Kadhafi, Castro charged in an article written for official state media.

Human rights groups and Arab media have put the death toll at between 200 and 400 killed, accusing Libyan soldiers and mercenaries of using live fire against demonstrators.

Peru meanwhile suspended diplomatic ties with Libya, becoming the first nation to take such a measure amid a bloody crackdown on the uprising demanding the ouster of Kadhafi after a brutal, 41-year rule.

"Peru is suspending all diplomatic relations with Libya until the violence against the people ceases," President Alan Garcia said, according to a press statement.

Castro said he "could not imagine the Libyan leader abandoning his country and his responsibilities," in response to erroneous reports on Monday that Kadhafi had fled to Venezuela.

The pair have had good relations for decades, with Kadhafi sending a message of support after Castro fell ill in 2006 and handed power to his brother Raul.

There was no more immediate reaction to the turmoil roiling Libya from Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez, Kadhafi's closest ally in the region.

But Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega defended his friend, saying he had spoken with Kadhafi, who is "waging a great battle... and in these circumstances is trying to dialogue, and defend the integrity of the nation so that it does not break up, and so that there is no anarchy."

Kadhafi's regime is confronting a growing diplomatic backlash against the bloody crackdown on protesters, denouncing charges it was carrying out massacres.

The top UN rights official meanwhile said war crimes may have been committed as the Security Council discussed the turmoil in Libya, where Kadhafi has ruled practically unchallenged since coming to power in 1969.

And the UN Security Council condemned attacks by forces loyal to the strongman, deploring their "repression" and expressing "deep regret" at the hundreds of lives lost in the violence.

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