Two Royal Marines have been killed in an explosion in Afghanistan, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) has said.

The marines, from 42 Commando, were hit by an improvised explosive device in the Nad Ali district of Helmand province on Friday.

The MoD said they were on patrol in the Loy Mandeh area when they were killed and that next of kin had been informed.

The deaths take the number of British military deaths in operations in Afghanistan since 2001 to 368.

Spokesman for Task Force Helmand Maj Rolf Kurth said: "It is my sad duty to inform you of the death of two Royal Marines... our thoughts and prayers are with their families and friends in their time of grief."

He said they were on patrol "disrupting insurgent activity" when they were hit.

The battalion-sized formation of 42 Commando is based at Bickleigh Barracks in Plymouth, Devon.

On Monday, a British soldier from 1st Battalion the Rifles was killed by a bomb while on a patrol in the Sayedabad Kalay area of the Nahr-e Saraj district of Helmand province.

South African was shot in the stomach and abandoned by forces loyal to Gaddafi

A South African freelance photographer missing in Libya since April is believed dead after being shot in the stomach and abandoned in the desert by forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi, his family said yesterday.
Anton Hammerl, 41, who also had Austrian nationality and lived in London, was hit in the stomach after coming under fire on April 5, family friend Bronwyn Friedlander said in London.
South Africa and Austria criticised Gaddafi's government yesterday with Pretoria saying Libya had misled it about Hammerl and the ruling ANC also accused Tripoli of dishonesty.
Two American journalists and a Spanish photographer who were with Hammerl were taken captive by forces loyal to the Libyan leader. They could not report what had happened until their release in Tripoli on Wednesday.
According to the journalists, Hammerl was left behind bleeding while they were taken away by Gaddafi forces, Friedlander said.
"His injuries were such that he could not have survived without medical attention," she said.
"Anton was shot by Gaddafi's forces in an extremely remote location in the Libyan desert," the Hammerl family said in a statement on Facebook.
The American reporters, James Foley and Clare Gillis, spoke by telephone with Hammerl's wife Penny Sukhraj in London late on Thursday.
South Africa's foreign ministry, which said this month it had proof Hammerl was still alive, said on Friday the Libyan government had misled it about the photographer.
"We kept getting reassured at the highest level that he was alive until his colleagues were released and shared the information...," International Relations Minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabane told reporters yesterday.
Hammerl, who had three young children, had lived in Britain for five years.

 

NATO air attacks have hit Libyan government weapons depots near Zintan, southwest of Tripoli, the capital, according to a rebel spokesman in the town.

Separately, two loud explosions rocked a western sector of Tripoli on Sunday as jets flew overhead, witnesses told the AFP news agency.

An international coalition began carrying out attacks on forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi, Libya's long-time ruler, on March 19, under a UN mandate to protect civilians in the country. NATO took command of operations over Libya on March 31.

"NATO struck weapons depots five minutes ago in an area which lies about 30km southeast of Zintan," Abdulrahman, the rebel spokesman, told the Reuters news agency by telephone on Sunday.

"We heard a loud explosion ... I think the strike hit some of them [the depots].

"We are now at a cemetery burying 11 people martyred during yesterday's fighting, in which 35 other fighters were also wounded."

The reported air raids came a week after the Libyan government said that Gaddafi's son, Saif al-Arab Gaddafi, and three of his grandchildren were killed in a NATO air strike on a compound in Tripoli.

Elsewhere in the country, rebels in the contested city of Misurata clashed with government forces near the airport, a rebel spokesman told the Reuters news agency on Sunday.

"Fierce fighting is taking place now at the airport and in the air force college area [near the airport]. We are still hearing sounds of artillery and rockets," the spokesman, called Abdelsalam, said from Misurata.
   
"NATO struck an area in the east of Misurata today but we do not have details."

Fuel depots destroyed

Misurata is the last remaining city in Libya's west under rebel control. It has been under siege for more than two months and has witnessed some of the war's fiercest fighting.

On Saturday, a rebel spokesman in Misurata said that Gaddafi's forces dropped bombs on four large oil-storage tanks, destroying them and sparking a fire that spread to four more.


Click here for more of Al Jazeera's special coverage
Government forces used small, pesticide-spraying planes for the overnight attack in Qasr Ahmed close to the port, Ahmed Hassan, the spokesman, said.

"Four tanks were totally destroyed and huge fire erupted which spread to the other four. We cannot extinguish it because we do not have the right tools," he said.

"Now the city will face a major problem. Those were the only source of fuel for the city. These tanks could have kept the city for three months with enough fuel."

Commenting on the latest fighting, Al Jazeera's Hoda Abdel-Hamid, reporting from the rebel stronghold of Benghazi, said on Sunday that Libya "is showing that it is ready for any kind of foreign aggression.

"They know that it is extremely important to keep the momentum in what appears now to be a very long and protracted conflict".

Border tensions

Meanwhile, Tunisia warned on Sunday that the repeated shelling from Libya of one of its border towns may force it to take measures to protect its sovereignty.

The country's official TAP news agency said that about 80 shells from Libya had fallen on Tunisian territory.

There were no reported injuries after the shells fell as Libyan troops fought with rebels to regain control of the Wazen-Dhehiba border post.

TAP quoted the Tunisian foreign ministry as warning that the country would take "all measures needed" within the law to ensure protection of its citizens, refugees and its territory.

Tunisia summoned Libya's ambassador on April 29 to complain after shells fell in inhabited areas. It now says Libya is not keeping to its commitments.

Meanwhile Italian coast guards and local fisherman saved all 528 refugees on a boat from Libya after their vessel hit rocks off the island of Lampedusa in an operation a rescuer described as a "miracle."

Among the refugees who had thrown themselves into the water at night were 24 pregnant women.

Gunfire exchange between Cambodian, Thai troops continues in fifth day

The gunfire exchange between Cambodian and Thai troops over the disputed border area at the 13th century Ta Moan temple and Ta Krabei temple in Oddar Meanchey province still continues as of 9:40 p.m. on Tuesday, said Pich Sokhin, the governor of Oddar Meanchey province.

The Tuesday's fight began at 1:40 p.m. at the 11th century Preah Vihear temple and spread to burst out at the Ta Moan temple and Ta Krabei temple at 2:10 p.m.

"It's the longest fighting today, now it has been going on for more than 7 hours, and it's still continuing," the governor told Xinhua by telephone on Tuesday night, adding that the casualties are not available yet.

He said that Thailand has been using small guns and artilleries to fire on Cambodian troops and territory.

"We have exchanged some small weapons and big ones such as BM21 in order to protect our territory from invasion," he said.

"It's reported that some of our troops are injured," he said. "And our troops reported that more Thai troops have been reported killed and injured in today's fighting."

Cambodia said that Thai troops have launched attacks on Cambodia to capture the 13th century Ta Moan temple and Ta Krabei temple, which lie 150 kilometers west of the Preah Vihear Temple.

"So far, our troops are still in firm and full control of the temple of Ta Moan and the temple of Ta Krabei," he added.

He said that as of Tuesday evening, the number of Cambodian evacuees has increased to 28,180 people.

Meanwhile, the electricity in the whole Oddar Meanchey province is cut on Tuesday night due to the fighting and some evacuees who take refuge in Samrong district in the province have continued to move to other places in order to escape from Thai artillery shelling, he added.

The latest in a series of deadly clashes between Cambodian and Thai troops have occurred for five straight days from April 22-26 at the 13th century Ta Moan temple and Ta Krabei temple in Oddar Meanchey province and on April 26 at the 11th century Preah Vihear temple, the World Heritage site.

The clashes left at least a dozen of both sides' troops killed and more than 30 injured.

The fighting has not only cost lives, damaged the temples, but also forced tens of thousands of civilians of both countries to flee for safe shelters.

The border between Thailand and Cambodia has never been completely demarcated.

Although the International Court of Justice ruled in 1962 that the Temple of Preah Vihear belonged to Cambodia, the row over the 4.6-square-km territory around the temple has never been resolved.

The conflict has occurred just a week after Cambodia's Preah Vihear temple was enlisted as a World Heritage Site on July 7, 2008, since then both sides have built up military forces along the border, and periodic clashes happened, resulting in the deaths of troops on both sides.

 

head of the infantry says the SAS is facing a recruitment crisis

The head of the infantry says the SAS is facing a recruitment crisis, caused at least in part by the demands of the operations in Afghanistan.

In a letter leaked to the Daily Telegraph, Brigadier Richard Dennis said many eligible soldiers were put off applying because they did not have the time to train for demanding selection tests.

He said the "unrelentingly demanding" operations of the regular army, mean as few as a third of slots for the special forces have been filled.

Conservative MP Patrick Mercer, who is a former infantry officer, said family life also plays a part in men not signing up for selection.

Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi was unhurt in a NATO airstrike on his Bab al-Aziziyah compound

Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi was unhurt in a NATO airstrike on his Bab al-Aziziyah compound early on Monday that left three people dead, a government spokesman said, calling it an assassination attempt.

Spokesman Mussa Ibrahim said it appeared to have been an attempt on Gaddafi's life, but those who died were office workers and security guards while 45 people were wounded. He said the building housed political offices.

"How is this act of terrorism protecting civilians in Libya?" he said to visiting journalists at the compound, where books spilled from an office into twisted metal and crumbled concrete. "This is a cowardly attempt to pursue one person."

He said Gaddafi was not in hiding, but was in a safe place.

"He is well, he is healthy, he is in high spirits," Ibrahim said.

Libyan state television showed pictures of Gaddafi meeting people in a tent. It said the pictures had been taken on Monday.

Syria Rolls Tanks Into Cities as Security Crackdown Kills At Least 18

Witnesses say several thousand Syrian army troops, flanked by special forces, shot their way into the southern city of Daraa before dawn Monday, causing numerous casualties. Tanks reportedly began the assault, shelling the city as they moved in from four sides.

Videos distributed by human rights activists show black smoke over the city center and fires burning as shell-fire crackled in the background.

Reports say Syrian special forces stormed private homes to make arrests, Witnesses say snipers began shooting from rooftops and many victims remain lying in the streets.

Jordanian authorities said the main highway crossing between Jordan and Syria was closed to traffic and that two border posts were not allowing anyone to enter Syria.

Syrian rights activists say that security forces also encircled the Damascus suburbs of Douma and Madaamiya, arresting hundreds of people.

The crackdown came as Syrian government media condemned what was called the "crimes of armed gangs" and "outside plots to divide the country."  Syrian television reported that 15 members of the army and security forces were killed in recent violence.

 

470 prisoners, including Taliban commanders and fighters, fled overnight through a tunnel from Sarposa jail outside Kandahar.

second time in just three years, inmates have managed to escape one of Afghanistan's biggest prisons. At least 470 prisoners, including Taliban commanders and fighters, fled overnight through a tunnel from Sarposa jail outside Kandahar.

Zabiullah Mujahid, a Taliban spokesman, told BBC Pashto that the tunnel was more than 360m (1,180ft) long and took five months to complete.

He said the tunnel led from a house north-east of the prison, which "our friends" had rented, to the political wing, where Taliban were held. It bypassed security checkpoints and the main Kandahar-Kabul road.

"We had proper digging equipment. There was so much earth from the tunnel that we carried it away gradually and sold it in the market."


The tunnel led to a mud-walled compound with a brown gate and shops on either side
"We had the support of skilled professionals - people who were trained engineers, who advised us on the digging," he added. "We managed to hit the spot where the prisoners were kept."

Police showed journalists the hole in the cement floor of the prison cell. The opening was about 1m (3ft) in diameter. The tunnel dropped straight down for about 1.5m (5ft) and appeared to go in the direction of a mud-walled compound with a brown gate and shops on either side.

There are guard towers at each corner of the prison compound, which is lit at night and protected by a ring of concrete barriers topped with razor wire. The entrance can only be reached by passing through several checkpoints.

The Taliban spokesman said three militants inside the prison had known about the plan, and that they had ushered prisoners to the tunnel.




Mohammad Abdullah, one of the inmates at Sarposa who Taliban spokesmen said had helped organise the escape, said "friends" had managed to obtain copies of the keys to the cells beforehand, suggesting collusion by the guards.

"When the time came at night, we managed to open the doors for friends who were in other rooms," he told the Associated Press.

Zabiullah Mujahid added: "In order to make sure it went smoothly, they only woke people up a few at a time, room by room. This was to keep the escape secret and to make sure the guards didn't know what was going on.

"People escaped in small numbers, room by room - this avoided overcrowding and noise. It was all very professional."


The tunnel dropped straight down for about 1.5m (5ft) from the cell floor
He said there had been no guards inside the cell where the tunnel emerged.

"At the other end, in the house where the tunnel started, we positioned suicide bombers so that if something happened, if fighting broke out, they could respond," he added.

He said 541 prisoners were able to escape during the operation, which began at about 2300 local time on Sunday and ended at 0330 on Monday morning.

Officials declined to provide details on any of the escaped inmates, but another Taliban spokesman said about 106 of the inmates were commanders - four of them former provincial chiefs.

The escapees were taken in vehicles to a "safe places" and then the Taliban alerted the media about what had just happened, Zabiullah Mujahid added. The prison authorities knew nothing about the escape until then, he claimed.

Officials at Sarposa prison say they discovered the breach at 0400.


In June 2008, the Taliban orchestrated the escape of more than 900 prisoners at Sarposa
The governor of Kandahar province, Tooryalai Wesa, said the breakout was "absolutely the fault of the ignorance of the security forces".

"This was not the work of a day, a week or a month of activities, this was actually months of work they spent to dig and free their men."

The police have mounted a massive search operation for the inmates. Officers had already rearrested 26 and shot two who tried to flee, Mr Wesa added.

But Zabiullah Mujahid denied that some of them had been found.

"These claims that they have recaptured people are untrue. They are just saying that to justify their negligence," he said.

In June 2008, the Taliban orchestrated the escape of more than 900 prisoners at Sarposa, including hundreds of militants, in an attack that killed 15 guards. A suicide bomber was used to blast open the gates.

”Restrepo” director Tim Hetherington killed in Libya

Fighting in Libya's besieged rebel city of Misrata killed at least 10 civilians including an Oscar-nominated British filmmaker, and NATO urged non-combatants to avoid troops so it could step up air strikes.

Among the dead were British photojournalist Tim Hetherington, co-director of Oscar-nominated war documentary "Restrepo," and American photographer Chris Hondros, killed when a group they were in came under mortar fire.

Seven Libyan civilians and a Ukrainian doctor were also killed during fierce fighting in Libya's third largest city, medics said.

France promised the insurgents on Wednesday it would intensify air strikes on Libyan government forces and dispatch military liaison officers, echoing a move by Britain, to help organize poorly trained insurgents.

Rebels said they were battling for control of a major road in Misrata, a port of 300,000 people and the insurgents' last bastion in the west of the country, where civil war ignited in February over demands for an end to Gaddafi's 41-year rule.

 

Cornish photographer has been seriously injured working in Libya.

Guy Martin, 28, from Falmouth, was covering fighting in the besieged city of Misrata when he was hit by shrapnel from a mortar.

It is thought Mr Martin suffered leg and stomach injuries. He is in a serious but stable condition in hospital.

Another British photographer, Tim Hetherington, and US photographer Chris Hondros, were killed.

Mr Martin was working with Panos Pictures agency when he was hurt.

He underwent hours of surgery at a local hospital, his girlfriend Polly Fields told BBC Radio Cornwall.

"We've had some positive news overnight," she said.

"They have confirmed that Guy has been stabilised. He had a wound to his stomach.

"He was in surgery for about six to eight hours. He's come out of that now. Now it's a case of getting him stable enough so he can be evacuated from Misrata."

Miss Fields said Mr Martin was travelling with a group of photographers when they came under mortar fire.

Mr Martin has worked for national and international publications in many countries including Iraq, Sudan and Russia. Earlier this year he covered the uprising in Egypt.

His work has appeared in a number of national newspapers including the Guardian, the Observer and the Sunday Times.

 

Spain: U.N. won't bless expanded armed intervention in Libya

A second U.N. Security Council authorizing expanded armed intervention in Libya is "impossible," Spain's defense minister said here Tuesday, adding that the goal of the current military operation should be to "create spaces for politics."

The Spanish government wants to see strongman Moammar Gadhafi depart Libya "as soon as possible," but regime change is not the aim of the U.N.-approved military operation, Carme Chacon told the defense committee of the lower house of Parliament.

She appeared before the committee to ask for a two-month extension of Spain's role in enforcing the no-fly zone over Libya, as well as possible Spanish assistance for U.N.-authorized operations providing humanitarian aid.

The minister said that the Spanish government wants both Gadhafi to step down and a cease-fire to be declared.

But she insisted that the goal of the military operation is to protect the civilian population by establishing a no-fly zone and a naval embargo to prevent arms and mercenaries from entering Libya.

"That is the mission of the (Spanish) armed forces...and nothing else," Chacon said.

The defense minister acknowledged that Libya runs the risk of becoming a "failed state," something that she said must be "avoided at any price" by supporting diplomatic endeavors.

Now, she said, the allies are asking Spain to continue helping maintain the no-fly zone for two more months, since a total of three months is a period that has been considered "reasonable" by both the United Nations and NATO.

She said that any new mission of humanitarian aid, in case the United Nations requests it, will consist for the Spanish armed forces of escort duties for the evacuation of civilians by air or sea, and the provision of ships for carrying food, medicine and other needed goods.

Minister claims France and UK 'violating' UN mandate as Nato airstrikes hit pro-Gaddafi communication centres

The Anglo-French decision to send a team of military advisers to Libyan opposition forces in Benghazi is a "clear violation" of the UN security council remit, Muammar Gaddafi's deputy foreign minister, Khaled Kayim, has told the Guardian. "No one can legitimise such actions. They will get nothing in return apart from more casualties."

He accused Nato and the international coalition of overstepping the limits of the UN security council resolution authorising military action to protect civilians, saying they were "siding with the rebels. Everything they have been doing since the start is outside the mandate."

Libya's response came as fighting continued in Misrata and efforts intensified to bring in humanitarian aid to the population and evacuate those trapped in the besieged city. The Libyan government denied there was any bombardment by its forces.

Kayim said: "I think this is a big trap for Britain and France. They are dealing with the wrong groups. I can't understand why Britain and France are so keen to get themselves into trouble and in this trap."

The two western countries would find themselves allied with al-Qaida forces, he said, which pro-Gaddafi forces claim are embedded with the rebels.

The Anglo-French move followed Nato airstrikes which destroyed three telecommunications installations around the city of Sirte on Monday, according to the Libyan government.

Nato's goal was to cut off communications, Kayim said. "The aim is clear: to enable the rebels to advance and to cut communications between [government] troops." A large area around Sirte was without communications although the city centre was still functioning, he said.

Nato confirmed that communications infrastructure had been targeted and the headquarters of a Libyan army brigade. "Last night we conducted deliberate multiple strikes against command and control facilities of the Gaddafi regime, including communications infrastructure and a 32nd brigade headquarters located 10km south of Tripoli," Brigadier General Mark van Uhm said at Nato headquarters in Brussels.

The airstrikes on communications centres came "at the same time as the British government sends very sophisticated tele communications equipment to the rebels to enable them to organise themselves", Kayim told a press conference in Tripoli. He added: "If Nato really cared about civilians, they have to stop the airstrikes and stop siding with the rebels. Their aim is to push the country into a civil war. That's clear from day one."

He warned against any deployment of ground troops to protect humanitarian missions, as floated by the EU. "If there is any deployment of any armed personnel on Libyan ground, there will be fighting. The Libyan government will not take it as a humanitarian mission, it will be taken as a military mission," he said. "The Libyan people will not stay silent. They will join the armed forces and fight."

He said the Libyan government was doing its utmost "to help people and supply them with food", but he repeatedly declined to answer questions about whether Libya would agree to a pause in military action to allow humanitarian aid to reach the besieged city of Misrata.

"There is no need for such things. There is no bombardment from the armed forces on Misrata, none at all. There are pockets of resistance, but other areas are peaceful. There is no fighting in Misrata."

His claim contradicted witness accounts from inside the city and a Nato statement that Gaddafi's forces were shelling Misrata indiscriminately. Nato said its operations had inflicted "quite significant damage" to Libya's heavy weaponry while warning that Gaddafi's forces still had "considerable" resources left.

"But there is a limit to what can be achieved with airpower to stop fighting in a city. We are taking every precaution to avoid causing civilian casualties by our own air operations," said Van Uhm.

Admiral Giampaolo di Paola, chairman of Nato's military committee, speaking in Rome, said it was proving "very difficult" to strike against government forces in Misrata without inflicting civilian casualties. "It's not a conventional war," he added.

Witnesses in Misrata report that government snipers were firing from tall buildings and mosques.

The Libyan opposition claimed that 10,000 people had been killed since the start of the uprising, and more than 50,000 injured. It was unclear how casualty figures had been documented.

Kayim claimed the international coalition was exaggerating the number of casualties in Misrata: "This is all shit."

Opposition forces in Misrata say the city may be lost within days without increased military action from Nato, and they have appealed for troops to protect the passage of humanitarian aid through the bombarded port. The city is surrounded by government forces on all land sides; the port is the only means of access to and from the area controlled by opposition forces.

They say that around 1,000 people have been killed since the siege began in late February. More than 300 have been confirmed dead in the city's hospitals.

The UN's World Food Programme said on Tuesday it had sent eight trucks loaded with wheat flour and high-energy biscuits into government-controlled western Libya to reach areas affected by fighting. Battles between opposition forces and government troops have continued near the Tunisian border.

 

SAS raids were possible for specific missions.

British Army officers are being sent to Libya to advise rebels fighting Colonel Muammar Gaddafi's forces.
The UK group will be deployed to the opposition stronghold of Benghazi, Libya's second city, in a mentoring role to help leaders co-ordinating attacks on the dictator's army.
The announcement came after a Royal Navy submarine launched cruise missiles on Libyan targets, with RAF warplanes attacking communication masts.
The handful of experienced officers will join a British team in Benghazi working with the opposition National Transitional Council (NTC), which UK Foreign Secretary William Hague described as "legitimate political interlocutors".
Mr Hague said the Army officers would help prevent attacks on civilians, in line with the United Nations Security Council resolution authorising military action against Gaddafi's forces.
He said: "These additional personnel will enable the UK to build on the work already being undertaken to support and advise the NTC on how to better protect civilians.
"In particular they will advise the NTC on how to improve their military organisational structures, communications and logistics, including how best to distribute humanitarian aid and deliver medical assistance."
The Foreign Secretary added: "Our officers will not be involved in training or arming the opposition's fighting forces. Nor will they be involved in the planning or execution of the NTC's military operations or in the provision of any other form of operational military advice."
Britain has supplied rebels with body armour and telecommunications equipment and the Government on Monday pledged £2 million to help thousands of stranded civilians flee war-torn Misrata by boat.
Speaking later to Sky News, Mr Hague again ruled out a ground invasion to unseat Gaddafi, but admitted further SAS raids were possible for specific missions.

The SAS are very use to working in small groups and they are the type of force that would be ideally suited to this sort of role. But we have to beware of mission creep.

"The SAS are very use to working in small groups and they are the type of force that would be ideally suited to this sort of role. But we have to beware of mission creep."
Another defence source, speaking anonymously, said: "History has shown us that air power alone will not win campaigns.
"In the first Gulf War, Bosnia and Kosovo, air power played a vital role but a ground force was needed to achieve the mission. So the question for the UN is what to do next? It is clear now that some sort of ground campaign is needed.
"The question is, who should lead the ground campaign? The rebels do not have the capability, by using privatemilitary companies you run the risk of being accused of hiring mercenaries and under whose mandate would they operate?
"So the responsibility will fall to the UK, the US and France. Libya is heading for a bloody civil war and who ever leads the ground force will find themselves in the middle of it."

Britain said Tuesday it is sending military advisers to help organise Libyan rebels, even as western powers denied they could soon break their taboo against putting foreign boots on the ground.

Britain said Tuesday it is sending military advisers to help organise Libyan rebels, even as western powers denied they could soon break their taboo against putting foreign boots on the ground.
The announcement came as France strongly warned against sending any coalition troops into Libya, where a two-month revolt against Moamer Kadhafi's regime has stalled and civilian casualties are mounting.
Foreign Secretary William Hague insisted the addition of about 12 military advisers to Britain's diplomatic team in the rebel stronghold of Benghazi did not breach a UN resolution authorising air strikes against Kadhafi's forces.
"They're not boots on the ground, this is not British ground combat forces going in... There is going to be no ground invasion of Libya," Hague told BBC television.
Hague said the British advisers would not arm or train the rebels, but would help them develop organisational structures, communications and logistics and coordinating humanitarian aid and medical supplies.
"They're people with the expertise in those sorts of things. They're not there, I stress, to train fighting forces, to arm fighting forces or of course to take part in any fighting themselves," he added.
The rebels "clearly lack that organisational experience and, yes, we do think that with that experience they will be able to save lives, in Ajdabiya, perhaps in Misrata," he said.
With thousands clamouring to escape the besieged rebel city of Misrata, Britain said it would charter ships to pick up 5,000 migrant workers after a ferry rescued nearly 1,000 on Monday.
In Paris, French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said Tuesday that he was "entirely hostile" to the idea of sending coalition ground troops into Libya -- even special forces to guide air strikes.
Juppe brushed off a call from Axel Poniatowski, the influential chairman of the French parliament's foreign affairs committee, for elite allied forces to be deployed to help identify targets for coalition jets.
"I remain, for my part, entirely hostile to the deployment of forces on the ground," Juppe said.
He also played down reports that French troops were already liaising with rebel commanders at their Benghazi headquarters, insisting there was only a small French security team in the city to protect the French envoy.
A senior French diplomatic source admitted to AFP that a French officer had indeed been assigned to the rebel "control room" in Benghazi.
Juppe also called on NATO allies to help British and French jets break the siege of Misrata.
NATO jets and cruise missiles struck Kadhafi's command and control centres late Monday in an apparent bid to increase the pressure on Kadhafi, but the alliance acknowledged the limits of air power.
Dutch Brigadier General Mark van Uhm, speaking in Brussels, conceded that Kadhafi's tactic of using human shields and hiding tanks and other heavy weapons, especially around Misrata, has deterred some NATO missions.
Libyan rebel leader Mustafa Abdel Jalil however urged the coalition to push ahead and topple Kadhafi.
"Kadhafi will never give up power except by force," Jalil said in Rome after talks with Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini.
Coalition powers have called for Kadhafi to stand down but have steered clear of suggesting that the UN Security Council resolution passed on March 19 enables them to topple him themselves.
Frattini said the opposition could be aided with military equipment and foreign oil sales, but like other western powers haunted by wars in Iraq and Afghanistan he too opposed an invasion of Libya.
"We don't have many alternatives. One of the alternatives is the use of ground troops. Italy is not in favour of sending ground troops," he said.
Frattini cited Jalil as saying that 10,000 people had been killed and up to 55,000 wounded in the conflict so far.

David Cameron has raised the prospect of UK troops operating inside Libya

The Prime Minister insisted that there would be no "occupation" of Libya, but repeatedly refused to rule out short-lived ground-level operations by British forces. Mr Cameron's words, in a television interview, led to renewed warnings of "mission creep" in Libya.
After more than four weeks of air strikes by Nato, Col Gaddafi's regime survives and the rebels trying to oust him have made little significant progress towards Tripoli. The Libyan government assault on the town of Misurata has added to pressure on Western leaders to intensify their intervention, and Mr Cameron confirmed that he was examining options for doing more to help the rebels.
"We have to ask ourselves what more can we do to protect civilian life and to stop Gaddafi's war machine unleashing such hell on his own people," he said.
Britain has already given body armour and communications technology to the rebels. "We're looking at those things and what else we can do," Mr Cameron said.
It is understood that British Special Forces soldiers are already operating inside Libya and some military experts have suggested those troops could be asked to help train and lead rebel forces.

 

Bahraini opposition leader has strongly criticized Bahrain's intensified pressure on peaceful protesters, describing the brutal crackdowns as “genocide.”

“This is a crime against humanity, it is a genocide it is a sectarian apartheid,” said Saeed al-Shahabi of the London-based Bahrain Freedom Movement, in a Press TV interview on Saturday.

He went on to describe the brutal crackdowns in Bahrain as instances of “sectarian cleansing.”

Since the protests erupted in Bahrain three months ago, many Bahraini doctors have been arrested, tortured or sacked from their jobs, the human rights activist said.

This is aimed at discouraging the medical staff from treating anti-government protesters.

The Bahraini regime has also cut off scholarships for many Bahraini students studying overseas, leaving them in a dire state, Shahabi noted.

This comes amid heightened tensions across Bahrain, where government troops have launched a brutal crackdown on anti-government protesters that demand an end to the decades-long rule of the Al Khalifa dynasty.

On Saturday, clashes were reported between security forces and anti-government protesters in Bahrain's southern city of Sitra.

According to reports, government troops have also stormed the town of Al-Diraz, Sar village and neighboring areas.

Meanwhile, security forces are reported to have arrested over 800 people.

The Bahrain Center for Human Rights in Manama has reported that the people detained by the government forces are tortured. The rights group said that there have been bruises and lashing marks on the bodies of those detainees who have died while in government custody, after they were collected by their families.

In March, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait deployed their troops to Bahrain to reinforce the brutal armed clampdowns against mass protests.

Scores of protesters have been killed and many others gone missing during the harsh crackdowns.

Moreover, most Bahraini media outlets have been blocked and several mosques have been demolished by the government.

Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have condemned the Bahraini and Saudi regimes for their heavy-handed tactics against the Bahraini population.

Forces loyal to Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi fired rockets at rebel positions near the eastern city of Ajdabiya Sunday.

Forces loyal to Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi fired rockets at rebel positions near the eastern city of Ajdabiya Sunday.

It is not immediately clear if there were any casualties from the shellings, which come a day after fighting west of the city left at least seven dead and 27 wounded.  

Fighting was reported Saturday in at least two other Libyan cities.  Rebels clashed with pro-Gadhafi forces in the oil town of Brega.

Witnesses also reported heavy fighting in the western city of Misrata.   Rebels have accused pro-government forces of using dangerous cluster bombs in the city - a charge that pro-Gadhafi forces deny.  

A rebel spokesperson told the Reuters news agency that Mr. Gadhafi's forces fired at least 100 of the widely banned explosives into an industrial area of the city on Saturday.   

Cluster munitions explode into numerous smaller explosives that can cause widespread and indiscriminate destruction.   They have been banned by most countries because they are so imprecise and dangerous.  Libyan authorities have denied using the explosives.

Meanwhile, the International Organization for Migration says a second boat was scheduled to leave for Misrata Saturday to rescue stranded migrants.  The relief group says the boat will also deliver hundreds of tons of humanitarian aid to Libya.

The new clashes follow diplomatic efforts this past week to try to ease the conflict, including a NATO meeting in Berlin and a meeting in Cairo that included Arab, African and European delegates.

Pro-government forces in Libya have been accused by a human rights campaign group of using cluster bombs

Pro-government forces in Libya have been accused by a human rights campaign group of using cluster bombs, which are banned by more than 100 countries.

Human Rights Watch said one of its photographers had seen three mortar-launched projectiles explode over a residential area of Misrata.

A Libyan government spokesman denied the allegation.

Government troops have intensified their siege of Misrata, the only west Libyan city still in rebel hands.

The BBC's Orla Guerin reports from inside the battle-scarred city that local residents fear a massacre without greater action by Nato air forces to break the siege.

French helicopters were fired upon during an evacuation mission

A military spokesman in Ivory Coast says that French helicopters were fired upon during an evacuation mission by forces supporting the country's strongman, who refuses to emerge from a bunker at his residence.
Cmdr. Frederic Daguillon, military spokesman for the French base in Ivory Coast, said Saturday that no soldiers were injured in the attack, but that French helicopters fired back at forces supporting Laurent Gbagbo and destroyed at least one armored vehicle.
He said the diplomatic evacuation mission was aborted.
France's embassy was also hit by two mortars and a rocket fired by Gbagbo's forces.
Forces supporting the democratically elected president have tried to force Gbagbo from his bunker but he refuses to emerge or cede power.

rating guarding Britain’s flagship nuclear submarine who shot dead a Royal Navy officer and left another critically injured was wrestled to the ground by civic dignitaries.

Able seaman Ryan Donovan, who was wearing body armour and camouflage gear, fired several rounds before he was overpowered by Royston Smith, the leader of Southampton city council.
Cllr Smith, 46, said he reacted after he felt a bullet whistle past his head.
Sources said the rating, a London-born warfare specialist trained in tracking vessels, had just collected the rifle from the submarine’s weapons store as he came on guard duty, and was due to take up his sentry position on the gangplank when the row erupted.
The 22 year-old sailor who was held at the scene on suspicion of murder is understood to have opened fire with an SA80 assault rifle at 12.12pm after a row broke out in the control room of HMS Astute, which was berthed in the city.
On Friday night the dead officer, in his 30s, was named by sources as Lt-Cdr Ian Molyneux, the vessel’s weapons engineering officer.

US extends airstrikes as Libyan rebels retreat

The United States has agreed to extend air strikes in Libya into Monday as the oil town of Brega saw heavy fighting, with rebel forces advancing only to fall back after an ambush by forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi.

The US air strikes, part of a coalition effort to protect civilians from Gaddafi's forces, would continue through Monday at NATO's request, because of "recent poor weather in Libya", the Pentagon says.

The US military had planned to begin withdrawing its combat jets and Tomahawk missiles from the air campaign against Libya's regime this weekend, as its NATO allies were to take the lead in bombing Gaddafi's forces.

Defected Libyan military commanders and their units are taking the lead in the fight against forces loyal to Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi,

in a rebel bid to stanch setbacks on the front lines and facilitate greater cooperation with coalition forces.

But as the army has stepped up its role, a leadership squabble has emerged among two rebel commanders. That could pose an early test to the strength of the civilian rebel leadership's control over the military, since some military commanders appear to disagree with the leadership decisions made by the civilian leaders.


The two rival commanders are the rebel-appointed Army Chief of Staff Abdel Fattah Younis, the former Minister of Interior under Col. Gadhafi, and Col. Khalifa Hiftar, the former commander of Libyan forces in Chad during Libya's war there in the 1980s. Mr. Hiftar later defected and sought asylum in the U.S., residing in rural Virginia until he returned to Libya in mid-March, shortly before the coalition air campaign began.

The rebel leadership proclaimed Mr. Hiftar commander of the army after his return, but backtracked over the weekend. A rebel government spokesman and National Council member, Abdel Hafeez Goga, said Gen. Younis was the lone commander of the military and that Mr. Hiftar had no official role.

Defected army commanders said they began assuming control of the rebel ranks over the weekend, after the rebels' temporary governing body, the Transitional National Council, asked them to do so Thursday.

Rebel military leaders said the deployment of trained military forces led by experienced military commanders will bring increased discipline and battlefield smarts to a ragtag fighting corps that is high on enthusiasm, but light on experience.

In Tripoli, Growing Murmurs Of Dissent
The consequences of having large numbers of ill-trained overenthusiastic youth on the front lines was painfully evident in a friendly-fire incident Friday night, when a coalition airstrike hit a rebel position, killing 13 rebel fighters and wounding seven.

Maj. Gen. Ahmed al-Ghatrani, a rebel army commander in Benghazi, said the errant airstrike was a result of jubilant youth firing rifles into the air in celebration while a coalition fighter jet was overhead. The jet mistook the rebels' celebratory fire for antiaircraft rounds from pro-Gadhafi forces.

Still, Gen. al-Ghatrani said the army has has begun the transition from a "training and consulting" role for young rebel fighters into a command and lead fighting role.

"The army has stepped up to the front in coordination with the rebel volunteers," he said. "Organized trained army units have begun advancing. Untrained rebels will be given new responsibilities in the rear."

Scores of disorganized rebel fighters continued to mob the front lines Sunday, making rushed advances and panicked retreats, witnesses said. But uniformed military personnel have begun trying to regulate the flow of volunteer fighters, setting up checkpoints and turning away untrained volunteers.

Rebel fighters appear to have successfully stabilized the front lines for the first time in weeks. They halted Mr. Gadahfi forces' eastward advance on Friday at the oil city of Brega, regrouped, reorganized and counterattacked the city on Friday night.

In the past 48 hours, they appear to have successfully driven Mr. Gadhafi's forces out of parts of the city and retaken portions of the eastern half, mounting what appears to be a slower and more measured advance.

On Sunday, there were also reports by Arab news channels of continued heavy shelling of Misrata, the lone rebel outpost in western Libya, where Col. Gadhafi's forces still largely hold sway.

Mohammed Ismail, an aide to Saif al Islam Gaddafi, visited London in recent days on what was described as a private visit.

Prime Minister David Cameron's spokesman confirmed that the UK authorities had been in contact with Libyan officials but insisted "there are no deals".
"The next steps need to be an end to violence and Gaddafi needs to go", said the spokesman.
A Foreign Office spokeswoman earlier neither confirmed nor denied the report, saying: "We are not going to provide a running commentary on our contact with Libyan officials."
Noman Benotman, a Libya expert and senior analyst at the Quilliam think tank, said he had heard Ismail proposed a scenario under which Gaddafi's sons would take over, or at least have a role in a new government, and their father would step aside.
"It's too late for that," Benotman said.
Ismail is now believed to be back in Libya.

10 Libyan rebels are reported to have been killed when a coalition plane enforcing the no-fly zone fired on their convoy between Brega and Ajdabiya late on Friday night.

10 Libyan rebels are reported to have been killed when a coalition plane enforcing the no-fly zone fired on their convoy between Brega and Ajdabiya late on Friday night.

A BBC correspondent at the scene said the attack came after rebels in five vehicles fired an anti-aircraft gun into the air.

Meanwhile, Libya's government has rejected a rebel ceasefire offer.

Spokesman Moussa Ibrahim dismissed the idea as "mad".

Troops loyal to Col Muammar Gaddafi would never withdraw from the rebel-held cities they were besieging, he said.

He also condemned recent coalition air strikes as "a crime against humanity" and said there had been civilian casualties in one attack on Thursday.

Gaddafi aide Moussa Koussa faces more questions

Moussa Koussa's career

1979-80: De facto ambassador in London
1994: Appointed head of foreign intelligence
2009: Appointed foreign minister; reportedly resigns 30 March 2011
Profile: Gaddafi's intelligence chief
Lockerbie father hails defection
Questioned about whether the UK was backing the opposition, Dr Fox said the UN resolution "gives us the freedom to assist those who are helping protect the civilian population.

Scottish prosecutors want to question Moussa Koussa over the 1988 Lockerbie bombing

The UK is still seeking information from ex-Libyan Foreign Minister Moussa Koussa, who fled to London on Thursday, Defence Secretary Liam Fox has said.

Asked what should happen now to Mr Koussa, Dr Fox told the BBC he would not provide daily updates but "clearly we want to get information from him".

He said he wanted the message to reach the Libyan regime that its leader, Muammar Gaddafi, should go.

Mr Koussa told officials he was no longer willing to represent the regime.

Scottish prosecutors have asked to interview Mr Koussa about the 1988 Lockerbie bombing, which left 270 people dead.

Asked whether Mr Koussa would stand trial if evidence was found linking him to Lockerbie, Dr Fox said: "It's very clear in Britain that our judicial process moves independently from government."

Previously, Prime Minister David Cameron has insisted that Mr Koussa had not been offered immunity from prosecution.

In the interview with BBC Radio 4's Today programme, Dr Fox objected to describing those fighting pro-Gaddafi forces as the "rebels", insisting they were "opposition forces" because the regime has no legitimacy.

The wife of the Libyan foreign minister who defected to Britain earlier this week has been seized by Colonel Gaddafi and is being interrogated by his "internal security" officials,

She is thought to have been captured amid eyewitness reports of a fierce gunfight at Col Gaddafi's central Tripoli compound as the regime stepped in to stop further defections.
Yesterday, local residents recalled how the most fierce firefight yet seen in central Tripoli had erupted within hours of the regime confirming that the Foreign Minister had defected.
"The blocks in that area are the homes to high ranking official of the state who must live close to Col Gaddafi. People say that some of them were trying to flee with their families when they came under attack from the guards," said a local resident.
"They gave as they got but there was a panic that the regime had to cover up."
"In the morning they were still cleaning up the blood," he said. "It was a big operation."

senior aide to Saif al-Islam, Col Gaddafi’s son, had been sent to London for secret talks according to reports, in an indication that the regime was looking for an exit strategy.

There was even specualtion that Saif himself may have already left Libya in Mr Koussa’s convoy but such a suggestion was dismissed.
The Foreign Office did not comment on the report which asserted that British officials met with Mohammed Ismail.
The meeting was one of a number conducted between the two nations in the last two weeks, according to the Guardian and is believed to have addressed the possibility of an exit strategy for Gaddafi.
Despite a low profile in Libya and internationally, Mr Ismail is a key aide to Saif al-Islam and represented the nation in arms purchase negotiations, cables leaked on the WikiLeaks website have disclosed.
The report comes as David Cameron was put under pressure to ensure that the Libyan defector who arrived in Britain earlier this week co-operates with authorities investigating the Lockerbie bombing, the murder of Pc Yvonne Fletcher and potential war crimes.

Moussa Koussa, the Libyan foreign minister, who fled to Britain on Wednesday, is described as having "electrifying" information on Col Muammar Gaddafi's role in terrorist atrocities across Europe.
The Prime Minister said he would not block any attempts by the police to question Mr Koussa.
Mr Cameron stressed that Mr Koussa had not been offered a deal in return for fleeing to Britain and had not been granted immunity from prosecution. But if the defector is arrested and charged with crimes, it may undermine attempts by Western governments to encourage others in Col Gaddafi's inner circle to flee from Libya, a key aim of current diplomatic efforts.
Mr Koussa may also be reluctant to co-operate fully with British officials if he is not given guarantees about his future.
Last night, the Scottish prosecuting authorities investigating the Lockerbie bombing formally requested access to Mr Koussa, a right-hand man to Col Gaddafi for more than 30 years.
International prosecutors investigating war crimes in Libya are also expected to seek interviews with the defector. Yesterday, the Libyan rebel leadership demanded he be returned to the country to face war-crime charges.
Mr Koussa, who was likened yesterday to Rudolf Hess by a Conservative MP, is being interrogated by MI6 at an unknown location. It is not clear whether information obtained by MI6 will be made public.
Senior Whitehall sources indicated that Scotland Yard was unlikely to get involved "at the moment".
The Libyan foreign minister was identified yesterday by Jack Straw, the former Labour foreign secretary, as a key source for British and American intelligence for more than a decade.
Last night Ali Abdessalam Treki, a Libyan former foreign minister and UN General Assembly president, also defected. Ibrahim Dabbashi, Libya's deputy UN ambassador, said that most high-level Libyan officials were trying to defect but were having trouble leaving due to tight security. A senior figure at the Libyan Embassy in London also defected.
In other developments yesterday:
• The head of Nato ruled out arming the Libyan rebels less than 24 hours after Mr Cameron admitted that the plan was under consideration. The US defence secretary said that another country, rather than America, should be take charge of "assisting" the rebels.
• America warned that Col Gaddafi was "not about to break", citing reports that regime troops were laying landmines around rebel-held areas.
• British special forces were said to be operating beside the CIA on the ground in Libya despite official denials that land troops were in action.
• The Vatican claimed to have evidence that coalition air strikes had killed dozens of civilians in Tripoli.
• The Libyan government said that Col Gaddafi and his family would remain in Libya "until the end" despite growing speculation they would seek exile.
Last night, details of Mr Koussa's dramatic escape from Libya began to emerge. According to Foreign Office sources, Mr Koussa's arrival was in doubt up until the final few hours before he touched down at Farnborough Airfield in a private jet chartered by the British military.
He told the regime that he was travelling to Tunisia to seek medical treatment for high blood pressure. The British Government was informed that he wished to head to this country but there was concern that he would instead fly on to Italy, another destination he was said to have favoured.
One government source said: "We absolutely did not want to lose him. It was vital that he did not go to Italy."
While Mr Koussa was airborne, Mr Cameron is said to have spoken to American officials and secured their backing for allowing him into Britain.
As well as Lockerbie, officials are keen to question Mr Koussa about links to the IRA. Col Gaddafi is widely suspected of supplying arms to the terrorists at the height of IRA's bombing campaign in the 1980s.
Mr Koussa, who was previously in charge of the Libyan intelligence service has been described as the “master of terror” who was previously expelled from Britain for endorsing the assassination of dissidents in London. Western intelligence has linked him to planning the Lockerbie bombing.
Over the past few months, Mr Cameron has played a leading role in calling for key Gaddafi regime figures to face war-crime trials. The Prime Minister has also spoken of his disgust at the release of Abdelbaset al-Megrahi, the Libyan intelligence officer convicted of the Lockerbie bombing.
Last night Lord Fraser of Carmyllie, the former Lord Advocate who initiated and oversaw the Lockerbie case, suggested that a “snatch squad” should be sent to Tripoli to try to secure any Libyan papers on the atrocity. He said it was unlikely Mr Koussa had brought documents with him but added that he had always had “dark suspicions” that the bomb plot came from the “heart of government”.
“I think we should send in a snatch squad to secure what papers they have before they are shredded,” said the Tory peer. Yesterday, at a press conference, Mr Cameron stressed that Mr Koussa would not be offered a “deal”.
The Prime Minister said: “Let me be clear, Moussa Koussa is not being granted immunity, there is no deal of that kind.
“And the point I would make about the dreadful events over Lockerbie: that investigation is still open and the police and the prosecuting authorities are entirely independent of government and they should follow their evidence wherever it leads and the Government will assist them in any way possible.”
MPs from all political parties yesterday insisted that it was vital that Koussa did not escape justice. Robert Halfon, a Conservative MP who has tabled several parliamentary motions on Lockerbie, said: “I think what has happened is comparable to Rudolf Hess coming here during the Second World War.
“The fact is that this man is most likely a war criminal, allegedly been responsible for the deaths of British citizens, allegedly the organiser of the Lockerbie bombing, he’s part of the Gaddafi totalitarian regime and in my view and that of many others he needs to go to the international court to face trials for war crimes.”

Fear descended on Abidjan Thursday as sporadic bursts of automatic weapon fire pierced the air, helicopters circled, barricades dotted the city and looters rampaged in some areas.

Fear descended on Abidjan Thursday as sporadic bursts of automatic weapon fire pierced the air, helicopters circled, barricades dotted the city and looters rampaged in some areas.
"We are locked in the room, there is heavy shooting and then it stops" an inhabitant of the chic suburb Cocody, home to strongman Laurent Gbagbo, told AFP, her voice choked with anxiety.
As night fell, the city was on tenterhooks, worried that a fierce final battle might take place between Gbagbo's army and forces loyal to internationally recognised president Alassane Ouattara.
Since mid-morning, the streets of the turbulent metropolis were deserted as news spread that Ouattara's forces -- having swept through towns across the country -- were swiftly moving south.
Plateau, the administrative heart of the city and home to the presidential palace, quickly emptied and an eery silence hung over the streets, broken intermittently by explosions and machine gun fire.
A total absence of security forces gave looters a free-for-all in the economic capital, home to some five million people before the post-electoral crisis.
The suburb of Marcory or "Zone 4" known for its normally buzzing nightlife and home to numerous expatriates, was particularly targeted and the French force Licorne deployed some 50 men to deter gangs of thugs.
"We are at home, we heard shooting. We don't know exactly what is happening but it seems that some people looted an ice-cream store, and then there were Licorne helicopters circling the area," said a resident of the suburb.
"We don't know what is going on, we are scared," said another.
In the popular district of Kumasi, a witness saw youths returning to their homes, carrying fans and other items.
In Cocody, young men left a supermarket carrying mattresses, household appliances and food, according to a resident.
One Frenchman, who has lived in Abidjan for many years told AFP: "If order does not return quickly, it's gonna be hell tonight."

Britain on Thursday urged its citizens in Yemen to immediately leave the country

Britain on Thursday urged its citizens in Yemen to immediately leave the country, saying London was unlikely to be able to carry out evacuations if the security situation deteriorated further.
The Foreign Office also called on all sides in the crisis-hit Middle Eastern country to "exercise the utmost restraint" as government supporters and their challengers gathered for rival demonstrations on Friday.
"In light of the rapid deterioration in the security situation in Yemen... we strongly urge all British nationals to leave the country now while commercial airlines are still flying," said a Foreign Office statement.
"Given the situation on the ground, it is highly unlikely that the British government will be able to evacuate British nationals or provide consular assistance in the event of a further breakdown of law and order," it said.
London pointed out it had already urged its nationals to leave Yemen immediately earlier in March but the amendment to its advice -- related to evacuation -- reflected "the increasing seriousness of the situation."
In Yemen, fears were growing for another tense Friday with President Ali Abdullah Saleh and his opponents setting the scene for another confrontation. State news agency Saba said tribal chiefs, clerics, civil society figures, youths and supporters from the countryside were streaming into Sanaa on Thursday in response to the longtime president's call for a show of solidarity.
His challengers, mainly youths camped out at a renamed "Change Square" near Sanaa University, have also urged demonstrators to take to the streets.
The standoff has been going on for two months but it escalated on March 18 when 52 protesters were gunned down in Sanaa by Saleh loyalists.
The Foreign Office said it urged "all parties in Yemen to exercise the utmost restraint and take all steps necessary to defuse tension on the ground.
"We call on all parties to make urgent progress in implementing much needed political and economic reform."

Moussa Koussa, the Libyan foreign minister, who fled to Britain on Wednesday, is described as having "electrifying" information on Col Muammar Gaddafi's role in terrorist atrocities across Europe.

Moussa Koussa, the Libyan foreign minister, who fled to Britain on Wednesday, is described as having "electrifying" information on Col Muammar Gaddafi's role in terrorist atrocities across Europe.
Yesterday the Prime Minister said he would not block any attempts by the police to question Mr Koussa.
Mr Cameron stressed that Mr Koussa had not been offered a deal in return for fleeing to Britain and had not been granted immunity from prosecution. But if the defector is arrested and charged with crimes, it may undermine attempts by Western governments to encourage others in Col Gaddafi's inner circle to flee from Libya, a key aim of current diplomatic efforts.
Mr Koussa may also be reluctant to co-operate fully with British officials if he is not given guarantees about his future.
Last night, the Scottish prosecuting authorities investigating the Lockerbie bombing formally requested access to Mr Koussa, a right-hand man to Col Gaddafi for more than 30 years.

When a Joint Base Lewis-McChord soldier pleaded guilty last week to murdering three Afghans, he couldn't say for sure if he'd actually killed anyone.

In fact, Spc. Jeremy Morlock said some of his platoon mates in the 5th Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division likely delivered the shots that took the civilians’ lives in southern Afghanistan last year. He said he was responsible because he joined in planning the combat-like scenarios.

Morlock’s descriptions of the murders will be important testimony to four of his platoon mates who await courts martial on charges that they participated in the killings. Morlock, 23, struck a plea deal that requires him to take the witness stand at their trials.

Some of his codefendants’ attorneys have been hammering the Army for months for not producing evidence showing which soldiers fired the fatal shots. They argue the soldiers can’t be convicted of murder if they didn’t kill someone.

“There is no physical evidence here,” attorney Dan Conway said at a pretrial hearing in November for one of Morlock’s codefendants, Pfc. Andrew Holmes, 20, of Boise, Idaho. “It’s absolutely breathtaking that this is a premeditated murder case.”

A January 2010 killing Morlock described in court Wednesday illustrated the uncertainty over whose weapons were responsible for which deaths.

That incident became the ugly face of the alleged war crimes committed by Morlock and his comrades when a German newsmagazine last week published photos of the victim. One image shows Morlock grinning as he holds up the Afghan’s head; another shows Holmes kneeling over the corpse.

Morlock said the killing played out when he spotted an Afghan in a field approaching him and Holmes. Morlock said he told the man to halt about 20 meters from them while he and Holmes agreed to kill him in a scenario they’d devised earlier with Staff Sgt. Calvin Gibbs. Gibbs was a squad leader in their platoon and is the main target of the Army’s war crimes investigation.

Morlock said he tossed a grenade over a wall near them to make it appear as if the Afghan attacked him and Holmes. He ordered Holmes to shoot the man with a burst of gunfire from the squad automatic weapon he carried. That gun fires more rapidly than the rifles most infantrymen carry, and it can shoot as many as 1,000 rounds per minute.

After the grenade exploded, Morlock said he shot the Afghan, too.

“He was laying on the ground, dead presumably” when he shot, Morlock said in court.

Other infantrymen in his platoon gathered at the shooting scene. Capt. Patrick Mitchell asked the soldiers to make sure the Afghan was dead, according to sworn statements and court testimony. Staff Sgt. Kris Sprague interpreted that order as a directive to shoot the Afghan twice more, Morlock said.

Sprague was not charged with a crime for shooting the Afghan, and no one else alleged that he knew the killing was staged.

Morlock told the Army judge, Lt. Col. Kwasi Hawks, that he believed Holmes’ weapon killed the Afghan.

“I could only assume that a burst from an automatic weapon and a relatively close position of a fragmentary grenade going off, that that would be the end result,” Morlock told the judge.

Holmes has denied he knowingly participated in a staged killing, and his attorney has said Morlock’s or Sprague’s weapons killed the Afghan.

Conway says the photos of the victim – including the ones published last week – are proof that the Afghan was not hit with Holmes’ weapon. If it had been Holmes’ gun, the body would have shown many more wounds, the attorney said. Instead, it appears to show just one or two bullet wounds.

“When you look at the photo ... there’s only one bullet hole – where Sprague shot,” Conway said in court last fall when he submitted another image of the victim to an Army officer.

Conway unsuccessfully pushed the Army to release the images before the end of Holmes’ pretrial hearing in November. The Army denied his request and the photos reached the public when Der Spiegel magazine obtained them from a source.

Similar to the January incident, Morlock’s account of a May 2010 murder left room for attorneys to argue which of three soldiers killed another Afghan.

Morlock said Gibbs set up the victim on one end of a compound in a village. Gibbs was supposed to throw a grenade while Morlock and Spc. Adam Winfield were supposed to shoot the Afghan. Then Gibbs would plant a Russian-made grenade on the victim to make it appear as if he was attacking Americans.

Instead, Morlock said Gibbs threw the grenade too close to the victim and likely killed him. He and Winfield fired their rifles, but Morlock wasn’t sure if their bullets hit the victim. Morlock said Gibbs shot the Afghan twice more after the explosion.

Gibbs maintains that all three killings were legitimate combat incidents. He’s expected to face a court martial this summer.

al-Qaeda among Libya rebels,American intelligence had picked up "flickers" of terrorist activity among the rebel groups.

Admiral James Stavridis, Nato's Supreme Allied Commander, Europe, said that American intelligence had picked up "flickers" of terrorist activity among the rebel groups. Senior British government figures described the comment as "very alarming".
The admission came as the American, Qatari and British Governments indicated that they were considering arming rebel groups, who yesterday suffered a series of setbacks in their advance along the Libyan coast towards Tripoli.
The plan is likely to spark further splits in the international coalition, with Nato and Italian sources indicating the move would require another United Nations resolution.
On Tuesday more than 40 ministers from around the world met at a conference in London to discuss the situation in Libya.
They agreed to establish formal links with opposition groups in the rebel-stronghold of Benghazi with several countries sending official envoys to the area. Libyan opposition leaders yesterday also travelled to Britain for talks with David Cameron and Hillary Clinton, the US Secretary of State

Forces loyal to Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi are in heated battles with rebels trying to advance west toward Gadhafi's hometown and stronghold of Sirte.

Forces loyal to Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi are in heated battles with rebels trying to advance west toward Gadhafi's hometown and stronghold of Sirte.

Foreign journalists said an onslaught Tuesday by the pro-Gadhafi fighters forced the rebels to retreat farther east. They reported rocket and machinegun fire near the town of Bin Jawad where rebels are scrambling.

The battles came after pro-government forces drove the rebels back with heavy tank and artillery hits late Monday.

International airstrikes against pro-Gadhafi troops have enabled the anti-government forces to recapture large amounts of territory in recent days.

The battle for Sirte is expected to be critical in the rebels' push to end Gadhafi's 42-year rule.

Sirte is dominated by members of the Libyan leader's Gadhadhfa tribe. But many in another large local tribe, the Firjan, are believed to resent his rule, and rebels are hoping to encourage them and other tribes there to help them.

Western nations began enforcing a United Nations-authorized no-fly zone over Libya on March 19. Allied warplanes targeted Sirte for the first time late Sunday.

Libya rebels pull back under Gaddafi army fire

Muammar Gaddafi's forces and some residents fired at Libyan rebels on the road east of the Libyan leader's home city overnight, pushing them back towards the town of Bin Jawad, rebels said.

The rebel fighters had raced along the coastline retaking several oil towns after Western air strikes were launched. But their charge westwards has met resistance as they neared Sirte.

Dozens of rebel fighters and civilians were gathered with pick-ups and cars outside Bin Jawad, about 150 km (100 miles) from Sirte.

"This is a problem road," said 28-year-old rebel officer Hamad al-Awani, who appeared to be in charge of the group. "Yesterday we were hit by Gaddafi so we pulled back."

He said pro-Gaddafi forces used rockets, rocket propelled grenades and medium-calibre weapons to push back rebels gathered east of Sirte, Gaddafi's birthplace and a military base.

Other rebel fighters and their civilian supporters said they believed settlements on the approach to Sirte had posed a potential threat because their inhabitants backed Gaddafi.

"The Gaddafi guys hit us with Grads (rockets) and they came round our flanks," said Ashraf Mohammed, a 28 year old rebel wearing a bandolier of machine gun bullets

Libya's rebel forces closed in Monday on Muammar Qadhafi's hometown of Sirte,

Libya's rebel forces closed in Monday on Muammar Qadhafi's hometown of Sirte, the gateway to the western half of the country, after it was targeted for the first time by international air strikes.

Celebratory gunfire broke out in the early hours of the morning in the rebel city of Benghazi amid rumors that Sirte had already fallen without a fight. The report could not be confirmed and premature accounts of rebel victories are not uncommon in the struggle for Libya.

Witnesses in the city said that bombing could be heard around 6:30 AM local time but there was no fighting in the streets or signs of rebel forces.

Libya's rebels have recovered hundreds of kilometers of flat, uninhabited territory, including two key oil installations, at record speeds after Qadhafi's forces were forced to pull back by international air strikes.

A heavy bombardment of Tripoli also began late Sunday, with at least nine loud explosions and anti-aircraft fire heard, an Associated Press reporter in the city said.

Earlier in the day, rebels regained two key oil complexes along the coastal highway and promised to quickly restart Libya's stalled oil exports, prompting a slight drop in the soaring price of crude oil to around US$105 a barrel.

Moving quickly westward, the advance retraced their steps in the first rebel march toward the capital. But this time, the world's most powerful air forces have eased the way by pounding Qadhafi's military assets for the past week.

Sirte is strategically located about halfway between the rebel-held east and the Qadhafi-controlled west along the Mediterranean coast. It is a bastion of support for Qadhafi and was expected to be difficult for rebels to take.

If the city has fallen, it would mark a major victory for the rebels and leave the way open to Tripoli and Misrata, the sole rebel outpost remaining in the west of the country.

In Misrata, residents reported fighting between rebels and Qadhafi loyalists who fired from tanks on residential areas. Misrata is one of two cities in western Libya that have risen against the regime and suffered brutal crackdowns. It is located between Tripoli and Sirte on the coastal road.

In Washington, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said he could not offer a timetable for how long the Libya operation could last, as the Obama administration tried to bolster its case for bringing the United States into another war in the Muslim world.

The UN Security Council authorized the operation to protect Libyan civilians after Qadhafi launched attacks against anti-government protesters who demanded that he step down after nearly 42 years in power. The airstrikes have crippled Qadhafi's forces, allowing rebels to advance less than two weeks after they had seemed at the brink of defeat.

The assault on Sirte, where most civilians are believed to support Qadhafi, however, potentially represents an expansion of the international mission to being more directly involved with regime change.

"This is the objective of the coalition now, it is not to protect civilians because now they are directly fighting against the armed forces," Khaled Kaim, the deputy foreign minister, said in the capital, Tripoli. "They are trying to push the country to the brink of a civil war."

Now that the rebels have regained control of two key oil ports, they are making tentative plans to exploit Libya's most valuable natural resource. But production is at a trickle, the foreign oil workers and their vital expertise have fled the country, and even talk of a marketing deal with Qatar seems murky at best.

The coastal complexes at Ras Lanouf and Brega were responsible for a large chunk of Libya's 1.5 million barrels of daily exports, which have all but stopped since the uprising that began 15 February and was inspired by the toppling of governments in Tunisia and Egypt.

The agreement with the tiny Gulf nation of Qatar could allow the rebels to exploit Libya's vast oil reserves -- most of which are in the eastern territory they control. With no ships coming or going, Libya's tanks are full to the brim. Until they are emptied, there's nowhere to store any oil that is pumped from the ground.

Eastern oil officials said over a week ago they were still producing about 100,000 barrels per day from two key fields. But it was unclear whether such levels were sustainable given the security problems across the country and the exodus of foreign workers from the vital sector.

The rebel turnaround is a boost for President Barack Obama, who has faced complaints from lawmakers from both parties that he has not sought their input about the US role in the conflict or explained with enough clarity about the American goals and exit strategy.

Pentagon officials are looking at plans to expand the firepower and airborne surveillance systems in the military campaign, including using the Air Force's AC-130 gunship armed with cannons that shoot from the side doors, as well as helicopters and drones.

U.S. has a long, complicated, and dark history of arming rebel groups around the world

U.S. has a long, complicated, and dark history of arming rebel groups around the world. Our support for the anti-communist militias in Argentina and Honduras led us to directly train some of the fighters that later evolved into outright death squads. Nixon-era CIA operations in Chile helped Augusto Pinochet's takeover by military coup, which later ended with Pinochet's arrest as a war criminal for the mass murder and torture. The Nicaraguan contras, whom we armed in the 1980s to terrorize the Marxist government, instead terrorized civilians, whom they tortured and killed in large numbers. The U.S.'s support for the rise of the Khmer Rouge, remembered for their genocide of nearly 2 million Cambodians, is more ambiguous and complicated. At the very least, they enjoyed tacit U.S. tolerance as long as they fought Communist Vietnam.

The cycle is a familiar one: rather than commit American lives to a murky and uncertain conflict, the White House asks the CIA to find or create local proxies that can do the fighting for us. We invariably find the most skilled fighters, the most ruthless killers, who can best challenge or outright topple whatever regime -- often communist, usually despotic and deserving of ouster -- has earned American ire. But the conflict often escalates and turns for the worse. Our killers turn out to be even more brutal than their killers, or maybe they're not as unified as we thought and turn against one another, or they end up targeting civilians as well as enemy fighters.

The most common outcome of U.S.-funded rebellions has been to create instability and violence that, whether in the form of intractable insurgencies or low-level sectarian fighting, tends to last far longer than whatever political conflict they were meant to resolve. The flood of arms -- particularly the easy-to-use, impossible-to-destroy, grimly effective Kalashnikov rifle variants -- make weapons so prolific and so cheap that terrorism, criminal gangs better armed than the police, and militias of every political and religious stripe are all but impossible to stamp out. By the time that CIA funding dries up, young men who have made their living for years fighting on the American dime have no other way to support their family than killing for hire. Wealthy, extremist sheikhs and would-be sheikhs on the Arabian Peninsula are always happy to write checks in pursuit of their Islamist dreams, as they have done in support of Afghan and Pakistani militants for decades. Violence begets violence, instability begets instability, and the U.S. tactic of arming rebels has been incredibly successful at fomenting both, but has done little to end either, often creating problems far outsizing those we originally meant to solve.

Neither the French nor the British share this sordid history with the U.S. -- although the U.K. did arm Arab fighters against the Ottoman Empire during World War One, to considerable success. But with the war against Qaddafi still largely leaderless, and each Western power fighting more or less on its own, France or Britain could arm the rebels unilaterally. Even if the Obama administration does decide that arming rebels is not worth the risk of repeating some of our darkest moments in twentieth century foreign policy, it will not be enough for the U.S. to decline to hand out arms. Cameron and French President Nicolas Sarkozy would also have to be persuaded against it as well. But the U.S. political system is never especially fond of soul-searching or admitting past error -- author Gore Vidal refers to the U.S. as "the United States of Amnesia." Back in Afghanistan, we have found another group to arm -- the Taliban-fighting Shinwari tribes -- in the hopes that the enemy of our enemy, if we only ship them enough guns, might bring peace

US President Barack Obama's decision to take military action in Libya is unconstitutional.

Michael Dorf, a constitutional law expert and a professor of law at Cornell University, has said that US President Barack Obama's decision to take military action in Libya is unconstitutional.

He pointed out that conflict in Libya is unconstitutional because Obama has failed to seek Congressional approval. Under the US constitution, Congressional approval is required for declarations of war.

U.N. Security Council Resolution 1973 made the Libya action valid under international law, but compliance with international law does not automatically ensure compliance with the Constitution.

"Although the President was not required to seek a formal declaration of war, the assignment of powers in the Constitution suggests that some form of legislative consent was necessary," said Dorf.

seventh day of air strikes against the Libyan regime’s forces on Friday as Western powers battled to find a way to hand control of the campaign to NATO.

Coalition forces carried out a seventh day of air strikes against the Libyan regime’s forces on Friday as Western powers battled to find a way to hand control of the campaign to NATO.

France insisted on keeping the 28-member alliance out of decision-making with President Nicolas Sarkozy holding out hopes of a diplomatic initiative to end the conflict.

Britain and France were jointly preparing a “political and diplomatic” solution, he said.

Coalition warplanes meanwhile pounded Colonel Moamer Gaddafi’s forces in the strategic eastern town of Ajdabiya, boosting rebel efforts to launch new offensives, journalists reported.

Plumes of smoke filled the sky as the pace of air strikes escalated. Terrified residents were fleeing the city, 160 kilometres south of the rebel stronghold of Benghazi.

Anti-aircraft fire raked the Libyan skies overnight, with at least three explosions shaking the capital Tripoli and the eastern suburb of Tajura.

At least one blast was heard from the centre of the city, while others came from Tajura, home to military bases, a journalist reported. US warships and submarines had fired 16 new Tomahawk cruise missiles at Libyan targets in the 24 hours to 0500 GMT Friday, the Pentagon said, adding that coalition warplanes carried out 153 sorties over the same period. The total number of Tomahawks launched at Libya rose to at least 170.

Libyan state television said “civilian and military sites in Tripoli and Tajura” had come under fire from “long-range missiles”. In the streets of Tajura, where several military bases are situated, a thick pall of smoke rose into the sky after a seventh day of bombing, and the streets were practically deserted despite Friday prayers, although hooded, armed men stood guard at the main junctions.

A French fighter jet destroyed an artillery battery overnight outside Ajdabiya, at least part of which was still in rebel hands.

Rebels fighting to retake the town, which sits at a junction on roads leading from rebel strongholds Benghazi and Tobruk, were being held off by loyalist-armoured vehicles.

United States and its allies are considering whether to supply weapons to the Libyan opposition

United States and its allies are considering whether to supply weapons to the Libyan opposition as coalition airstrikes fail to dislodge government forces from around key contested towns, according to U.S. and European officials.

 Conflict and chaos in Libya: As forces loyal to Libyan leader Moammar Gaddafi continue attacks on rebels and international strikes begin, thousands of Libyans flee the fighting.
France actively supports training and arming the rebels, and the Obama administration believes the United Nations resolution that authorized international intervention in Libya has the “flexibility” to allow such assistance, “if we thought that were the right way to go,” Obama spokesman Jay Carney said. It was a “possibility,” he said.

Gene Cretz, the recently withdrawn U.S. ambassador to Libya, said administration officials were having “the full gamut” of discussions on “potential assistance we might offer, both on the non-lethal and the lethal side,” but that no decisions had been made.

Gaddafi's forces hit with Tomahawks, air strikes

(Reuters) - The coalition enforcing a no-fly zone over Libya fired 16 Tomahawk cruise missiles and flew 153 air sorties in the past 24 hours targeting Muammar Gaddafi's artillery, mechanized forces and command and control infrastructure, a U.S. military spokeswoman said on Friday.

Gurkha who fought off 30 Taliban by himself awarded honour

A Gurkha who fired 400 bullets and 17 grenades while single-handedly fighting off 30 Taliban militants is to receive the second highest military honour for bravery.

Courage: Acting Sergeant Dipprasad Pun of the Royal Gurkha Rifles, who came under fire for 15 minutes (PA)
Acting Sgt Dipprasad Pun, 31, was on sentry duty alone at night when he discovered two insurgents preparing to plant a bomb outside.
As enemy fighters launched wave after wave of attacks, the 1.7m (5ft 7in) Gurkha opened fire with a machine gun, a rifle and a grenade launcher.
When he exhausted all ammunition he tried to batter one militant with a sandbag before bludgeoning him with a machine gun tripod, as he roared in Nepali: ‘I will kill you.’
The soldier, from the Royal Gurkha Rifles, was alerted to the enemy when he heard what he thought was a cow or a donkey near his sentry post.
But, when he climbed on to the roof, he found two insurgents digging a trench to lay an improvised explosive device at the checkpoint’s front gate.
He then found himself pinned down under attack from rocket-propelled grenades and AK47s for more than 15 minutes, as he frantically radioed for back-up.
At first, he was afraid but he said yesterday: ‘As soon as I opened fire, that was gone – before they kill me I have to kill some.’
When the fight was over, his company commander arrived, casually slapped him on the back and asked if he was OK.
The third-generation Gurkha, from Kent, will receive the Conspicuous Gallantry Cross, one of 136 awards to be announced today.

French warplanes destroyed a Libyan plane and bombed an air base on the sixth day of allied attacks on forces loyal to Moammar Gaddafi

French warplanes destroyed a Libyan plane and bombed an air base on the sixth day of allied attacks on forces loyal to Moammar Gaddafi.
Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu told reporters in Ankara that a “compromise has been reached in principle” on transferring control of the Libyan operation from an ad hoc U.S.-led coalition to formal NATO command. The arrangement was hammered out in a conference call among U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and her counterparts from France, Britain and Turkey. As a NATO member, Turkey had insisted on conditions for NATO’s takeover of the operation.

The transfer from U.S. leadership, sought by President Obama, is expected to take a few days to complete after it is officially approved.

The move comes amid an apparently intensifying campaign of airstrikes and missile attacks that are taking a toll on Gaddafi’s forces but have not relieved the siege of rebel-held Misurata, where a humanitarian crisis is unfolding.

In Benghazi, the de facto rebel capital in eastern Libya, a spokesman for the anti-Gaddafi forces said that loyalist troops in the strategic city of Ajdabiya were trying to surrender.

“We are trying to negotiate with these people in Ajdabiya because we are almost sure that they have lost contact with their headquarters,” said Col. Ahmad Omar Bani, a former Libyan air force pilot. “We received information from freedom fighters in Ajdabiya saying some [Gaddafi] fighters have offered to leave their tanks,” he said, adding that a local imam was helping in the negotiations.

Bani said the opposition is forming a “new army” that will be more organized than the rebels, but he could not say how long that would take.

Earlier Thursday, French fighter jets destroyed a Libyan plane near Misurata and bombed an air base deep inside Libya, as U.S. and British cruise missiles struck targets in and around the capital, Tripoli.

The strikes further pounded the already decimated Libyan air force, but they failed to prevent Gaddafi’s tanks from reentering Misurata overnight and shelling the area around its main hospital, news services reported.

The continued fighting aggravated a humanitarian crisis that doctors in Misurata, Libya’s third-largest city 130 miles east of Tripoli, say has been growing worse.

The transfer to NATO of Operation Odyssey Dawn, as the coalition’s Libyan mission is known, began to take shape when Turkey announced it would not longer oppose the shift, paving the way for the United States to turn over command in the coming days.

Turkey is the only Muslim-majority member of NATO, and the alliance needs all 28 member nations to approve any military action. Davutoglu told Turkish state television Thursday, “Our demands have been met on Libya. The operation will be handed over to NATO.”


Obama has said he intends to turn the mission over to international command in “days, not weeks,” and the announcement of Turkish support apparently allows that to happen over the weekend.

Obama, along with French President Nicolas Sarkozy and British Prime Minister David Cameron, reached a tentative agreement earlier this week for NATO to command the military mission. In addition, a steering committee of NATO and non-NATO members, including Arab countries participating with military aircraft and humanitarian support, has been proposed to provide political guidance for the operation, but it is unclear whether that is still under discussion.

Obama is facing mounting pressure from Congress to explain the Libyan operation, which represents America’s third military front in a Muslim nation. He has sought to play down U.S. participation, saying that the U.S. military would lead the operation’s first phase, particularly in taking out Gaddafi’s air-defense system, and then fall back into a supporting role.

In a Pentagon news briefing Thursday, Vice Adm. William E. Gortney said, “We are going to give up the command position . . . and be participants” in the Libyan operation. he said the United States would “continue to provide predominantly those capabilities we have that are unique,” such as refueling tankers, “ISR [intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance] platforms” and “some of the interdiction strike packages.”

Gortney said coalition planes are not attacking Gaddafi’s forces inside cities because of the risk of civilian casualties but are focusing on isolating those forces and cutting their supply lines.

Asked about the prospect that more restrictions could be placed on coalition strikes under the new command structure, Gortney said: “I’m not sure how the rules of engagement could be any more restrictive than they already are.”

He said the coalition is using “every tool in our toolkit” to send messages to Gaddafi’s forces telling them to stop fighting or face attack. “They need to cease fighting and either stay in place or abandon their equipment,” he said. To be on the safe side, he suggested, “maybe they ought not use their tank or their armored personnel carrier as a mode of transportation to get home.”

In Tripoli, officials took journalists to a hospital to see the charred and mangled bodies of 18 men they said were victims of Western airstrikes, Reuters news agency reported. A Libyan official said that some of the dead were soldiers killed in an airstrike Wednesday and that some were civilians, but the reporters were not shown any bodies of women or children, and it was not possible to determine whether any civilians were among the dead. The bodies were also shown on Libyan state television.

William Hague faced mild embarrassment when he told MPs Libyan military aircraft were unable to take to the air as news emerged that French fighter jets had shot down an aircraft.

William Hague faced mild embarrassment when he told MPs Libyan military aircraft were unable to take to the air as news emerged that French fighter jets had shot down an aircraft.

In a statement to MPs on the military campaign against Muammar Gaddafi's regime, the foreign secretary said coalition forces had successfully established a no-fly zone after "comprehensively" degrading Libya's air defence system.

Hague added: "There are no Libyan military aircraft flying."

But shortly after he spoke to MPs, ABC News reported that a French fighter jet had shot down a single-engine Libyan Galeb plane.

The Associated Press later quoted a US official as confirming that a French jet had attacked and destroyed a Libyan plane.

The news emerged after Hague had updated MPs on the progress of the military campaign against Gaddafi's regime. The foreign secretary said the allied action was saving lives and protecting hundreds of thousands of civilians in Benghazi and Mistrata.

Hague told the Commons: "UK forces have undertaken a total of 59 aerial missions over Libya in addition to air and missile strikes.

NATO clinched agreement on Thursday to take over command of all allied military operations in Libya from the United States

NATO clinched agreement on Thursday to take over command of all allied military operations in Libya from the United States after days of sometimes heated wrangling with Muslim member Turkey.

"Compromise has been reached in principle in a very short time," Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu told reporters in Ankara. "The operation will be handed over to NATO completely."

The deal came after a four-way telephone conference between U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and the foreign ministers of Turkey, France and Britain.

Earlier, Turkish leaders had cast new suspicions on the motives behind Western intervention in Libya, suggesting action was driven by oil and mineral wealth rather than a desire to protect civilians from Muammar Gaddafi's forces.

Libya TV airs images of Tripoli bombing aftermath, said-to-be civilian victims

U.S. military does not know when it will hand off control of the intervention in Libya to an international coalition, or whether a transfer of power will allow it to reduce its role in the war

U.S. military does not know when it will hand off control of the intervention in Libya to an international coalition, or whether a transfer of power will allow it to reduce its role in the war, according to the Navy’s top military officer.

Adm. Gary Roughead, the Chief of Naval Operations, said that he has received no guidance on the path ahead for command and control of the no-fly zone, no-drive zone, no-sail zone, arms embargo enforcement, and any other missions currently being managed by U.S. Africom Commander Gen. Carter Ham, who is in Germany. NATO has been battling internally over whether to take command, while the French government’s latest proposal is to set up a “political steering committee” made of Western and Arab foreign ministers.

Diplomatic sources told The Cable that the United States has communicated to its European partners that it wants to hand off command of the Libya war by the end of this week. But the White House hasn’t said whether it supports the French plan. Meanwhile, the Navy, which is conducting the bulk of the operations, has no idea what the transfer of control will look like, or when it might take place.

Protest Fears Force UK Staff Out Of Yemen

The UK Foreign Office said the temporary measure was imposed because Friday's expected demonstrations in the capital Sanaa may become violent.
A statement said a small core staff would remain in place.
It came as Yemen's president Ali Abdullah Saleh offered to step down by the end of the year in a bid to appease opposition groups.
His overtures did little to quell protesters' efforts to force him out after 32 years in power.
Concerns are growing among Western governments that the Arab state could descend into chaos.
I think things are obviously, or evidently, very unsettled in Yemen. I think it's too soon to call an outcome. Saleh has been an important ally in the counter-terrorism arena.
US defence secretary Robert Gates
Yemen is perceived as having become a haven for al Qaeda - with its longstanding president seen as a key ally against the terrorist group.

Fighting has been continuing in Libya for key cities after a fifth consecutive night of air strikes.

Overnight, several loud explosions were heard in Tripoli

In Misrata, a rebel-held city east of the capital, government tanks have been shelling the area near the hospital.

There have also been reports of fierce fighting between rebels and pro-Gaddafi forces in strategic Ajdabiya. Residents fleeing the town described shelling, gunfire and houses on fire.

In Misrata, Libya's third-largest city, witnesses had said on Wednesday that tanks had pulled back from their positions under air assault from international forces.

But later residents said the tanks had rolled back into the city and resumed shelling.

Misrata has been besieged for several weeks, with reports that more than a dozen people were killed in the latest clashes.

An explosion was also reported at a military base in the Tajura region east of Tripoli.

Residents in Tripoli said plumes of black smoke could be seen coming from an area near a military base, although this has not been independently confirmed.