UN urges restraint as the rebels wreak their revenge on 'loyalists'

The killings were pitiless.

They had taken place at a makeshift hospital, in a tent marked clearly with the symbols of the Islamic Crescent. Some of the dead were on stretchers, attached to intravenous drips. Some were on the back of an ambulance that had been shot at. A few were on the ground, seemingly attempting to crawl to safety when the bullets came.

Around 30 men lay decomposing in the heat. Many of them had their hands tied behind their back, either with plastic handcuffs or ropes. One had a scarf stuffed into his mouth. Almost all of the victims were black men. Their bodies had been dumped near the scene of two of the fierce battles between rebel and regime forces in Tripoli

 

Death rains from above on Tripoli's streets

"Kadhafi is killing all the people, please help us," a Tripoli man wept after his family was wiped out by a mortar that hit his house near the Libyan leader's Bab al-Azizya compound on Tuesday.
The man stumbled through the dusty, empty streets of a district around two kilometres (over a mile) to the west of Bab al-Azizya, where rebel fighters massed at a nearby school said they would march on the compound imminently.
"It will all be over in 30 minutes, God willing" said Mohammed, his optimism undimmed by the drawn out finale of the Libyan revolution that most hoped would be over already, three days after the freedom fighters entered the capital.
With the rebels piling toward the heavily fortified compound, poorly armed and trained men are left to look after many city checkpoints, hoping for reinforcements amid confusion over who controls what in the battle-scarred city.
Salah is a 20-year-old former Kadhafi conscript who deserted the loyalist forces six weeks ago to join the revolution. He holds a 9 mm pistol in one hand, and a crutch in the other to relieve his foot injured in fighting with rebels.
"We are protecting the area now, it is under our control while they attack Bab al-Azizya. We are waiting for support to come from Zawiya (40 kilometres to the west)," he said, as flies buzzed around his unhealed wound.
"I don't know when they will arrive."
"The rebels will attack the compound with tanks from Misrata (to the east)," he said, something that could complicate NATO's precision air strikes on Kadhafi's armour.
NATO jets could be heard screaming almost constantly overhead on Tuesday, much more than on previous days, an AFP correspondent reported.
Every time the distinctive boom of their bombs is heard, people throughout the city cry "Allahu Akbar," each bomb felt as another step taken towards liberty.
A group of women and girls moves down one of the city's streets, turning to smile and flash V-for-Victory signs at the men who are defending their homes.
Babies cannot sleep and scream their wakefulness every time there is a nearby gunshot. And the gunshots are constant and everywhere.
Until Monday, long-bearded Samir Chakara was a prisoner of Kadhafi's regime at Ain Zara prison, from where rebels have just freed him and 900 others.
"I was arrested for taking part in demonstrations. They were looking for me everywhere and eventually found me, three-and-a-half months ago."
In pre-revolutionary times, he was a specialised printer, producing chequebooks, hologrammed material and the like. Today he is a former political prisoner turned freedom fighter, manning a checkpoint in the tense urban sprawl.
Fellow former political prisoner Abdel Fatah shows the unhealed welts on his wrists, from when he was chained up for several hours a day.
"While chained, they would hit me in the back with rifle butts, spit at me and insult me," he said.
Behind him pro-regime graffiti daubed on a shop wall reads "God, religion, Kadhafi, Libya." The 'Kadhafi' has now been crossed out with a thick brush of black paint.
Another piece of crossed-out pro-regime graffiti says "All Libyans are rats."
"You see how mad he is?" a nearby youth says of the veteran leader.
The rumour mill is in full swing, as news spread by word of mouth.
The mobile phone network comes and goes. There is no electricity for television. Few fighters have walkie-talkies or satellite telephones. Today, most Libyans can only wait, hope and pray, as the final assault begins.

 

rebels surround apartment block 'hiding' Col Gaddafi

1,000 opposition fighters surrounded an apartment block near Gaddafi’s former headquarters in the Libyan capital, where they exchanged fire with loyalists following unconfirmed reports that the despot was inside with some of his sons.
It also emerged that the rebels might have been only hours away from catching Gaddafi at another address in Tripoli where he is believed to have spent the night.
Gaddafi made yet another television broadcast to urge his remaining supporters to “purify” the capital of “rats”, while his spokesman taunted his enemies by saying the 69-year-old was safe, healthy and “leading the battle for our freedom”.
The first members of the de facto government, the National Transitional Council (NTC), arrived in Tripoli yesterday to begin setting up the institutions that will bring democracy to Libya.
But a large area of the capital remained a war zone as loyalist soldiers continued to put up stubborn resistance in a guerrilla battle that could go on for “weeks”, according to William Hague, the Foreign Secretary.

 

Gaddafi may have emptied Libya's gold reserves

Fallen Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi may have emptied the country's estimated gold reserves worth $ 10 billion and will use it to buy protection and wage a guerrilla war, the nation's former chief banker has said.

"Libya had gold reserves worth $ 10 billion in Tripoli. Now that Gaddafi is on the run, he may have taken some of this gold", Al Jazeera quoted former Libyan Central Bank chief Farhat Bengdara as having told an Italian daily.

Bengdara alleged that Gaddafi may use this bullion to corrupt tribes for his protection and saw chaos. The Libyan banker had deserted the Gaddafi regime few months ago.

The banker said that during his tenure the dictator had tried to sell gold consignments to hire mercenaries and to keep ready cash in dollars and euros with himself.

Bengdara said that Libya would need anywhere between $ five to seven billion to kickstart the economy and said there were no fears as the country's Sovereign Wealth Fund and gold reserves were a comfortable $ 168 billion.

 

Gaddafi nearly captured on Wednesday - report

Libyan commandos fighting Muammar Gaddafi came close to capturing the toppled leader on Wednesday when they raided a private home in Tripoli where he appeared to have been hiding, Paris Match magazine said on Thursday.

Citing a source in a unit which it said was coordinating among intelligence services from Arab states and Libyan rebels, the French weekly said on its website that these services believed Gaddafi was still somewhere in the Libyan capital.

Gaddafi was gone from the unassuming safe house in central Tripoli when agents arrived about 10 a.m. (9 a.m. British time) on Wednesday after a tip-off from a credible source. But, the magazine said, they found evidence that he had spent at least one night there -- though it did not say how recently that was.

France has taken a leading military role in the NATO force backing the rebels. Britain's defence minister said on Thursday that NATO was helping with intelligence and reconnaissance in the hunt for Gaddafi and his sons. Many analysts believe France, Britain and Arab allies, notably Qatar, may have some special forces on the ground in Tripoli working with Libyan commandos.

Anyone within Col Muammar Gaddafi's "inner circle" who captures or kills him has been offered immunity from prosecution and a cash reward.

Anyone within Col Muammar Gaddafi's "inner circle" who captures or kills him has been offered immunity from prosecution and a cash reward.

Guma El-Gamaty, the UK Co-ordinator of the Libyan National Transitional Council, said it was a "golden chance" for those close to Col Gaddafi to return to their families and be immune from prosecution.

He also demanded that the African Union release funds belonging to the Libyan people.

Terror in Tripoli as loyalists fight to the death

The missile smashed into the top floor of the house, punching a jagged hole. It sprayed the terrified people on the street below with shrapnel, shattered glass and jagged masonry. Libya's revolutionaries were mounting their assault on the last stronghold of Muammar Gaddafi in Tripoli

There was no escape for the residents of Abu Salim, trapped as the fighting spread all around them. In the corner of a street, a man who was shot in the crossfire, the back of his blue shirt soaked in blood, was being carried away by three others. "I know that man, he is a shopkeeper," said Sama Abdessalam Bashti, who had just run across the road to reach his home. "The rebels are attacking our homes. This should not be happening

 

£1 million reward was offered today for the capture of Colonel Muammar Gaddafi

£1 million reward was offered today for the capture of Colonel Muammar Gaddafi as Foreign Secretary William Hague called on the Libyan dictator to recognise his 42-year rule was over and stand down his forces.

Mustafa Abdel Jalil, head of the Transitional National Council, said he supported the offer by Libyan businessmen for a reward of two million Libyan dinars to anyone handing over Gaddafi "dead or alive".

He also offered amnesty to "members of (Gaddafi's) close circle who kill him or capture him".

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His comments came as some 35 journalists held at the Hotel Rixos in Tripoli were released by soldiers loyal to the 69-year-old dictator.

The hotel is reported to be one of the last buildings under the control of Gaddafi's forces. According to BBC correspondent Matthew Price, the situation deteriorated overnight when it became clear they could not leave of their own free will as two gunmen stalked the building, preventing the journalists from leaving.

Power cuts also meant they had not been able to watch on television as Gaddafi's compound was stormed.

"We had no idea that Tripoli was like this," he added.

"We wondered if our lives were at risk because of that, because we were seen as on one side of the conflict."

Earlier, jubilant rebel fighters swept through the capital following last night's successful siege of the despot's heavily-fortified Bab al-Aziziya compound.

After storming the luxury home, they raised the new Libyan flag over buildings and looted Gaddafi's personal possessions, including his famous colonel's hat - effectively ending the brutal 42-year regime.

And today, some of Gaddafi's closest allies in government appeared to be deserting him.

Abdul Ati al-Obeidi, Gaddafi's former foreign minister, told Channel 4 News that the regime had come to an end. Speaking from Tripoli, he said the rebels were now responsible for restoring law and order to Libya.

But Gaddafi was still resisting arrest as he went on the run. He said it was a "tactical" move to flee his base in Tripoli, adding that he had gone on a discreet tour of the Libyan capital and did not feel in danger.

As rebel fighters searched the city, the dictator told residents in a poor-quality telephone address on local television that they must "cleanse" Tripoli of his regime's enemies and free it from the "devils" who have overrun it.

Al-Orouba TV also broadcast what it said was a telephone interview with government spokesman Moussa Ibrahim, who said Libya would be turned into a "burning volcano and a fire under the feet of the invaders and their treacherous agents".

But Mr Hague said it was now time for Gaddafi to recognise defeat as Nicaragua apparently offered asylum to Gaddafi.

Speaking after he chaired a meeting of the National Security Council in London, Mr Hague said: "There is a clear, fundamental decisive rejection of the regime by the people of Libya.

"I think it is time now for Colonel Gaddafi to stop issuing delusional statements and recognise that that has happened, that control of the country is not going to return. He should be telling his dwindling remaining forces now to stand down."

The British Government is still also attempting to "pave the way for the unfreezing of assets" which "ultimately belong to the Libyan people", Mr Hague added.

Journalists freed from Tripoli hotel

International journalists were freed from the Rixos Hotel today after being held for five days by armed men loyal to Muammar Gaddafi.

The dozens of journalists were taken in Red Cross cars and vans to another Tripoli hotel, where they hugged friends and colleagues, many crying

 

Britain watching Tripoli hotel situation closely

Britain is closely monitoring developments in the Tripoli hotel where foreign journalists have been confined for four days guarded by pro-regime gunmen, Foreign Secretary William Hague said Wednesday.
"We are monitoring that very closely. We are in touch with their news organisations," he said. "Of course we are concerned about their safety and the safety of anyone caught up in this fighting."
Around 30 foreign journalists, including an AFP correspondent, are in the Rixos hotel, where a BBC reporter described the conditions as "desperate".
"We are also doing what we can to help through talking to the (rebel) National Transitional Council, although they are not yet in control of that area, and to any others who may be able to help," Hague added.
"So we are monitoring that situation, we are having those discussions and I am monitoring that situation hour by hour," he noted.
The AFP reporter in the Rixos said the journalists were increasingly fearful of what to expect in the coming days, and whether or not rebel forces will meet armed resistance once they attempt to take the hotel.
Electricity, temporarily cut, has been restored but water and food were scarce.
The majority of pro-regime soldiers standing guard outside the hotel had abandoned their positions by Wednesday after rebel forces laid claim to vast swathes of Tripoli.
But a handful remained, dressed in civilian clothes and armed with Kalashnikov assault rifles.

 

Libyans poured into streets surrounding Moammar Gadhafi's fortress-like compound in Tripoli

Libyans poured into streets surrounding Moammar Gadhafi's fortress-like compound in Tripoli on Tuesday, after rebels captured it following fierce street battles against forces loyal to the longtime leader.

Streets around the Bab al-Aziziya compound rang with mortars, heavy machine-guns and anti-aircraft guns throughout much of the day Tuesday as rebels took up positions around Col. Gadhafi's symbolic stronghold.

Associated Press

An explosion hit near Gadhafi's main compound in the Bab al-Aziziya district in Tripoli on Tuesday.

By late afternoon gunfire ceased and rebels and Tripoli residents poured onto the streets. An overpass about a half-mile from the complex, on which rebels had taken up position just an hour before, thronged with people.

The compound's green gates were blasted open and hundreds of rebels were pouring into the complex, the Associated Press reported, some driving golf carts as the area resounded with celebratory gunfire.

Libya rebels: we let Gaddafi son Saif al-Islam escape

On Sunday as they poured almost unopposed into the heart of capital, the National Transitional Council (NTC) announced it had scored a huge propaganda coup by capturing three of the dictator’s six sons Mohammed, Saadi and most importantly of all, Gaddafi’s likely successor Saif al-Islam.
Educated in London and able to boast connections with some of Europe’s most influential politicians, Saif al-Islam had become the public face of his father’s faltering regime in recent months.
The rebels triumphantly announced plans to deliver the 39-year-old to the International Criminal Court (ICC) in the Hague where he is wanted along with his father for crimes against humanity.
His capture suggested the fall of Gaddafi was imminent and NTC leader Mustapha Abd El Jalil issued a statement in which he said: “We have confirmed information that our guys have captured Saif Al-Islam. We have given instructions to treat him well so that he can face trial.”
Hours later the ICC in the Netherlands issued an apparent confirmation of the capture with spokesman Fadi el-Abdallah telling reporters they were already discussing details of his hand over with the rebels.

 

Rebel forces have swept into Colonel Muammar Gaddafi's Tripoli compound - but the Libyan leader's whereabouts are unknown.

REBELS INSIDE COLONEL GADDAFI'S COMPOUND

The Libyan leader's compound is "totally in the hands of the revolutionaries," Libyan UN envoy Ibrahim Dabbashi, who supports the rebel movement, said.
But there has been no word on the fate of Col Gaddafi who had vowed to fight "to the end".

TV footage showed rebel fighters streaming through the sprawling Bab al Aziziya compound, firing in the air in celebration after hours of heavy clashes.
After hundreds of jubilant rebels poured into the complex, some smashed a statue of Col Gaddafi and others ran through dozens of buildings, unchallenged, seizing weapons and vehicles.
The Pentagon said the rebels appeared to be in control of most of Tripoli but warned the situation was "still very fluid" and Gaddafi forces "remained dangerous".
In the major offensive, opposition fighters used anti-aircraft guns and rocket launchers to attack the complex's three outer walls.

Jubilant rebels bring down a statue of the leader inside the compound
Sky News special correspondent Alex Crawford, who is inside the compound, said: "The place is filled with opposition fighters and soldiers... it has been well and truly taken over by opposition fighters."
One ecstatic fighter told Crawford: "It is unbelievable, to all of the people that sacrificed themselves - for this moment we are in front of his compound."
He added: "Gaddafi, you are a coward - we are looking for you, where are you, come on!"

Earlier, at least two people were killed and several others hurt, including a toddler, as Gaddafi troops fired rockets from his compound.
Crawford said "the attacks from the Gaddafi forces appear to be fairly indiscriminate".
She said: "They are using rockets from inside the compound to shell the civilian population.
"We went to one area where a rocket had landed and two men died in a house. The whole family was injured including a little girl aged about three."

Saif al-Islam, son of Muammar Gaddafi, who was reported to have been captured by Libyan opposition forces on Sunday, has made a public appearance in Tripoli

"I am here to refute the lies," Saif al-Islam said on Monday, referring to reports of his arrest. He travelled to the Rixos Hotel late in the night and spoke to foreign journalists staying there.

"We broke the back of the rebels. It was a trap. We gave them a hard time, so we are winning," he said.

Television footage showed him pumping his fists in the air, smiling, waving and shaking hands with supporters, as well as holding his arms aloft with each hand making the "V" for victory sign.

Gaddafi's son told journalists that Tripoli, which has been largely overrun in the past 24 hours by rebel forces seeking to topple his father, was in fact in government hands.

Asked whether his father was safe, Saif said: "Of course."

He said he did not care about an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court in The Hague seeking him and his father for crimes against humanity.

Earlier, armed pro-Gaddafi security men guarding the hotel took a small group of journalists to Gaddafi's Bab al-Azizyah compound, where they had a meeting with Saif al-Islam.

They returned to the hotel accompanied by Saif al-Islam, who then spoke to journalists in the lobby before taking some of them back to the compound a short distance away for a brief visit.

Luis Moreno-Ocampo, the ICC prosecutor, had earlier said the 39-year-old was arrested and in detention.

Waheed Burshan, an NTC member told Al Jazeera, "We had confirmation Saif al-Islam was arrested, but we have no idea how he escaped."

Meanwhile, rebel forces said they had arrested Saadi Gaddafi, the beleaguered Libyan leader's third son. The claim was made even as the whereabouts of other relatives and senior officials remained unknown.

Eldest son 'escapes'

Gaddafi's eldest son, Mohammad, who was also detained by rebels on Sunday night is reported to have escaped.


Mohammad Gaddafi's interview with Al Jazeera
In an interview with Al Jazeera after he surrendered, Mohammad expressed his "sadness" at the fighting in Libya. The interview was interrupted by gunfire.

"What's happening in Libya is very upsetting. The killing between brothers, between Muslims, is something that saddens me," he said.

Mohammad was the chairman of Libya's main state-run telecommunications firm, but his role in his father's government was reportedly minimal, far smaller than Saif al-Islam's.

The biggest question is now about Muammar Gaddafi himself, last heard in a brief audio recording on Sunday night. He called on Libya's tribes to March on the capital.

"How can you allow Tripoli to be burned?" he asked.

Gaddafi's sons: Where are they?

Mohammad: Surrendered to rebel fighters in Tripoli but has reportedly escaped.

Saif al-Islam: In Tripoli and interacts with journalists to disprove reports of his capture by rebels.

Saadi: Reported to have been captured by rebels in Tripoli.

Hannibal: At large.

Mutasim: At large.

Saif al-Arab: Killed by a NATO airstrike in April.

Khamis: At large; rumoured to be leading leading troops in Tripoli.

Three other Gaddafi sons - Hannibal, Mutasim and Khamis - have not been located. Hannibal had little role in politics, but Khamis headed a feared army unit that took a leading role in suppressing protests. Mutasim was an army officer and a security adviser to his father.

The Al-Arabiya news network reported on Monday that Khamis was travelling to central Tripoli with soldiers loyal to him. That report could not be immediately confirmed.

Abdullah al-Senussi, Gaddafi's longtime intelligence chief and  brother-in-law, also seems to have eluded the rebels.

He was last seen at Tripoli's Rixos Hotel on Sunday, when he told foreign journalists that "Western intelligence" was "working alongside al-Qaeda to destroy Libya".

There are rumours in Arabic newspapers that Senussi fled Tripoli, either to southern Libya or to the Tunisian town of Djerba, but those reports cannot be substantiated.

Senussi was the third Libyan official charged by the ICC in June. The court accused him of carrying out a campaign of murder, mass arrest and torture.

Colonel Gaddafi's heir-apparent Saif al-Islam could be handed over to The Hague within weeks to face charges of war crimes.

The former playboy and London School of Economics student, who owns a £10 million Hampstead home, was today being held under armed guard after being captured by rebel fighters. Two of Gaddafi's other sons were also being held.

Officials from the International Criminal Court announced they had opened talks with the rebel National Transitional Council over a transfer to The Hague, where Saif and his father have been indicted for crimes against humanity. Libyan rebel leader Mustafa Abdul Jalil said Saif and his brother Al-Saadi had been captured and a third brother, Muhammad, had been arrested after handing himself in.

He said: "He (Saif) is being kept in a secure place under close guard until he is handed over to the judiciary. We gave instructions that he is well treated, in order to be judged."

The capture of Saif, the dictator's second son, is a major coup for the rebels. Once seen as a moderate and a force for change, the 39-year-old has been the public face of the regime during the uprising.

Sir Richard Dalton, the former British ambassador to Libya, said that while his two brothers may be able to cut a deal with the rebels Saif was too closely allied with his father to escape justice.

He said: "Saif al-Islam burnt his boats a long time ago. He has been at the forefront from very early on and he is completely discredited. I don't think there will be any deal for him.

"He has been indicted by the ICC and I would believe the ICC will try and honour that arrest warrant. It is ultimately up to the NTC to decide. There is a Libyan judiciary with the ability for him to be tried in Libya."

ICC prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo said discussions were under way over Saif's transfer to The Hague. He said: "It is time for justice, not revenge."

Saif has strong links to the UK. He embarked on a one-year masters course, and then a four-year PhD, at LSE - although an investigation found parts of his thesis had been plagiarised.

As well as his Hampstead home, he lived for a time at the Lanesborough hotel. He held birthday parties in Monaco and St Tropez and went on hunting trips in Europe and New Zealand. He reportedly kept a pair of Bengal tigers at his Tripoli home.

After Tony Blair offered the "hand of friendship" in 2004, Colonel Gaddafi's British investments grew to an estimated £10 billion with Saif managing the business interests.

Gaddafi's oldest son, Muhammad, ran the company which operated all mobile phones and satellites in the country, as well as being head of the Libyan Olympic Committee. Al-Saadi was commander of Libya's Special Forces. 

Embattled Libyan leader Moamar Gaddafi was out of sight as rebels took over Tripoli and arrested two of his sons, while world leaders urged the former strongman to go.

Libyan rebel leader Mustafa Abdel Jalil hailed the end of the four-decade "Gaddafi era" on Monday, but urged rebels fighters to respect the law and promised fair trials for members of Gaddafi's government.
"I call on all Libyans to exercise self restraint and to respect the property and lives of others and not to resort to taking the law into their own hands," Mr Jalil told a news conference in the eastern city of Benghazi aired by Al Jazeera television.
He congratulated the Libyan people "for this historic victory" and thanked NATO for its military support, while cautioning that "the real moment of victory is when Gaddafi is captured".
Mr Jalil said he hoped Gaddafi, who faces an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court, would be "captured alive so that he will be given a fair trial".
Two of his sons, Seif Al-Islam and Mohammed have already been captured, and another son, Al-Mutassim, was reported by Al Arabiya TV to be in the Bab al-Azizya compound in Tripoli.
The Western-backed rebels, whose grip around Tripoli tightened over the past two weeks before a final offensive on Sunday, said they were still encountering pockets of resistance, particularly around the Bab al-Aziziyah compound.
Gaddafi has not been seen in public since mid-June. His foes speculate he may not be in the Libyan capital, or even in the country.
He broadcast three defiant audio messages on Sunday, vowing he would not surrender and urging the people of Tripoli to "purge the capital", even as rebel forces swept through Tripoli and took over the symbolic Green Square.
French foreign minister Alain Juppe, whose government has been in the forefront of the international effort to oust Gaddafi, said Paris did not know where he was.
British prime minister David Cameron said London had no confirmation of his whereabouts either, adding Gaddafi's regime is in "full retreat" and he should give up any hope he has of clinging on to power.
"Gaddafi must stop fighting, without conditions, and clearly show that he has given up any claim to control Libya," he said.
US president Barack Obama said Gaddafi's 42-year autocratic regime was at a "tipping point" and that the "tyrant" must go, adding a call for the rebels to respect human rights and move to democracy.
"The Gaddafi regime is showing signs of collapsing. The people of Libya are showing that the universal pursuit of dignity and freedom is far stronger than the iron fist of a dictator," Mr Obama said in a statement.
Swift transfer
The International Criminal Court (ICC) is seeking the transfer of Seif al-Islam to The Hague to face charges of crimes against humanity.
Spokesman Fadi El-Abdallah told AFP the court was discussing his transfer with the Libyan rebel NTC.
Earlier on Monday, the court's prosecutor Louis Moreno-Ocampo said Seif al-Islam, 39, was arrested and in detention, calling for his swift transfer.
"We hope he can soon be in The Hague" to face judgement, Mr Moreno-Ocampo said.
Seif al-Islam is accused together with his father of orchestrating a plan to put down the Libyan revolt by "any means necessary" since it was sparked in mid-February.
This included the murder of hundreds of pro-freedom Libyan protesters and injuring hundreds of others when security forces shot a crowds using live ammunition, as well as the arrest and torture of numerous others.
Before the revolt erupted, Seif al-Islam was increasingly seen as a successor to his father, despite publicly ruling out any dynastic ambitions in the north African country.

Libyan rebels face pro-Gaddafi counter-attack in Zlitan

Fierce fighting continued on Monday in Zlitan, 80 miles east of Tripoli, as forces loyal to Colonel Gaddafi resisted rebel forces advancing towards the Libyan capital.

As opposition fighters seized control of much of Tripoli, government forces counter-attacked in Zlitan, a town rebels captured on Friday.

Government forces, dug in along a line of hills south of Zlitan, fired a barrage of shells, killing a six-year-old child and wounding his three-year-old brother.

The three-year-old, Mohammed Halifa, was lying in a cot in Misrata's Mujamma Aledat hospital on Monday morning with both arms and hands bandaged, and a dressing on a wound caused by a shell splinter in the abdomen. He was sedated but appeared confused, trying to move his heavily bandaged arms and mouthing words.

"He was in the house when the hound [mortar] came in," said surgeon Dr Mohammed Ahmed. "I don't know why he [Gaddafi] is still killing. Gaddafi is lost, but these people are still killing. I don't know why." Ahmed said the boy's injuries did not appear life threatening.

Sources in Misrata, the base of the rebel force fighting in Zlitan, had earlier said they hoped to send a unit across the lines to meet government forces and negotiate their surrender.

But such plans appeared to be on hold on Monday afternoon as rebel reinforcements in black painted jeeps mounted with machine guns and recoilless rifles drove at speed up the main highway to Zlitan.

Misrata, along with Benghazi, had seen a night of wild celebrations. Fireworks and machine gun fire into the air started late on Sunday in reaction to news that rebel forces had entered Tripoli. Hospital officials said nine people were treated for minor burns from fireworks, some of which exploded amid the crowds.

Misrata military council confirmed that a unit of 200 rebel fighters landed by sea in Tripoli over the weekend, bringing weapons and ammunition for rebel fighters and including a team of medics.

 

Obama says Gaddafi rule collapsing, supports rebels

U.S. President Barack Obama said on Sunday Muammar Gaddafi's rule was showing signs of collapse and called on the Libyan leader to relinquish power to avoid further casualties.

"The surest way for the bloodshed to end is simple: Muammar Gaddafi and his regime need to recognize that their rule has come to an end," Obama said in a statement. "Gaddafi needs to acknowledge the reality that he no longer controls Libya. He needs to relinquish power once and for all."

The United States has played a supporting role in the NATO campaign that started in March to protect rebels, protesters

and civilians from attacks by Gaddafi's forces, providing technical support and intelligence to help air strikes.

Obama has said the United States got involved to shield the Libyan people from humanitarian crisis, and pledged in his Sunday evening statement to stay involved after Gaddafi goes.

He called for the Transitional National Council rebels in Libya to take control upon Gaddafi's exit and do everything possible to avoid further casualties, preserve the remaining government institutions and commit to pursuing real democracy after decades of rule by the often erratic Libyan strongman.

"At this pivotal and historic time, the TNC should continue to demonstrate the leadership that is necessary to steer the country through a transition by respecting the rights of the people of Libya," Obama said in the statement issued during his annual holiday in Martha's Vineyard, an island near Boston.

"The United States will continue to stay in close coordination with the TNC. We will continue to insist that the basic rights of the Libyan people are respected. And we will continue to work with our allies and partners in the international community to protect the people of Libya, and to support a peaceful transition to democracy," he said.

POST-GADDAFI PLANNING

Earlier on Sunday, on his way into a seaside restaurant in the well-heeled town of Oak Bluffs, Obama told reporters he was waiting for a full picture of the upheaval in Libya to emerge before commenting on conditions there.

His written statement came shortly after TNC rebel forces streamed through the Libyan capital of Tripoli, waving flags and firing into the air.

The rebels said the city was under their control except Gaddafi's Bab Al-Aziziyah stronghold, according to al-Jazeera Television. Two of Gaddafi's sons were captured.

Western powers have been intensifying planning for post-Gaddafi Libya in recent days in response to a rapid succession of rebel victories around Tripoli, according to officials involved in the talks.

The NATO alliance on Friday authorized formal planning for post-Gaddafi Libya and TNC members were due to meet officials from the United States, Britain, Jordan and United Arab Emirates to discuss "day-after" planning in Dubai this week.

The White House believes that unless transition plans are firmed up quickly, post-Gaddafi Libya may be chaotic and it may be impossible to fulfill the West's promise to protect Libya's people from humanitarian crisis.

Some U.S. and European officials fear Libya's opposition movement is not fully ready to govern. Their hope is that enough of Gaddafi's institutions will remain intact to enable the formation of a transitional government that can maintain a measure of civil order.

On Sunday, the U.S. State Department repeated a call for Gaddafi to step aside.

"We continue efforts to encourage the TNC to maintain broad outreach across all segments of Libyan society and to plan for post-Gaddafi Libya," said State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland. "Gaddafi's days are numbered. If Gaddafi cared about the welfare of the Libyan people, he would step down now."

 

Britain accused Col Muammar Gaddafi of 'losing his grip' on reality as the Libyan dictator defied Nato air raids and rebel action on the streets of Tripoli by claiming to be in control of his capital.

The Foreign Office Minister Alistair Burt said RAF fighter jets had played a "significant" role in Nato attacks on Col Gaddafi's forces in the last 24 hours.
The air assault, in which RAF Tornado GR4s struck with precision-guided Paveway bombs in and around Tripoli, came as pockets of rebels rose up overnight in neighbourhoods across the capital, sparking heavy street fighting for the first time in the city since the rebels took up arms.
Gunfire, anti-aircraft fire and explosions rang out across Tripoli as rebel commanders hailed the start of an attack on the dictator’s final stronghold.
But in a typically defiant audio message broadcast on state television early on Sunday, Col Gaddafi claimed to have repelled the rebels in the city.

 

final battle for Libya was under way last night as advancing rebel forces routed loyalist troops on the outskirts of Tripoli and Nato declared Col Muammar Gaddafi’s regime was “crumbling”.

Rebels claimed they encountered no resistance from Gaddafi forces as they were just four miles from the centre of the capital.
“Clearly we’re into the last stage of the regime – the writing is on the wall,” Oana Lungescu, the chief Nato spokesman, said. “We’re seeing people packing their bags – three top people defecting in the past couple of days, and Gaddafi-controlled territory shrinking before our eyes.”
Last night, residents of Tripoli took to the streets to celebrate the expected defeat of the regime.
After quickly consolidating their triumph in the key oil town of Zawiyah, 30 miles west of Tripoli, rebels have fought their way through towns on the capital’s western fringes as residents of the anti-regime eastern suburbs staged their own uprising.
Last night, rebels said regime forces were negotiating the surrender of the country’s main military airbase, Mitiga, in eastern Tripoli. They also claimed Gaddafi’s Presidential Guard had surrendered.

 

Libya: West Responsible for Death

Libyan government spokesman told reporters in a news conference in Tripoli on Sunday that Western governments were responsible for innocent deaths in his country, naming US President Barack Obama, UK Prime Minister David Cameron and French President Nicolas Sarkozy.

made his statements as Libyan rebels battled their way towards Tripoli to help fighters inside the city who rose up overnight declaring a final showdown with Muammar Gaddafi.

Mr. Moussa said, "What is important now for NATO is for the Libyan government to fall. The human price is irrelevant,"
"Every blood -- every drop of Libyan blood -- shed by these rebels is the responsibility of the western world and especially NATO's countries. So we hold Mr. Obama, Mr. Cameron and Mr. Sarkozy morally responsible for every single unnecessary death that takes place in this country," he added,
"They have families, they have houses, they have their lives and they wholeheartedly believe that if this city is captured then the blood will run everywhere, so they may as well fight until the end."

In a co-ordinated revolt that rebel cells had been secretly preparing for months, shooting started on Saturday night across Tripoli moments after Muslim clerics, using the loudspeakers on mosque minarets, calling people on to the streets to gather.

The fighting inside Tripoli, combined with rebel advances to the outskirts of the city, appeared to signal the decisive phase in a six month conflict that has become the bloodiest of the "Arab Spring" uprisings that involves NATO powers.

 

Somali rapper K'naan visits famine-stricken homeland

Somali-born rapper K'naan brought his waving flag back home Sunday, promising to help his countrymen as they struggle with a devastating famine that has killed tens of thousands of children.

The rapper, who left Somalia as a child more than two decades ago to settle in Canada, made a brief visit to Mogadishu on Sunday. He was mobbed by famine refugees who tried to shake his hand or hug him as he toured Mogadishu's Banadir Hospital and met with malnourished children.

 

Seychelles shark attack: Tests prove killer shark was a Great White

Ian Redmond and Gemma Houghton (Pic:GemmaHoughton)

A shark's tooth found lodged in the body of ­tragic ­honeymooner Ian ­Redmond is from a Great White, the Sunday Mirror can reveal.

A report sent by South African marine scientists to officials in the Seychelles says it has unmistakably ­serrated edges and a unique triangular shape, proving it belongs to the deadly predator.

It is news locals and ­holidaymakers have been fearing – but the Seychelles government is expected to cynically claim it is good for the ­isles as it means it is “not one of theirs” and may have left the area.

It comes as Ian’s shattered wife Gemma, 27, returned to Britain ­yesterday – making a heartbreaking visit to the cottage the couple had spent two years renovating ready to move into after their ­honeymoon.

Doctors removed the fragmented tooth from Ian’s body and sent ­images to the Natal Sharks Board in South Africa.

Scientists there found it matched the triangular razor-sharp teeth belonging to the predator which featured in Steven Spielberg’s Jaws horror films.

They have flown to the Seychelles to carry out further tests and help in the hunt for the shark, which also killed French tourist Nicolas ­Virolle two weeks before.

The teeth of a Great White are different to those of tiger or bull sharks, which are like a curved blade.

Using a complex formula in which the size of the tooth is measured to work out the length of the shark, scientists believe it’s a juvenile shark around 10 foot long.

Geremy Cliff from the Natal Sharks Board said: “The fragment, although very small, suggests the shark may be a Great White. We really need to examine the victim because it is better to see the ­actual wounds rather than ­photographs.

“The Seychelles government has asked us to assist in any way we can in finding the shark.

“We are not shark hunters. We are scientists and we want to help Seychelles authorities do what is best to protect their beaches.”

Ian, 30, was attacked on Tuesday at the idyllic resort of Anse Lazio beach on Praslin ­Island.

His wife Gemma was on the beach and heard his screams but was helpless to save him.

Despite the warning the shark is a Great White, ­officials will claim it is good news for tourism.

A Great White hasn’t been spotted there since 1938 and the government will insist that means the shark strayed in from foreign waters and has ­probably left.

A source said: “There is a sense of relief among the authorities that this is a Great White. The species has not been seen in the area for more than 50 years so officials ­believe it simply strayed in, launched a random attack and will be long gone. It’s not one of their sharks.”

However fishermen last night warned they face a race against time to catch the shark, which they ­believe will strike again in eight days’ time.

Darrel Green, the fisherman ­leading the hunt, has studied the sea patterns around island. He said: “We’ve studied the timing of the attacks. The Frenchman was bitten two days after the new moon, and Ian two days after a full moon. The next high tide like that one is around August 29. That’s when we expect to shark to come back and we are doing all we can to catch it.”

A £2,500 bounty has been put on the shark’s head by hotel owners desperate for tourists to visit.

Fishermen have placed 250 ­baited hooks where Ian was killed. One fisherman said: “We have to catch it. I’m not giving up. I’ll be out there every night and so will others. Everyone is afraid of the ­damage this can do to Seychelles.”

Reports have emerged to suggest it may have been lurking in the waters for more than six months.

Yesterday, a Facebook site RIP Ian Redmond was ­brimming with messages of sympathy.

Assad addresses Syria on TV as UN arrives in Damascus

President Bashar al-Assad prepared to address his people as a UN team arrived in Damascus to assess humanitarian needs after five months of turmoil.

Assad's television interview, his fourth address during the growing revolt against his rule, will address "the current situation in Syria, the reform process and … implications of the US and western pressures on Syria politically and economically", the state media agency Sana reported.

Last week the US and leaders of the EU, including the UK, France and Germany, called for Assad to step aside amid an escalating military offensive since 31 July.

Activists said a clean-up operation was under way in places including the port city of Latakia as the UN delegation arrived in the country. But gunfire and arrests continued to be reported and a further 20 people, including five soldiers, died across the country on Saturday, activists said.

Assad has reportedly told the UN's Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs that it can travel to any part of the country it wishes, including Latakia, which was besieged by land and sea during a major security operation last week.

Before the planned visit to Latakia, a western diplomat said reports had been received of a large-scale clean-up of the al-Ramel Palestinian refugee camp in the city, which was heavily targeted.

"Reports of a clean-up square perfectly with the version of events which the regime is denying," the diplomat said. "But any attempts to whitewash and destroy evidence can only backfire on this isolated regime.

"The evidence in the form of personal testimonies of what happened in Latakia is overwhelming and undeniable. Assad can run but he can't hide from the arm of international law which is closing in on him."

Residents of Hama and Homs reported similar clean-ups by government officials after rampages through the cities by security forces in recent months.

As protesters waited for Assad's address, they said that nothing the embattled president announced would pull people off the streets. Despite international pressure, the violent crackdown has continued with more that 350 people said to have been killed this month – adding to a death toll of around 2,000.

The country's third city, Homs, was heavily targeted at the weekend with dozens of people killed and many more arrested, activists said.

A Homs resident said shooting had been heard inside a hospital and a prison. Residents, who fear a full-scale assault may be imminent, portrayed Homs as a city bracing itself for renewed destruction.

"There are snipers on all the buildings. The tanks aren't in the centre, but around the edges. There is a general strike and all the shops are closed. The situation is terrible – even after Assad says there aren't tanks and after Obama tells him to step aside," a resident told the Guardian.

International calls for Assad to leave have sharply intensified scrutiny of his regime and its sustained crackdown against demonstrators, which it continues to cast as a fight against terrorists.

The hardened western stance is set to greatly increase the stakes for Assad, who now faces pariah status among leaders whose attention he had previously coveted.

It has also for the first time raised the possibility of a Libyan-style military intervention, something that had not previously been considered despite five months of violence in which an estimated 2,500 people have died and which have all but shut down the Syrian economy.

A Guardian poll published at the weekend revealed that 80% of respondents supported some sort of military intervention in Syria. But there is no western appetite for military action in the densely populated, ethnically diverse country of 22 million and the vast majority of Syrians reject the idea.

A state-owned Syrian newspaper described the calls by Barack Obama, the German chancellor, Angela Merkel, the French president, Nicolas Sarkozy, and David Cameron as the "face of the conspiracy" it claims is being waged against it.

There are fears that western demands could embolden Assad, giving him little option but to fight as he struggles to retain control of the hardline police state his family has ruled as a personal fiefdom for more than four decades.

His traditional international support base remains resolute. Iranian support for the Assad regime is a key factor in calculations and Russia has said it does not support the call for Assad to leave.

Another one-time ally, Turkey, was on Sunday hosting a meeting of Syrian opposition groups who are attempting to elect a national council, as it too struggles to deal with the increasingly grave situation across its volatile border.

The body is attempting to position itself as an alternative leadership, in the same way that the National Transitional Council did in the weeks after Colonel Gaddafi was ousted from eastern Libya. That body eventually won international recognition. However, Syria's nascent opposition has struggled to gain momentum.

"The opposition is starting to realise that they cannot all be chiefs and that they have to live up to the expectations of the international community," veteran opposition figure Khaled Haj Saleh told Reuters.

The UN last week said it had identified 50 Syrian regime figures who may have committed crimes against humanity. In another sign of mounting international anger, the EU is considering placing a ban on Syrian oil exports, which account for 25% of the its economy. With industry at a standstill, no tourism, and cash reserves rapidly dwindling, such a move would likely prove difficult for Assad's regime to withstand in the long run

 

Libyan rebels close in on Tripoli

Libyan rebels have captured a major military base which defends Muammar Gaddafi's stronghold of Tripoli.
The tide of the six-month-old civil war appeared to be turning quickly against the leader of more than four decades as clashes and protests raged in the streets of the capital.
Rebels rapidly advancing toward Tripoli took over the base of the Khamis Brigade, 16 miles west of the capital. After a brief gun battle, Gaddafi's forces fled what was once a major symbol of the regime's power.
Gaddafi's 27-year-old son Khamis commands the 32nd Brigade, also known simply as the Khamis Brigade, one of the best trained and equipped units in the Libyan military.
Inside the base, hundreds of rebels cheered wildly and danced, raising the rebel flag on the front gate of a large wall enclosing the compound. They seized large stores of weapons, driving away with truckloads of whatever arms they could get their hands on.
Ahmed al-Ajdal, 27, a fighter from Tripoli, was loading up a truck with ammunition.
"This is the wealth of the Libyan people that Gaddafi was using against us," he said, pointing to his haul. "Now we will use it against him and any other dictator who goes against the Libyan people."
In Tripoli, there was a second day of widespread clashes between what the opposition called "sleeping cells" of rebels who are rising up and Gaddafi loyalists. There were also large anti-government protests.
Rebels said on Saturday that they had launched their first attack on Tripoli in co-ordination with Nato and gunbattles and mortar rounds rocked the city. Nato aircraft also made heavier-than-usual bombing runs after nightfall, with loud explosions booming across the city.
On Sunday, more heavy machine gun fire and explosions rang out across the capital. Residents reported clashes in neighbourhoods all over Tripoli as well as the city's Mitiga military airport.

 

Hand Lockerbie bomber to U.S.

Libyan rebel forces were urged to hand over the Lockerbie bomber to the United States as it was confirmed Friday that he is being kept alive by a "wonder drug" developed in Britain.

Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al Megrahi was freed by Scotland on compassionate grounds two years ago Saturday, when he was said to have just three months to live because of prostate cancer.

Roger Kirby, director of The Prostate Centre in London, said the decision was "foolhardy" and based on "flawed" medical advice. He believed the decision-makers were unaware of treatments such as abiraterone.

It costs around $5,000 a month and is not yet available to British patients. A source at the Tripoli Medical Centre said it was being used to prolong Megrahi's life.

Susan Cohen, 73, from New Jersey, lost her only daughter Theodora, 20, in the 1988 bombing which killed 270 people. She said she hoped the uprising would end with the death of Gadhafi, and with the rebels handing Megrahi to the American authorities.

 

Intense fighting in Libya as rebels near Tripoli

Libyan rebels battled for towns on either side of the besieged capital Tripoli on Saturday, and fighting spilled across the border into Tunisia where Libyan infiltrators clashed with Tunisian troops.

This week’s rebel advances on Tripoli — Muammar Gaddafi’s last major stronghold — have transformed the war by cutting the capital off from its main road link to the outside world and putting unprecedented pressure on Gaddafi’s 41-year rule.

Washington says the veteran leader’s days are now numbered, and reports have emerged of more defections from Gaddafi’s ranks.
The six-month-old war came close to the Tunisian frontier after rebels suddenly seized the coastal city of Zawiyah just 50 km (30 miles) west of Tripoli, surrounding the heavily fortified capital and severing its vital supply routes.

In Tunisia, security sources said their forces had intercepted Libyan men in vehicles with weapons and fought them through the night in the desert. They reported several casualties, but did not say whether the fighters were Libyan rebels or pro-Gaddafi soldiers cut off from Tripoli.

Residents of the southern Tunisian desert town of Douz told Reuters by telephone that helicopters were swooping overhead and troops had been summoned from nearby towns to subdue the infiltrators, who rode in vehicles without number plates.

The imposition of a siege around Tripoli has trapped its residents and cut it off from fuel and food supplies. The International Organisation for Migration said on Friday it would organise a rescue operation to evacuate thousands of foreign workers, probably by sea.

Intense fighting continued in Zawiyah, home to an important oil refinery, on Saturday and rebels occupying the centre of the city said pro-Gaddafi forces showed no sign of retreat.

“Gaddafi will try to take back Zawiyah at any price. He will keep shelling the hospital,” said a rebel fighter as he prepared for midday prayers in the mosque of Bir Hawisa, a nearby village where many civilians are sheltering.

“We will not let that happen. We will fight.”

East of Tripoli, fighting has been bloodier and rebel advances far slower. On Friday, opposition forces fought street battles in the city of Zlitan but suffered heavy casualties, a Reuters reporter said. A rebel spokesman said 32 rebel fighters were killed and 150 wounded.

NATO warplanes have hammered Gaddafi military targets since March under a U.N. mandate to protect civilians. Gaddafi’s government has said the bombs have killed scores of innocent people, including 27 during a raid on Tripoli this week.

On Saturday, Libyan Prime Minister Al Baghdadi Ali Al-Mahmoudi spoke to U.N. General Secretary Ban Ki-moon by telephone requesting an investigation into alleged abuses by NATO, Libyan state news agency JANA reported.

JANA said Ban had promised to study the proposal.

In another potential blow to Gaddafi, a Tunisian source said Libya’s top oil official, Omran Abukraa, had arrived in Tunisia after deciding not to return to Tripoli from a trip to Italy.

If confirmed, it would be the third apparent defection of a senior Gaddafi associate this week. A senior security official arrived in Rome on Monday, and rebels said on Friday that Gaddafi’s estranged former deputy Abdel Salam Jalloud had joined their side in the western mountains.

The siege of Tripoli and the prospect of a battle for the capital have added urgency to the question of Gaddafi’s fate. The leader has repeatedly vowed never to leave the country and rebels say they will not stop fighting until he is gone.

A senior U.S. official said on Saturday that the opposition must prepare to take over power soon. The United States is among more than 30 nations that have recognised the rebels’ National Transitional Council (NTC) as Libya’s legitimate authority.

“It is clear that the situation is moving against Gaddafi,” U.S. assistant Secretary of State Jeffrey Feltman told a news conference after meeting Libyan rebel leaders at their headquarters in Libya’s eastern city of Benghazi.

“The opposition continues to make substantial gains on the ground while his forces grow weaker.”

 

A doctor has told of his battle to save a British man killed by a shark on his honeymoon.

 

French surgeon Christian Renaud was on holiday in the Seychelles when he helped drag Ian Redmond onto a boat and tried to revive him after the attack.

In his account of the ordeal, published in French newspaper La Depeche, Dr Renaud said told how the 30-year-old let out a "scream of terror" before disappearing below the water.

He said: "Immediately the sea was like a lake of blood. The water was red. We will never forget it as long as we live. My family and I were very shocked. And that is saying something for a surgeon."

Mr Redmond was snorkelling off Anse Lazio beach on the island of Praslin when he was bitten.

Dr Renaud helped bring the victim to shore, where he said Mr Redmond's wife Gemma, 27, had witnessed everything.

"I massaged his heart for 20 minutes and we also gave him adrenaline, but he had already lost too much blood.

"There was no proper medical equipment and I couldn't revive his heart. Despite all my best efforts, I lost him."

The surgeon said a team of shark experts from the US had told him the creature was almost certainly a great white.

Dr Renaud, who was swimming in the same area on the day of the attack, also accused island officials of negligence for not warning tourists of the death of a Frenchman by a shark 15 days earlier.

Suicide bomber kills at least 34 at Pakistan mosque

A suicide bomb blast at a mosque jammed with worshipers killed at least 34 people and injured 100 Friday in Pakistan's restive tribal region along the Afghan border, one of the deadliest recent attacks in the country.

At least 400 people filled a mosque near the town of Jamrud in the Khyber tribal district when the bomber walked into the hall and detonated his explosives, police and witnesses said. Khyber, the gateway into Afghanistan for NATO supply trucks, remains a stronghold for Taliban militants waging an insurgency against the U.S.-allied Pakistani government.


Worshipers who appeared at the mosque for Friday prayers were on their way out when the bomber showed up, witnesses said. Samiullah, who goes by one name, said a young man — whom he believed to be the bomber — cried out just before the blast.

Village elders said there was no security at the mosque, making it easy for the bomber to walk in undetected.

Pakistani television footage showed the walls and ceiling of the mosque pockmarked with shrapnel. Bloodied prayer caps were piled on shelves. Most of the wounded suffered burns. Many were taken to local hospitals in pickup trucks or cars because authorities lacked enough ambulances.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack.

In the past, Taliban militants and allied groups have struck at mosques in northwest Pakistan, particularly those believed to be affiliated with anti-Taliban tribes and militias. Last fall, a suicide bomber attacked a mosque in the village of Darra Adam Khel, where villagers had formed a militia to resist Islamist militants. At least 60 people were killed in that attack.

Khyber is one of several areas in northwest Pakistan where the Pakistani military has launched offensives in an attempt to bring an end to Taliban-engineered suicide bomb attacks and acts of terrorism that have ravaged the country in recent years. But many militants have been able to flee the military operations well in advance and find safe haven in other areas within the tribal belt.

 

Bombs Target Gadhafi's Main Compound in Libyan Capital

Explosions rocked the Libyan capital, Tripoli, Friday as bombs fell near Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi's main compound and several other areas of the city. Renewed fighting also was reported in the town of Zlitan between rebels and Gadhafi loyalists.

Libyan government spokesman Moussa Ibrahim condemned NATO, which has been helping the rebels with with a campaign of airstrikes. Ibrahim's criticism Friday came after reports that his brother had been killed in a NATO airstrike on the town of Zawiya on Thursday.

Fifty kilometers west of Tripoli, Zawiya was also the scene of renewed fighting between rebels and Gadhafi loyalists. Rebels said Thursday they had seized control of an oil refinery in Zawiya as well as Sabratha, a town west of Ziwaya.

The French news agency said the fighting in Zlitan, east of Tripoli, erupted when rebels launched an assault on the town center.

NATO began launching airstrikes against Libya in March, supporting the rebels who have been fighting against Gadhafi's 42-year rule.

Also, the International Organization for Migration has launched an effort to evacuate "large numbers" of foreigners from Tripoli. The relief group said Friday that foreign nationals in the capital were becoming "increasingly vulnerable" and now want to leave.

 

Syrian forces shot dead six protesters on Friday despite President Bashar al-Assad's pledge

Syrian forces shot dead six protesters on Friday despite President Bashar al-Assad's pledge that his military crackdown on dissent was over, as thousands marched across the country spurred on by U.S. and European calls for him to step down.

The shooting broke out on Friday in the southern province of Deraa where the five-month uprising against Assad erupted in March, triggering a brutal response in which U.N. investigators say his forces may have committed crimes against humanity.

"We have names of four confirmed dead protesters in Inkhil and reports of heavy firing on demonstrations by the security forces across Deraa's countryside," Abdallah Aba Zaid, a prominent local activist, told Reuters.

Thamer Jahamani, a lawyer, said two other people were killed when security forces opened fire on a demonstration in the town of Hirak. Dozens of people were wounded, he said.

The main midday Muslim prayers held on Friday have been a launch pad for huge rallies across Syria and have seen some of the heaviest bloodshed, with 20 people killed last week in defiant protests chanting: "We kneel only to God."

Assad, from the minority Alawite sect in the majority Sunni Muslim nation, told U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon this week that military and police operations had stopped, but activists say his forces are still shooting at protesters.

"Maybe Bashar al-Assad does not regard police as security forces," said a witness in Hama, where security force fired machine guns later on Thursday to prevent a night time protest.

Syrian state television said gunmen attacked a police post in Deraa province, killing a policeman and a civilian, and wounding two others.

Syria has expelled most independent media since the unrest began, making it difficult to verify reports of violence in which the United Nations says 2,000 civilians have been killed. Authorities blame terrorists and extremists for the bloodshed and say 500 soldiers and police have been killed.

SNIPERS ON ROOF

Internet footage of Friday's protests suggested that although widespread they were smaller than at their peak in July, before Assad sent tanks and troops into several cities.

A doctor in Zabadani, 30 km (20 miles) northeast of Damascus, said army vehicles were in the town and snipers were on the roof to prevent crowds marching.

Protesters from Syria's Sunni majority resent the power and wealth amassed by some Alawites, who adhere to an offshoot of Shi'ite Islam, and want Assad to quit, the dismantling of the security apparatus and the introduction of sweeping reforms.

The violent repression prompted coordinated calls from the United States and European Union on Thursday for Assad to step down and Washington imposed sweeping new sanctions on Syria, which borders Israel, Lebanon and Iraq and is an ally of Iran.

There is no immediate obvious alternative leader to Assad although the disparate opposition, persecuted for decades, has gained a fresh sense of purpose as popular disaffection has spread across the country.

President Barack Obama ordered Syrian government assets in the United States frozen, banned U.S. citizens from operating or investing in Syria and prohibited U.S. imports of Syrian oil products.

"The future of Syria must be determined by its people, but President Bashar al-Assad is standing in their way," Obama said. "His calls for dialogue and reform have rung hollow while he is imprisoning, torturing and slaughtering his own people."

Diplomats said the European Union could decided to toughen sanctions to match the U.S. measures, including a ban on oil imports. Syria exports over one third of its 385,000 barrels per day oil production to Europe.

Adding to international pressure, U.N. investigators said Assad's forces had committed violations that may amount to crimes against humanity. The United Nations plans to send a team to Syria on Saturday to assess the humanitarian situation.

Simultaneously, European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton called on Assad to step aside and said the EU was preparing to broaden its own sanctions against Syria.

The United States, Britain and European allies said on Thursday they would draft a U.N. Security Council sanctions resolution on Syria.

But Russia, which has resisted Western calls for U.N. sanctions, said on Friday it also opposed calls for Assad to step down and believed he needs time to implement reforms.

"We do not support such calls and believe that it is necessary now to give President Assad's regime time to realize all the reform processes that have been announced," Interfax news agency quoted a foreign ministry source as saying.

SANCTIONS IMPACT

Despite the dramatic sharpening of Western rhetoric, there is no threat of Western military action like that against Libya's Muammar Gaddafi, meaning Assad's conflict with his opponents seems likely to grind on in the streets.

It may also take time for the diplomatic broadside, backed by the new sanctions, to have an impact on the 45-year-old president who took power when his father President Hafez al-Assad died 11 years ago after three decades in office.

Assad has so far brushed off international pressure and survived years of U.S. and European isolation following the 2005 assassination of Lebanese statesman Rafik al-Hariri, a killing many Western nations held Damascus responsible for.

But Syria's economy, already hit by a collapse in tourism revenue, could be further damaged by Obama's announcement. U.S. sanctions will make it very difficult for banks to finance transactions involving Syrian oil exports.

It will make it also challenging for companies with a large U.S. presence, such as Shell, to continue producing crude in Syria -- although the impact on global oil markets from a potential shutdown of Syria's 380,000 barrels per day oil industry would be small compared to that of Libya.

Assad says the protests are a foreign conspiracy to divide Syria and said last week his army would "not relent in pursuing terrorist groups."

U.N. investigators said on Thursday Syrian forces had fired on peaceful protesters, often at short range. Their wounds were "consistent with an apparent shoot-to-kill policy."

Two women from Northern Ireland have been stabbed to death in Turkey.

It is understood they were killed on Thursday night in the city of Izmir, about 75 miles from the resort of Kusadasi.

Their names have not been released but the women, in their 50s, are thought to be from County Down.

A 17-year-old Turkish boy has been arrested. The women were travelling on Irish passports and diplomats from Dublin are liaising with their relatives.

It is understood that Turkish police are investigating claims the stabbing happened after a row between the suspect and the mother of a girl dating him.

One of the women had worked as a lecturer in a further education college in Co Down.

Other members of their families on holiday in Kusadasi have travelled to Izmir along with a Turkish friend and local hotelier.

Officials from the Irish Embassy in Ankara arrived in Izmir to meet the families, the Department of Foreign Affairs in Dublin said.

The SDLP assembly member for Newry and Armagh, Dominic Bradley, said the whole area around Newry and Mourne was "totally stunned by the news from Turkey".

He said: "Their families are very much in the thoughts and prayers of people in this part of the world. I know that the people here will rally round the families and give them all the support they are going to need."

It is understood one of the women owned a property in the Kusadasi area. The Turkish Aegean is one of the most popular sun holiday destinations for tourists from Northern Ireland.

Nato Chinook helicopter has been shot down by Taliban insurgents, killing 30 American troops

The aircraft was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade and crashed in the Tangi valley of Wardak province, west of the Afghan capital, Kabul.
A condolence statement from Hamid Karzai said 31 Americans had been killed - including one interpreter - and seven Afghans, making it the bloodiest incident for the United States and the coalition in the decade-long campaign.
Coalition head quarters in Kabul confirmed a helicopter had crashed in eastern Afghanistan, but a spokesman would not comment on casualty figures.
Sources said the release of more information was being delayed by the difficulties in informing the next of kin.
The spokesman said: “A [coalition] helicopter crashed in eastern Afghanistan today, and recovery operations are under way.

“[The coalition] is still in the process of assessing the circumstances to determine the facts of the incident, reporting indicates there was enemy activity in the area.
“Additional details will be released as appropriate.”
Mr Karzai’s statement said: “The president of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan Hamid Karzai expressed condolences over a Nato helicopter crash and the deaths of 31 members of US special forces."
Wardak is viewed as a strategically critical province guarding the western “gate” to Kabul and has seen heavy Taliban infiltration for several years.
Local reports said the helicopter had been taking part in a night raid targeting insurgent commanders. At least eight insurgents were killed.
A spokesman for the Taliban, Zabiullah Mujaheed, told the New York Times insurgents shot down the helicopter around 11pm on Friday local time and that eight militants were killed in the fight that continued after the helicopter fell.
“The fresh reports from the site tells us that there are still Americans doing search operations for the bodies and pieces of the helicopter are on the ground,” Mr. Mujaheed said.

 

Libya rebels say Gaddafi’s son killed by Nato

Libyan rebel spokesman said on Friday that a Nato air attack had killed 32 people, among then Colonel Muammer Gaddafi’s son Khamis, who serves as one of the main commanders of the Libyan leader’s military forces.
The rebel spokesman said the air strike had taken place at Zlitan, a frontline town where some of Col Gaddafi’s most loyal and best equipped troops are making a stand to defend the outskirts of Tripoli, 160km away.
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A Nato official at operations headquarters in Naples said he was aware of the report but could not confirm it.
“We cannot confirm anything right now, because we don’t have people on the ground, but we are trying to find out what we can,” he said.
There was no immediate comment from the Tripoli government.
If confirmed, the death of Khamis Gaddafi would be a severe blow to the leader’s bid to resist a six-month-old Nato-backed uprising and remain in power.
Khamis is head of Libya’s 32nd Brigade, one of Col Gaddafi’s most professional and loyal units, which has been fighting in Zlitan, which lies between the rebel-held city of Misrata and the capital Tripoli.
The Gaddafi government said earlier this year that a Nato air strike had killed another of Col Gaddafi’s sons, Saif al-Arab, who had a much lower public profile and no significant leadership role.
Rebels who cleared Col Gaddafi’s forces from Libya’s third largest city of Misrata have been trying for weeks to push westwards and take Zlitan, which would open the coastal road towards his Tripoli stronghold.

 

Syrian tanks and troops mounted an all-out assault on the city of Hama yesterday,

 killing scores of people on the eve of Ramadan, the holiest month in the Islamic calendar.

Government forces swarmed through the city before dawn, after a month-long siege, in what many activists believe was an attempt to crush one of the main centres of protest to the rule of President Bashar Assad in the four-month uprising. There were reports of bodies lying in the streets and snipers were seen firing at protesters from rooftops.

Residents fought back against the tanks with petrol bombs, stones and sticks, according to witnesses.


The operation appeared to be part of a co-ordinated operation on opposition strongholds across the country that left at least 62 people dead, according to witnesses and rights groups. An activist from Hama, who spoke by phone to The Independent, said it had been impossible to rescue some of the injured who were lying in the roads.

"There has been shooting all over the city," said the man, who asked not to be named. "At least one mosque was hit. The security services were surrounding one of the hospitals and were not letting some of the protesters in."

Video loaded on to YouTube yesterday showed doctors trying to revive badly wounded civilians. There were reports that some hospitals were seeking blood donations to help the injured, while gunmen from the feared "shabiha" militias, loyal to the president, were seen roaming the streets.

Hama was the scene of a massacre in 1982 when the current president's father attempted to crush a Muslim Brotherhood uprising. "We got told that Bashar al-Assad was going to deal differently with Hama," said another civilian from the city who spoke to The Independent. "This is what he meant."

Condemnation of the operation was swift. President Barack Obama said he was "appalled" by the crackdown and British Foreign Secretary William Hague said the assaults on civilians were "all the more shocking" because they happened on the eve of Ramadan. Raids were also reported in the suburbs of the capital, Damascus – where witnesses said the security services had injured dozens after throwing a nail bomb at protesters – while in the eastern city of Deir al-Zour at least seven people were killed by soldiers firing machine-guns from tanks.

In Hama, where the worst of the violence occurred, the death toll was estimated to be 49. "It's a massacre. They want to break Hama before the month of Ramadan," a witness told the Associated Press.

Large-scale political gatherings have for decades been banned in Syria by the ruling Ba'ath party. But during Ramadan many Muslims gather in the mosques after breaking their daily fast, and analysts believe some protesters will use the holy month to foment further unrest.

"The Army is trying to clear Hama and a lot of other areas held by protesters so they control those areas during Ramadan," said Andrew Tabler, a Syria expert from the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.

"That they are doing it on the eve of the Muslim holy month threatens to supercharge already high sectarian tensions throughout the country."

Europe and America have hit the Assad regime with a raft of sanctions, but have otherwise appeared powerless to stop a bloody campaign of state violence, which some activists say has killed more than 1,600 people.