History > 2011 > USA > International (X)

Women attend a demonstration

to demand the ouster of Yemen's president

in the southern city of Taiz, April 12, 2011.

Yemen opposition parties asked Gulf Arab mediators

to spell out whether Saleh would hand over power early

under their proposal to end the country's two-month-old crisis.

Khaled Abdullah/Reuters

Boston Globe > Big Picture > Yemen: Months of unrest and turmoil

April 15, 2011

http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2011/04/yemen_unrest_and_turmoil.html

Cairo’s Roundabout Revolution

April 13, 2011
The New York Times
By NEZAR ALSAYYAD

Berkeley, Calif.

IT has become fashionable to refer to the 18-day Egyptian uprising as the “Facebook revolution,” much to the dismay of the protesters who riveted the world with their bravery in Cairo’s Tahrir Square. But revolutions do not happen in cyberspace, even if they start there. What happened in Tahrir Square during the revolution and the protests happening there now show that even in the 21st century, public space remains the most important arena for dissent and social change.

Tahrir Square’s rise to prominence is a testament to how place and history can come together unexpectedly. Although its Arabic name means “liberation,” and although it is one of the oldest squares in modern Cairo, Tahrir never carried much meaning for Cairenes until recently.

In fact, the idea of the public square as we know it today did not exist in Egypt or in the cities of the Middle East until colonial times; open spaces were historically situated in front of the main mosque, to accommodate overflow crowds and religious festivals.

The demonstrations that began in Tahrir Square in January with demands for the overthrow of President Hosni Mubarak continue today with protests of the Egyptian military’s management of the revolution’s aftermath. Indeed, the interim Egyptian cabinet recently issued a decree criminalizing demonstrations, on the ground that they disrupt the economy, and two protesters in the square were killed last weekend by security forces.

In many ways, it seems an accident of history that Tahrir Square has become a locus of protest and repression. But a closer look reveals that the square’s geography and structures, including the burned buildings and pockmarked pavements now engraved in the minds of people all over the globe, embody the shifting political currents of modern Egypt as it encountered colonialism, modernism, Pan-Arabism, socialism and neoliberalism.

To the south of the square stands the Mugamma, a bulky, Soviet-style structure that has long been a symbol of Egypt’s monumental bureaucracy. (No Egyptian was able to avoid a trip to that building, in which government offices issued everything from birth certificates to passports.) Overlooking Tahrir Square on the west are the headquarters of the Arab League, with its Islamic architectural motifs, and the former Hilton, the city’s first modern hotel (and soon to be a Ritz-Carlton). Just north of the hotel lies the salmon-colored Egyptian Museum and, behind it, the headquarters for Mr. Mubarak’s National Democratic Party, with its monotonous Modernist facade left charred by a fire set during this year’s protests.

The city’s various rulers and regimes, from the pharaohs to Mubarak, have woven themselves in Cairo’s urban fabric. When the Fatimid regime established el-Qahira (Cairo is the Anglicized version of that name) in the 10th century, the Nile ran a different course than it does today. The area that later became Tahrir Square was marshland. By the time Napoleon occupied Cairo at the end of the 18th century, the land had dried up enough to allow the French forces to camp there. But it was not for several decades more, until the time of Muhammad Ali, the founder of modern Egypt, that engineers were able to stabilize the Nile’s banks enough to allow the square to be born as a green field.

The 500-acre open space was home to cultivated fields, gardens and several royal palaces during Khedive Ismail’s reign, from 1863 to 1879. Ismail, the grandson of Muhammad Ali, came to be known as the founder of modern Cairo.

Having lived in Paris as it rebuilt itself into a city of broad boulevards and roundabouts, Ismail embarked on a similar project of modernizing Cairo during the 1860s. Both a district and the square that eventually became Tahrir were initially named Ismailia in his honor.

Ismail’s modernization projects plunged the country into great debt, and he was ousted by foreign forces in 1879. The British occupation of Egypt soon ensued, lasting into the mid-20th century. The British stationed their troops west of the square in Ismailia, in what Egyptians often called the English Barracks.

In the early 20th century, the Ismailia district became downtown Cairo and expanded toward the square, which was redesigned with a roundabout at the southern end to improve the flow of cars. A few decades later, during the reign of King Farouk, the square acquired a large empty pedestal that Cairenes who lived through those years still remember with great nostalgia. Farouk had commissioned a statue of his grandfather, Khedive Ismail, but by the time it arrived years later, reverence for the monarchy had given way to the Egyptian Republic and nascent Pan-Arabism — and the statue never took its place on that pedestal. The Arab League headquarters, a symbol of this new era and ideology, was constructed at the western side of the square and became a monument to the dream of Arab unity.

The square witnessed its first demonstrations on Feb. 11, 1946, when opposition to the British presence in Egypt led to protests and skirmishes with the police, resulting in the death of two dozen Egyptians. Dissatisfaction with King Farouk’s government brought protests that ignited the Great Fire of Cairo on Jan. 25, 1952. A few buildings in the square were casualties of the blaze. (On the same day, 59 years later, Egyptians descended upon Tahrir Square in unprecedented numbers to protest their government.)

The 1952 fire was a precursor to an army coup, led by Gamal Abdel Nasser, which transformed Egypt from a sleepy kingdom into a revolutionary anti-imperialist republic. In the following decade, Nasser’s government issued a decree changing the name of the square from Ismailia to Tahrir to commemorate the departure of the British from Egypt.

In 1959, the Nile Hilton opened on the site of the former English Barracks, inaugurating the era of mass tourism in Egypt. Next to it was a building that became the headquarters of Nasser’s Arab Socialist Union, the party that governed Egypt as a police state for much of his rule. This was the same building that Mr. Mubarak’s National Democratic Party later inherited as its headquarters.

After Nasser’s death in 1970, President Anwar el-Sadat renamed Tahrir for his predecessor and rumor had it that a statue of Nasser would sit atop the pedestal once intended for Khedive Ismail — but the name never stuck and the statue never came.

The unoccupied pedestal remained in the square until the mid-1970s, when construction of a station for the Cairo metro system necessitated its removal. Its pieces now lie forgotten in a storage yard on the outskirts of Cairo.

Today, as the dust settles over the few remaining tents and the scarred sidewalks of Tahrir Square, a quiet revolution is taking place in all sectors of Egyptian urban life — one that has largely gone unnoticed. Students in schools and universities are demanding a say in their curriculum, government employees are refusing to work unless given raises, many of the Islamist activists and fundamentalists who have been jailed for decades have been released and now make regular television appearances, and the despised police have been replaced by soldiers serving as traffic cops. The neighborhood watch groups and committees that sprung up during the revolution to coordinate security and deliver services have also disappeared now that most people have gone back to work.

For a city of more than 11 million people, this new order could be a recipe for instability or it could usher in a new era of democratic participation. When I visited Tahrir Square a few weeks ago, the situation was volatile and the euphoria of the revolution had subsided. The mood of the city remains tense, and many Cairenes are realizing that the military, which is heavily invested in the Egyptian economy and unwilling to tolerate dissent or criticism of its behavior, is not on their side. The slogan chanted during the revolution — “The people and the army are one hand!” — now rings hollow.

The Egyptian people have long accepted July 23, 1952, as their day of revolution, but they never recognized Tahrir Square as the symbol of their liberation. That changed on Jan. 25. But the new government’s crackdown on protests may yet deny Tahrir Square the name that it has finally earned. We can only hope that the Egyptians who massed in the square to demand their rights will be able to reclaim that name before Tahrir simply becomes yet another Martyrs’ Square.


Nezar AlSayyad, a professor of architecture, planning and urban history and the chairman of the Center for Middle Eastern Studies at the University of California, Berkeley, is the author of “Cairo: Histories of a City.”

    Cairo’s Roundabout Revolution, R, 13.4.2011, http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/14/opinion/14alsayyad.html

Western, Arab nations say Libya's Gaddafi must go

TRIPOLI | Wed Apr 13, 2011
9:44pm EDT
By Maria Golovnina

TRIPOLI (Reuters) - Diplomats will make a new effort to forge an end to the Libyan civil war Thursday, after agreeing to call for Muammar Gaddafi to leave power but failing to forge a unified strategy to force him out.

U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, Arab League head Amr Moussa and officials from the African Union and Organization of the Islamic Conference will discuss Libya at Arab League headquarters in Cairo.

Foreign ministers from a group of Western powers and Middle Eastern states met Wednesday in Qatar and jointly called for the first time for an end to Gaddafi's 41-year rule.

Britain and France are leading air strikes against Gaddafi's forces, but have grown frustrated with the lack of support from NATO allies. After heading up the campaign in its early days, Washington is taking a back seat, and other NATO states are playing smaller roles.

"Gaddafi and his regime has lost all legitimacy and he must leave power allowing the Libyan people to determine their future," the "contact group" of Western and Middle Eastern states meeting in Qatar said in a final statement Wednesday.

It also said the rebels' national council, "in contrast with the current regime ... is a legitimate interlocutor, representing the aspirations of the Libyan people."

The wording was much tougher than at a conference two weeks ago and gave stronger backing to insurgents fighting to end Gaddafi's 41-year rule, but it papered over divisions among the allies on what action to take.

British Foreign Secretary William Hague called for more alliance members to join attacks on ground targets and his French counterpart, Alain Juppe, called for heavier military pressure on Gaddafi's troops to convince him to leave power.

But Belgian Foreign Minister Steven Vanackere said the March 17 U.N. resolution authorizing NATO action in Libya -- to protect civilians from Gaddafi's government forces -- ruled out arming civilians and he saw no need to boost air power there.

The rebels said they were in talks with "friendly" countries to obtain arms: "I don't think there will be a problem getting weapons," national council spokesman Abdel Hafiz Ghoga told reporters in the rebel stronghold of Benghazi.

A French presidential source said Paris had no plans to arm the rebels, although it would not oppose other countries if they decided to do so.

Britain said Wednesday it would supply 1,000 sets of body amour from surplus British defense supplies to Libyan rebels, on top of the 100 satellite phones already sent.

Rebels have reported heavy fighting in Misrata, their last major stronghold in the western part of the country, and clashes with Gaddafi troops east of Brega, a government-held port in the largely rebel-held east.

A resident and rebel sympathizer in Misrata named Ghassan said Wednesday that rebels had pushed back government forces on its central Tripoli Street.

"After they withdrew they fired artillery at the Al-Bira neighborhood, which lies in the center near Tripoli Street," he said. "We haven't been able to reach the hospital to check whether there were any people killed or injured."

Another rebel spokesman called Abdelrahman told Reuters that rebel fighters had attacked pro-Gaddafi forces on a hill west of Zintan, the rebels' other redoubt in the west, Wednesday.

"There were no NATO air strikes today. The last air strike in the Zintan area was Friday," he said. "The main problem in Zintan is from fuel shortages. There are also water shortages and electricity is not always available."

(Additional reporting by Isabelle Coles in Cairo and Adrian Croft in Doha; Writing by Peter Graff; Editing by Michael Roddy)

    Western, Arab nations say Libya's Gaddafi must go, R, 13.4.2011,
    http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/04/14/us-libya-idUSTRE7270JP20110414

Tunisia has legal cases against Ben Ali: minister

TUNIS | Wed Apr 13, 2011
8:34pm EDT
Reuters

TUNIS (Reuters) - Tunisian authorities have prepared 18 legal cases against former president Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali, including "voluntary manslaughter" and "drug trafficking," the state TAP news agency said on Wednesday. The revelation was made by Justice Minister Lazhar Karoui Chebbi in an interview aired on state television, TAP said.

Other charges include "conspiring against the state" and "drug use."

The news agency quoted Chebbi as saying a total of 44 legal cases had been prepared by his ministry against Ben Ali, his family and his inner circle.

Ben Ali fled to Saudi Arabia after he was toppled by mass protests on January 14 after 23 years in power. Several members of his family and security and some of his closest allies were detained shortly after he was forced out.

The caretaker authorities, trying to assert their authority and gain legitimacy in the eyes of protesters who forced the transition, are attacking the vestiges of his long rule.

Chebbi said the Justice Ministry was exploring legal ways to extradite Ben Ali from Saudi Arabia to face trial. He gave no further details.

Tunisia announced on January 26 that it had asked Interpol to help arrest Ben Ali, his wife Leila Trabelsi and other members of the family who fled the country during the uprising.

The interim authorities appointed a new government on March 7 and disbanded the state security apparatus, notorious for human rights abuses under Ben Ali.

(Reporting by Joseph Nasr; Editing by Michael Roddy)

    Tunisia has legal cases against Ben Ali: minister, R, 13.4.2011,
    http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/04/14/us-tunisia-benali-idUSTRE73D03X20110414

Syrian students mount protests in Aleppo, capital

AMMAN | Wed Apr 13, 2011
8:17pm EDT
Reuters
By Khaled Yacoub Oweis

AMMAN (Reuters) - Syrian forces clamped down at universities after students marched for the first time in the second biggest city Aleppo during unprecedented protests against Baathist rule, activists said on Thursday.

Around 150 students marched on Wednesday in a protest demanding political freedoms on the campus of Aleppo University, rights defenders who were in contact with them said.

Baath Party irregulars quickly dispersed the students who chanted "We sacrifice our blood and our soul for you, Deraa."

The slogan was to show solidarity with the southern city of Deraa where demonstrations against the authoritarian rule of President Bashar al-Assad and his party started three and a half weeks ago.

They have since spread to the suburbs of Damascus, the northeast, the Mediterranean coast and areas in between.

"The thugs quickly organized a pro-Assad demonstration, and sure enough, Syrian television came to film it," one of the activists said, adding that several protesters were beaten and three students were arrested.

"The regime is aware that it cannot let campuses breath. They have seen what an emboldened student movement can do elsewhere," the activist added.

With heavy secret police presence, preachers on the state payroll giving pro-Assad sermons and the Sunni merchant class staying on the sidelines, major protests have not spread to Damascus proper or to Aleppo.

This has denied protesters the critical mass seen in the uprisings which swept Tunisia and Egypt and toppled governments there.

In the capital, several hundred students marched in a pro-democracy protest at Damascus University for a second day.

Activists said secret police assembled at a restaurant in front of the main gate and mounted periodic forays into the campus to arrest people.

Earlier on Wednesday, hundreds of women from a Syrian town that has witnessed mass arrests of its male residents marched along Syria's main coastal highway to demand their release.

Security forces, including secret police, stormed Baida on Tuesday, going into houses and arresting men up to the age of 60, lawyers said. The arrests came after townsfolk joined protests challenging the Baath Party, which has ruled Syria with an iron fist since 1963.

Women from Baida marched on the main highway leading to Turkey chanting slogans demanding the release of some 350 men, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

Assad, who has positioned Syria as self-declared champion of "resistance" to Israel while seeking peace with the Jewish state and accepting offers for rehabilitation in the West, has responded to the protests with a blend of deadly force and vague promises of reform.

The Damascus Declaration, Syria's main rights group, has said the death toll from the protests had reached 200.

(Editing by Michael Roddy)

    Syrian students mount protests in Aleppo, capital, R, 13.4.2011,
    http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/04/14/us-syria-idUSTRE72N2MC20110414

U.S. continues to conduct air strikes in Libya

WASHINGTON | Wed Apr 13, 2011
6:53pm EDT
Reuters
By Phil Stewart and Missy Ryan

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. fighter jets are still attacking Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi's air defenses even after NATO took over full command of Libya operations earlier this month, the Pentagon said on Wednesday.

The disclosure came as Libyan rebels struggle to gain ground from Gaddafi's forces and NATO allies squabble publicly over stepping up air strikes to help topple him.

The Pentagon said previously it would not conduct strike sorties after April 4 without a specific request from the Brussels-based NATO alliance. But it clarified on Wednesday that this did not apply to attacks on Gaddafi's air defenses, which have continued.

Pentagon officials said the attacks on Libyan air defenses did not mean the United States had reconsidered its decision to take a limited support role in the Libya conflict.

"It is completely consistent with how we have described our support role ever since the transition to NATO lead," Pentagon press secretary Geoff Morrell told reporters.

But the strikes raise new questions about the future air campaign in Libya as Gaddafi hangs on and Britain and France call for more allied participation in the air strikes against Gaddafi's heavy weapons and on arming the rebels.

The U.S. military says the attacks -- known as Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses, or SEADs -- are defensive by nature and therefore not considered "strikes."

Eleven U.S. aircraft have flown 97 sorties in Libya since April 4 and fired on air defense targets three times, the Pentagon said. The aircraft involved are six F-16 fighter jets and five EA-18 Growler electronic warfare planes.

All the aircraft had been placed under NATO command.

'DEFENSIVE MISSIONS'

"These are defensive missions that are simply to protect the aircraft flying the no-fly zone," a U.S. military official said on condition of anonymity.

The operations underscore concern about Gaddafi's mobile air defenses after an initial U.S.-led air campaign degraded his fixed anti-aircraft positions.

Grappling with conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Obama administration has been seeking to limit the U.S. role in Libya, where poorly organized rebels have so far failed to topple Gaddafi.

The Pentagon formally transferred control of coalition operations to NATO on March 31 but extended its participation in the mission to protect civilians with air strikes until April 4. That campaign included attacks on Gaddafi's ground forces and were deemed to be offensive, proper "strikes."

U.S. aircraft remain on alert and may participate in those campaigns as well if there is a specific request from NATO.

American officials have stressed that after its initial leadership of the air campaign in Libya, the United States has moved to a support role focused on aerial surveillance, jamming of Libyan communications, and refueling.

Colonel Dave Lapan, a Pentagon spokesman, said the United States remained in a support role.

"Having a few aircraft providing this strike capability on a (limited) basis doesn't change that," Lapan said.

The comments came as a group of Western powers and Middle Eastern states meeting on Libya's future called for the first time for Gaddafi to step aside. Divisions have emerged over how to achieve that political goal in Libya.

(Editing by John O'Callaghan and Peter Cooney)

    U.S. continues to conduct air strikes in Libya, R, 13.4.2011,
    http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/04/13/us-libya-usa-strikes-idUSTRE73C4XB20110413

Women march in Syria to demand jailed men be freed

AMMAN | Wed Apr 13, 2011
1:45pm EDT
By Khaled Yacoub Oweis

AMMAN (Reuters) - Hundreds of women from a Syrian town that has witnessed mass arrests of its men marched along Syria's main coastal highway on Wednesday to demand their release, human rights activists said.

Security forces, including secret police, stormed Baida on Tuesday, going into houses and arresting men aged up to 60, the activists said, after townsfolk joined unprecedented protests challenging the 11-year rule of President Bashar al-Assad.

The women from Baida were marching on the main highway leading to Turkey chanting slogans to demand the release of some 350 men, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

"The women of Baida are on the highway. They want their men back," the organization said, adding that women also marched in support in the nearby Mediterranean city of Banias.

In Syria's northern city Aleppo, around 150 students marched in a protest demanding political freedoms on the campus of the main university, human rights defenders in contact with students said.

Baath Party irregulars quickly dispersed the students who chanted "We sacrifice our blood and our soul for you Deraa," in solidarity with the southern city where demonstrations against the Baath Party's iron rule started three-and a-half weeks ago.

With heavy secret police presence, preachers on the state payroll giving pro-Assad sermons and the Sunni merchant class staying on the sidelines, major protests have not spread to Damascus proper or to Aleppo, denying protesters the critical mass seen in the uprisings which swept Tunisia and Egypt.

"FORCED CHANTS"

A human rights lawyer earlier said security forces had arrested 200 residents in Baida, killing two people.

"They brought in a television crew and forced the men they arrested to shout 'We sacrifice our blood and our soul for you, Bashar' while filming them," the lawyer, who was in contact with residents of the town, told Reuters.

"Syria is the Arab police state par excellence. But the regime still watches international reaction, and as soon as it senses that it has weakened, it turns more bloody," said the lawyer, who did not want to be further identified.

Assad, who tried to position Syria as self-declared champion of "resistance" to Israel while seeking peace with the Jewish state and accepting offers for rehabilitation in the West, has responded to the protests with a blend of force and vague promises of reform.

A new cabinet will be announced on Thursday, a semi-official newspaper said, to replace the government which resigned last month.

Opposition leaders said any genuine move to lift severe restrictions on freedoms would require an effective executive branch and independent judiciary to replace a powerless government structure dominated by the Baath Party.

The Damascus Declaration, Syria's main rights group, said the death toll from the pro-democracy protests had reached 200.

Authorities have described the protests as part of a foreign conspiracy to sow sectarian strife, blaming unspecified armed groups and "infiltrators" for the violence, and denying a report by Human Rights Watch that security forces have prevented ambulances and medical supplies from reaching besieged areas.

"FANTASY SCENARIOS"

Montaha al-Atrash, board member of the Syrian human rights group Sawasieh, said the authorities "dream up more fantasy armed gang scenarios as soon as another region rises up to demand freedom and democracy."

"Shame on them. They are doing a disservice to their own president. Why do infiltrators and armed groups disappear when the authorities organize a 'popular' pro-Assad demonstrations?" Atrash said.

"As soon as an area like Baida stands up, they attack it and put out the usual film reel of members of the security forces who died defending stability and order," Atrash said.

Activists said Baida was targeted because its residents participated in a demonstration in Banias last week in which protesters shouted: "The people want the overthrow of the regime" -- the rallying cry of the Tunisian and Egyptian revolutions where the leaders were toppled.

One activist said some residents of Baida had weapons and it appeared that an armed confrontation had erupted.

But Sheikh Anas Airout, an imam in nearby Banias, said Baida residents were largely unarmed and that they were paying the price for their non-violent quest for freedom.

Irregular Assad loyalists, known as "al-shabbiha," killed four people in Banias on Sunday, a human rights defender in the city said, raising tensions in the mostly Sunni Muslim country ruled by minority Alawites, an offshoot sect of Shi'ite Islam.

The official state news agency said churches in Syria would oversee an austere Easter to honor the "martyrs" and "in an expression of national unity."

    Women march in Syria to demand jailed men be freed, R, 13.4.2011,
    http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/04/13/us-syria-idUSTRE72N2MC20110413

Syrian TV airs confessions of men for stirring unrest

BEIRUT | Wed Apr 13, 2011
9:46am EDT
Reuters

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syrian TV aired on Wednesday what it described as the confessions of three men who said they were paid money and given weapons by an anti-Syrian Lebanese lawmaker to carry out attacks on security services in Syria.

The legislator denied the allegations.

Syrian authorities have blamed "armed groups" and "infiltrators" for violence during nearly a month of protests calling for greater freedoms and an end to President Bashar al-Assad's 11-year rule.

Assad, who has confronted the demonstrations with a mixture of force and gestures toward reforms, has said the unrest is being sparked by foreign elements to sow sectarian strife in the mostly Sunni Muslim country that is ruled by minority Alawites.

"We received orders to incite people into protesting, especially in front of the Umayyad mosque (in Damascus)," the man identified as Anas Kanj, said on state-controlled television.

"Then we received orders to arm ourselves in order to carry out operations to support our brothers in Deraa and all of Syria's provinces like Latakia and Banias, and this was through Ahmad Oudeh who was the messenger between myself and MP Jamal al-Jarrah in Lebanon," Kanj said.

No further details were given in the broadcast about Oudeh's identity. Jarrah, who denied the allegations on Lebanese television, belongs to the anti-Syrian Lebanese Future movement headed by caretaker Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri.

POLICE STATION

Kanj said Oudeh told him he managed to smuggle weapons through the border by bribing border officials. He added that his cell was ordered to launch an attack on a police station in the Damascus suburb of as-Sbaineh.

Another man identified as Mohamed al-Qalam said that Oudeh promised to provide sophisticated telephones and a car that resembled security vehicles.

"We appointed a person to video the dead and wounded and to send it directly on the revolution website," Qalam said, apparently referring to the Facebook "Syria Revolution" page.

Human Rights Watch on Tuesday published testimony of two protesters who said some demonstrators had seized weapons at an abandoned army checkpoint in the southern city of Deraa and opened fire, killing at least a dozen of them and setting two cars belonging to the military and security services on fire.

HRW also said Syrian security services had barred wounded protesters reaching hospitals and stopped medical teams from reaching them, a charge a Syrian Interior Ministry official said was "devoid of any truth."

The official, quoted on state news agency SANA, said "armed groups" had prevented ambulances carrying wounded policemen from reaching nearby hospitals.

Syria's main human rights movement has put the death toll from the protests at 200.

Already severe bans on the press in Syria have intensified since the protests began, and non state-controlled media have been banned from areas where unrest has broken out.

(Editing by Jeffrey Heller)

    Syrian TV airs confessions of men for stirring unrest, R, 13.4.2011,
    http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/04/13/us-syria-confessions-idUSTRE73C3IL20110413

Egypt's Mubarak detained, army wins protest respite

CAIRO | Wed Apr 13, 2011
8:40am EDT
Reuters
By Marwa Awad and Sarah Mikhail

CAIRO (Reuters) - Hosni Mubarak was ordered detained for 15 days on Wednesday, winning the ruling army generals a respite from protests by quashing suspicions that they were shielding their former commander from investigation.

Mubarak, driven from presidential office on February 11 by mass demonstrations against his 30-year rule, was admitted to hospital on Tuesday suffering what state media called a "heart crisis." Reports conflicted on the seriousness of his illness.

The public prosecutor had summoned and questioned Mubarak over the killing of protesters, embezzling of public funds and abuse of power. More than 380 protesters were killed in 18-days of demonstrations that led to Mubarak's downfall.

"Former President Hosni Mubarak was detained for 15 days for investigation," state television reported. It said his two sons, Alaa and Gamal, have also been questioned as part of the probe and ordered detained.

In his first public comment since stepping down, broadcast on Al Arabiya on Sunday, Mubarak denied wrongdoing.

An army helicopter landed near Mubarak's hospital in Sharm el-Sheikh on Wednesday to take the former president to Cairo, Al Jazeera reported. One security source told Reuters that Mubarak could be moved to Cairo or the outskirts to assist the probe.

There was no official confirmation. Another security source earlier said Mubarak was expected to stay in Sharm el-Sheikh.

The official news agency also said it was not yet determined where Mubarak would be taken. It reported heavy security around the hospital in the Red Sea resort.

The source said Mubarak's sons were taken to a prison on the outskirts of Cairo, joining a list of ex-ministers and officials under investigation and held in the same jail.

Gamal, 47, Mubarak's younger son, held a top post in the ruling party. Many Egyptians believed he was being groomed for top office, although both father and son denied any such plan.

"This is a serious step forward in holding the president accountable and ends any suspicion that the state and the military were in cahoots with Mubarak," said Hassan Nafaa, a political scientist and activist for reform.

"WE WANT OUR MONEY"

Hundreds of thousands of Egyptians protested on Friday in Cairo's Tahrir Square over delays in trying Mubarak and criticized Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, the army council head who was Mubarak's defense minister for 20 years.

"The military council moved fast because of the pressure protesters have built up in Tahrir. In the past weeks there has been real criticism of Tantawi and the military council that they are slow and looking after Mubarak as their commander," said Shadi Ghazali Harb, from a pro-democracy youth movement.

He said plans for another protest on Friday were on hold to see how swiftly the army and prosecutor moved toward a trial.

Political analyst Fahmy Hueidi said: "The army succumbed to people pressure to bring Mubarak and family to justice."

On Tuesday, soldiers broke up a five-day sit-in at Tahrir Square, the epicenter of Egypt's uprising in January.

Protesters had vowed to keep up the pressure, although many ordinary Egyptians are tired of the protests that have hammered the economy and disrupted their lives.

There were conflicting reports about Mubarak's condition. A state television report said he was in intensive care after a "heart crisis" during questioning. Al Arabiya said he was fit enough to be questioned in hospital in Sharm el-Sheikh.

The timing of his health setback prompted skepticism among some protesters about the motives of the army, which has pushed for swift elections to hand over power. The army praised and thanked Mubarak when he left office, but protesters criticized him for ruling by emergency law and widening a rich-poor divide.

"We want our money. We want the thief to be tried," chanted dozens of people near the hospital on Tuesday in the resort where Mubarak spent more and more time before leaving office.

Diplomats say there is no sign the military wants to hold on in government but say it may loom in the background as the nation's self-appointed guardian.

Mubarak has suffered from health problems in recent years and went to Germany for gall bladder surgery in March 2010. There were frequent rumors about his health as he aged, particularly after his last bout of surgery.

Mubarak vowed to die in Egypt when he addressed the country's 80 million people shortly before he stepped down.

After Friday's demonstration, soldiers and police used tasers and batons to try to drive out the protesters after nightfall. Medical sources said 13 men were wounded by gunfire and two died. The army denied using live ammunition.

Angry protesters demanded the army hand power to civilians, but soldiers moved in on Tuesday to end the sit-in. Soldiers with rifles rounded up several young men and pushed them into vans. They gathered up barbed wire used by demonstrators to block the square and dismantled makeshift barriers.

By early evening traffic was flowing through Tahrir, a major junction of roads that was the focus of the protests.

(Additional reporting by Tom Pfeiffer, Marwa Awad, Dina Zayed, and Asmaa Waguih; Writing by Edmund Blair; Editing by Samia Nakhoul)

    Egypt's Mubarak detained, army wins protest respite, R, 13.4.2011,
    http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/04/13/us-egypt-idUSTRE73C16020110413

Factbox: Egypt's Hosni Mubarak

Wed Apr 13, 2011
4:36am EDT
Reuters

(Reuters) - Hosni Mubarak was ordered detained for 15 days for investigation Wednesday, state television said, a move that may help quell protests and quash suspicions that the ruling army generals had been protecting their former commander.

Here are some key facts about him:

* Mubarak stepped down on February 11 after millions of Egyptians took to the streets to demand he end his 30-year rule. Since then he has been in internal exile in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, where he spent more and more time during his last years in power.

* The public prosecutor had summoned Mubarak Sunday as part of investigations into the killing of protesters and the embezzlement of public funds. In his first public comments since stepping down, broadcast by Al Arabiya Sunday, Mubarak denied wrongdoing.

* The former president suffered from health problems in recent years and went to Germany for gall bladder surgery in March 2010.

* Mubarak was thrust into office when Islamists assassinated his predecessor Anwar Sadat at a military parade in 1981. The burly former air force commander proved a far more durable leader than anyone imagined at the time.

* In power, Mubarak promoted Middle East peace and, from 2004, backed economic liberalization measures that delivered sturdy growth but which many ordinary Egyptians blamed for widening the gap between rich and power.

* He always kept a tight lid on political opposition and resisted significant political change, even under pressure from the United States, which has poured billions of dollars of military and other aid into Egypt since it became the first Arab state to make peace with Israel, signing a treaty in 1979.

* Mubarak won his first and only multi-candidate presidential election in 2005, but the outcome was never in doubt and his main rival came a distant second. Rights groups and observers said the election was marred by irregularities, as were all elections during his years in powers.

(Writing by Edmund Blair, Editing by Jeffrey Heller)

    Factbox: Egypt's Hosni Mubarak, R, 13.4.2011,
    http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/04/13/us-mubarak-facts-idUSTRE73C1A220110413

Special Report: Inside the Egyptian revolution

CAIRO | Wed Apr 13, 2011
4:32am EDT
By Marwa Awad and Hugo Dixon

CAIRO (Reuters) - In early 2005, Cairo-based computer engineer Saad Bahaar was trawling the internet when he came across a trio of Egyptian expatriates who advocated the use of non-violent techniques to overthrow strongman Hosni Mubarak. Bahaar, then 32 and interested in politics and how Egypt might change, was intrigued by the idea. He contacted the group, lighting one of the fuses that would end in freedom in Tahrir Square six years later.

The three men he approached -- Hisham Morsy, a physician, Wael Adel, a civil engineer by training, and Adel's cousin Ahmed, a chemist -- had all left Egypt for jobs in London.

Inspired by the way Serbian group Otpor had brought down Slobodan Milosevic through non-violent protests in 2000, the trio studied previous struggles. One of their favorite thinkers was Gene Sharp, a Boston-based academic who was heavily influenced by Mahatma Gandhi. The group had set up a webpage in 2004 to propagate civil disobedience ideas in Arabic.

At first, the three young Egyptians' activities were purely theoretical. But in November 2005, Wael Adel came to Cairo to give a three-day training session on civil disobedience. In the audience were about 30 members of Kefaya, an anti-Mubarak protest group whose name means "enough" in Arabic. Kefaya had gained prominence during the September 2005 presidential elections which Mubarak won by a landslide. During these protests, they had been attacked by thugs and some women members had been stripped naked. Bahaar joined Adel on the course and his career as an underground trainer in non-violent activism was born.

Adel taught activists how to function within a decentralized network. Doing so would make it harder for the security services to snuff them out by arresting leaders. They were also instructed on how to maintain a disciplined non-violent approach in the face of police brutality, and how to win over bystanders.

"The third party, the bystander sitting on the fence, will join when he realizes that security forces' use of violence is unwarranted," Bahaar said in one of a series of interviews with Reuters. "Security will harass you to provoke an angry violent response to justify a repressive crackdown in the name of law and order. But you must avoid this trap."

The process took time. As Wael Adel put it during an interview in a rundown Cairo cafe in March, there was a process of "trial and error" before Egypt's non-violent warriors were strong enough to begin to take on a dictator.

Kefaya, for example, did run some more campaigns - including one for judicial independence in 2006. But it failed to stir mass protests or expand beyond the middle class elite. There was also internal disagreement between its younger activists and older politicians. By 2007, it had lost its momentum and many had quit.

 

THE ACADEMY OF CHANGE

In the meantime, the trio of thinkers had morphed into an organization called the Academy of Change -- based in London and ultimately moving to Qatar. The Academy became a window for Egypt's activists into civil disobedience movements outside the Arab world. To disseminate the new methods of resistance, it wrote books about nonviolent activism with a focus on the Arab world: "Civil Disobedience," "Nonviolent War the 3rd Choice" and "AOC MindQuake" that were published in 2007.

A year later the Academy published "Shields to Protect Against Fear", a manual on techniques to protect one's body against attacks by security services during a protest. "The idea of non-violent protest is not martyrdom," Adel said. "We knew to get ordinary Egyptians, and Arabs, to face their governments and security, they have to have tools to protect themselves. This boosts the morale and enthusiasm to go to the street."

The ideas espoused by the Academy spread through Egypt. The calls for change reached industrial areas where large groups of workers have long suffered low wages and bad work conditions. Mounting economic hardship mobilized workers in the Nile Delta city of Mahalla El Kobra, home to the country's biggest textile factory. The workers had been in contact with Kefaya activists and other independent labor activists. The groundwork for a sustained mass mobilization was being prepared.

The first real victory sprung from Mahalla in December 2006 when over 20,000 textile workers staged a six-day strike over unpaid bonuses. The protesters -- peaceful but stubborn -- confused police forces accustomed to clashing with disorganized crowds. The government offered concessions to avoid losses from a halt to production.

Then came a setback. In April 2008, workers in Mahalla went out on strike again, over rising prices. An online call by Kefaya's former activists to support the Mahalla strike on fizzled out. Meanwhile, in Mahalla, the protest turned violent. Activists claim plain-clothes police destroyed public and police property and then blamed it on the protesters. Bloody clashes between police and Mahalla citizens lasted three days. Police fired live rounds and teargas, while enraged crowds threw rocks. At least three people were killed, hundreds were wounded and scores arrested.

More discipline was needed. Bahaar began to widen his efforts, traveling to disparate locations farther away from the capital to extend grassroots awareness of peaceful civil disobedience.

Meanwhile, ex-Kefaya activists formed the April 6 Facebook group, using the internet to gather supporters. The group adopted the Otpor clenched-fist logo and some members travelled to Serbia for civil disobedience training.

 

THE FACEBOOK ACTIVISTS

February 2010. Mohamed ElBaradei was back in Cairo. The former head of the International Atomic Energy Association and Nobel peace prize winner had inspired some of Egypt's younger generation that change was possible. Several of them had created a Facebook page backing ElBaradei as the country's next president. But how were they to achieve their goal given Mubarak's repressive regime? They turned to the Academy for help.

The Academy directed them to its online training manuals, which the Facebook activists tried for a while. But despite their internet savvy, many felt that relying entirely on online training was too theoretical. Couldn't the Academy give them practical training?

Enter Bahaar.

Those who had signed up to the Facebook page were divided into groups of 100. Bahaar trained eight of the groups in different parts of the country using, among other tools, PowerPoint presentations that explained how you maximize the power of a protest movement. Every protester had a family, and around the family was a wider community, Bahaar explained. If a protester was arrested or beaten by the police, his or her family might be radicalized. Similarly, if a policeman engaged in brutality, his family and social network might not be supportive. By maintaining disciplined non-violent activity, the regime's power could be progressively weakened.

Why wasn't Bahaar himself arrested? He says this was partly because he was working underground but also, he thinks, because the security services didn't judge his non-violent approach a threat.

Others were not so lucky. Khaled Said, 28, was beaten to death by police in Alexandria, Egypt's second-largest city, in June 2010. His family said he had posted a video showing police officers sharing the spoils of a drugs bust. Said's body was barely recognizable and the act of brutality galvanized further protests -- in particular, the anti-torture Facebook page "We are Khaled Said," created by Google executive Wael Ghonim and underground activist AbdelRahman Mansour.

The page played a pivotal role in spreading non-violent strategies such as "flash mob" silent protests, where groups of people suddenly gather in a public place and do something unusual in unison for a short time before dispersing. Instructions for a nationwide "flash mob" were posted on the page. Participants were told to dress in black and arrive at specific locations in small groups to skirt the ban on large public gatherings. They formed single files along main roads with their backs turned to the street. After a certain hour they marched away.

"The Khaled Said page drew countless willing supporters, many apolitical, because its focus was ending human rights violations and that is an issue that affects all citizens. The page set gradual, easy-to-handle tasks. People felt safe and joined," said Ahmed Saleh, one of the organizers working with the ElBaradei youth campaign and Khaled Said page.

Like Mahalla's 2006 strike, the flash mob was a new type of protest unfamiliar to security forces. Its cadres were organized, civil, and well diffused across Egypt -- and seemingly leaderless. The police didn't know how to react. Participants were trained in non-violent techniques -- both online, by the "Khaled Said" page founders, and on the ground, by Bahaar.

 

FREEDOM SQUARE

In late 2010, the Khaled Said page decided to call for something more ambitious -- a nationwide march to demand the dissolution of parliament, the disbanding of the state security agency, seen by Egyptians as the state's main arm of torture, and the resignation of the interior minister.

The date chosen for mass action was January 25, Egypt's national police day. Mansour -- who was conscripted into the army on January 17 -- posted the call for the nationwide march on December 28. Protesters were urged to march to Cairo's Tahrir Square and other public spaces across the country. The page was not yet calling for Mubarak to go. It was Tunisia's popular uprising, which reached its climax on January 14 with the ousting of President Zein El Abedine Ben Ali, which turned Egypt's protests into an uprising.

The protest drew people of all ages and backgrounds. By 8 p.m. a unified, single chant inspired by Tunisia rang around Tahrir (Arabic for "freedom") Square: "The people demand the fall of the regime." By then, many understood at least a few of the tactics of non-violent disobedience. "You don't need to train every single protester, only a small group of activists well connected with people in their local areas. Ideas spread like a virus," says Bahaar.

Protesters conversed with riot police sent to cordon off the Square. The aim was simple: win over those in uniform. Women gave out food and biscuits to hungry conscripts and officers.

Young people quickly regrouped after being dispersed. Some climbed security personnel carriers to drag down officers firing teargas and water cannons, raising the crowd's resolve to push security back and gain more ground. A pattern of whistling and rhythmic banging of stones on metal fences in Tahrir spontaneously developed when they needed to rally reinforcements to hold the fort. Protesters would also whistle to signal their success in forcing security to pull back.

Encouraged by the mass protests, the Khaled Said page posted a second online call for Friday, January 28, naming the event a "revolution" to overthrow the regime.

April 6 activists and youth from the Muslim Brotherhood formed the crucial front lines of protesters who broke security cordons and later faced attacks from pro-Mubarak loyalists. The youth of the Muslim Brotherhood, Egypt's most organized opposition force whose members are accustomed to working within disciplined ranks, played a critical role in organizing activists into security teams to guard Tahrir Square's multiple entrances. They searched those who came into the square for weapons or fluids that could be turned into Molotov cocktails. They wanted neither infiltrators nor supporters to turn to violence.

To help demonstrators hold true to non-violent resistance, the Academy posted online an eight-minute film covering similar ground to its 2008 manual. This explained how people could protect their chests and backs with makeshift shields made of plastic and thick cardboard, and how to mitigate the effect of teargas by covering their faces with handkerchiefs doused in vinegar, lemons or onions.

For the most part, people were having fun. They also took pride in their ownership of the square. Music was put on. Volunteers and protesters swept it, collected garbage and built outhouses.

"Non-violent action is not just about non-violence, but also about joy and happiness," Adel said. "The festive atmosphere was a key element to drawing the high numbers that Egypt had rarely seen. People felt safe so they came out. They saw in Tahrir what Egypt could possibly be in the future and they wanted to be part of this new Egypt."

The protests were not entirely peaceful. In particular, scuffles broke out after a group of thugs thought to have been organized by Mubarak's henchmen charged through the square on horses and camels on February 2, beating and whipping protestors in what came to be known as the "Battle of the Camel". Many demonstrators fought back, throwing stones at Mubarak loyalists to keep them from entering the square. But there was no wholesale riot and discipline returned.

"The key to a successful non-violent revolt is its ability to constantly reinvent and correct itself," Adel says. "If violence or conflict breaks out, quickly resolve it while finding ways to avoid it." Trained cadres shouted "peaceful, peaceful!" to restrain their hotter-headed colleagues. Soon after, the army, which had not been involved in the clashes, said it would not fire on unarmed civilians.

Nine days later Mubarak was gone.

    Special Report: Inside the Egyptian revolution, R, 13.4.2011,
    http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/04/13/us-egypt-revolution-idUSTRE73C18E20110413

Rival security forces clash in Yemeni capital

SANAA | Wed Apr 13, 2011
2:32am EDT
Reuters

SANAA (Reuters) - Rival Yemeni security forces clashed in the capital Sanaa on Wednesday when forces loyal to a defected army general set up a checkpoint and were attacked by pro-government forces, a source close to anti-government forces said.

"Ten were wounded in an attack on the forces of the first division by forces of the central security police," a source close to the forces of defected army General Ali Mohsen said, adding that the clashes lasted about an hour.

(Reporting by Mohammed Ghobari; Writing by Cynthia Johnston)

    Rival security forces clash in Yemeni capital, R, 13.4.2011,
    http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/04/13/us-yemen-idUSTRE73C0W120110413

Egypt's Mubarak has heart problems in questioning

CAIRO | Wed Apr 13, 2011
12:37am EDT
Reuters
By Tom Pfeiffer and Sarah Mikhail

CAIRO (Reuters) - Hosni Mubarak was in hospital after suffering heart problems under questioning, following protests by hard-core reformists who said the former president was being protected from prosecution by Egypt's military rulers.

Mubarak fell ill on Tuesday during an inquiry into the killing of protesters in a revolution that toppled him, and into corruption in his administration.

State television said on Wednesday his two sons were being investigated for corruption and would be detained for 15 days.

Egypt's generals, in charge since Mubarak quit on February 11, have faced increasingly loud calls from protesters in Cairo's Tahrir Square for Mubarak and his allies to stand trial.

Soldiers on Tuesday broke up a five-day sit-in at the square, which became the epicenter of the uprising in January.

There were conflicting reports about Mubarak's condition. One report said he was in intensive care after a "heart crisis" during questioning. Another said he was fit enough to be questioned in hospital in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh.

Mubarak, 82, was ousted after a popular uprising against repression and corruption during his 30-year rule. More than 380 people were killed in mass demonstrations that police and pro-Mubarak thugs failed to crush.

The public prosecutor summoned Mubarak on Sunday for questioning over the killing of protesters and embezzling of public funds.

His two sons were added to the list of ex-ministers and officials under investigation and Egyptian state television later said they were being detained.

A judicial source said Gamal and Alaa were questioned in South Sinai, where Sharm el-Sheikh is located. Gamal, 47, Mubarak's younger son, held a top post in the ruling party and many Egyptians believed he was being groomed for high office.

In his first public comment since stepping down, broadcast on Al Arabiya on Sunday, Mubarak denied wrongdoing.

The timing of his health setback may prompt skepticism among hard-core protesters who have complained about the failure of the military to pursue Mubarak and his allies more swiftly and argue that they are protecting one of their own.

Many in Egypt's establishment argue the elderly leader should be able to bow out with dignity after overseeing years of stability, but protesters criticize his rule by emergency law and say he encouraged a rich and poor divide.

"We want our money. We want the thief to be tried," chanted dozens of people gathered near the hospital in the glitzy resort where Mubarak spent more and more time before leaving office.

State television said Mubarak suffered a "heart crisis" during questioning and said he had been taken into intensive care. But Al Arabiya television quoted a hospital manager as saying that Mubarak was fit enough to be questioned.

The state-owned Al Ahram newspaper reported Mubarak had been summoned to appear in a Cairo court. Its website later said the ex-president may not now have to travel because of his illness.

CALLS FOR SWIFT TRIAL

Mubarak has suffered from health problems in recent years and went to Germany for gall bladder surgery in March 2010. There were frequent rumors about his health as he aged, particularly after his last bout of surgery.

Mubarak had vowed to die in Egypt when he addressed the country's 80 million people shortly before he stepped down.

Hundreds of thousands of Egyptians gathered again in Tahrir on Friday for one of the biggest demonstrations since Mubarak was ousted, many of them angry at the army's failure to put Mubarak and his allies on trial swiftly.

Soldiers and police used tasers and batons to try to drive out the protesters on Friday night. In resulting clashes, medical sources said 13 men were wounded by gunfire and two died. The army denied using live ammunition.

Angry protesters demanded the army hand power to civilians, but soldiers moved in on Tuesday to end the sit-in. A Reuters photographer saw hundreds of troops in the middle of Tahrir and in military vehicles at every entrance to the normally busy thoroughfare.

Troops with machineguns rounded up several young men and pushed them into vans. Others hauled coils of barbed wire used by demonstrators, and makeshift barriers erected during the protest, onto military trucks.

By early evening traffic was flowing through Tahrir, a major junction of roads that was the focus of the protests. Many ordinary Egyptians are tired of the protests that have hammered the economy and disrupted their lives.

A youth coalition that helped organize the uprising said it had persuaded the remaining protesters to reopen Tahrir because they were doing the country no good by staying.

"We met with the (ruling) military council yesterday and discussed opening Tahrir. We agreed to end the protest and give the army a chance to proceed," said Mohamed Sukri, a member of the Revolutionary Youth Coalition.

Mohamed Zaidan, who said he belonged to no group and was in the square when the army arrived, gave a different account.

"We didn't agree with anyone to clear Tahrir," said the 25-year-old. "We were attacked by rock-throwing people who wanted to force us out and then the army came, didn't speak to us and suddenly moved in to force us out of the square."

(Additional reporting by Dina Zayed, Asmaa Waguih and Marwa Awad; Writing by Edmund Blair; editing by Michael Roddy)

    Egypt's Mubarak has heart problems in questioning, R, 13.4.2011,
    http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/04/13/us-egypt-mubarak-idUSTRE73B1D120110413

Syrian forces arrest 200 in rebellious town: lawyer

AMMAN | Tue Apr 12, 2011
8:19pm EDT
Reuters
By Khaled Yacoub Oweis

AMMAN (Reuters) - Syrian security forces have arrested 200 residents in a coastal town as unprecedented challenges to the rule of President Bashar al-Assad continued to spread, a human rights lawyer said on Wednesday.

"They brought in a television crew and forced the men they arrested to shout 'We sacrifice our blood and our soul for you, Bashar' while filming them," the lawyer, who was in contact with residents in Baida, 10 km (six miles) south of the Mediterranean seaside city of Banias, told Reuters.

The lawyer, who did not want to be further identified, said the events occurred on Tuesday.

"Syria is the Arab police state par excellence. But the regime still watches international reaction, and as soon as it senses that it has weakened, it turns more bloody," the lawyer added.

Assad, who tried to position Syria as self-declared champion of "resistance" to Israel while seeking peace with the Jewish state and accepting offers for rehabilitation in the West, has responded to the protests with a blend of force -- his security forces have killed unarmed protesters -- and promises of reform.

But the mass public demands for freedom and an end to corruption, now in their fourth week, have yet to abate.

Syrian secret police and soldiers surrounded Baida on Tuesday, and went into houses, arresting men up to 60 years old. Gunfire was heard earlier in the day and one man was killed, the activists said.

They said Baida was targeted because its residents participated in a demonstration in Banias last week in which protesters shouted: "The people want the overthrow of the regime" -- the rallying cry of the Tunisian and Egyptian revolts.

One activist said some residents of Baida had weapons and it appeared that an armed confrontation had erupted.

But Sheikh Anas Airout, an imam in nearby Banias, said Baida residents were largely unarmed and that they were paying the price for their non-violent quest for freedom.

Irregular Assad loyalists, known as 'al-shabbiha', killed four people in Banias on Sunday, a human rights defender in the city said, raising tensions in the mostly Sunni Muslim country ruled by minority Alawites, adherents to an offshoot of Shi'ite Islam.

Banias, home to one of Syria's two oil refineries, remained sealed off overnight and around 20 tanks were stationed near the northern and southern entrances of the city.

The protests against 48 years of autocratic Baath Party rule erupted in the southern city of Deraa near the border with Jordan, expanding to the suburbs of the capital Damascus, the northeast, the coast and areas in between.

ALEPPO QUIET

But with heavy secret police presence and Assad maintaining backing from the Sunni merchant class and preachers on the state payroll, the protests have not spread to Damascus proper and to Syria's second city Aleppo. This has robbed the demonstrations of the critical mass they attained in Tunisia and Egypt.

Authorities blame armed groups and "infiltrators" for the violence, in which they say civilians, soldiers and police also have been killed.

Syria's main human rights movement said the death toll from pro-democracy protests had reached 200 and urged the Arab League to impose sanctions on the ruling hierarchy.

"Syria's uprising is screaming with 200 martyrs, hundreds of injured and a similar number of arrests," the Damascus Declaration group said in a letter sent on Monday to the secretary general of the Arab League.

 

(Editing by Michael Roddy)

    Syrian forces arrest 200 in rebellious town: lawyer, R, 12.4.2011,
    http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/04/13/us-syria-idUSTRE72N2MC20110413

Libya rebels ask foreign allies for arms: spokesman

BENGHAZI, Libya | Tue Apr 12, 2011
1:45pm EDT
Reuters

BENGHAZI, Libya (Reuters) - Libyan rebels have sent a request for weapons they need to countries that have recognized their national council as the sole representative of Libya, a spokesman said on Tuesday.

"We have submitted a list of military and technical equipment we need," Abdel Hafiz Ghoga, official spokesman for the council, told reporters in the rebel stronghold of Benghazi.

Asked which countries the rebels were asking for weapons, Ghoga said: "Obviously we've been asking the countries that have already recognized the national transitional council as the sole representative for Libya."

France, Qatar and Italy have recognized the rebels controlling the east of the country, whose military campaign against Muammar Gaddafi's forces has reached stalemate despite air strikes against Gaddafi's weaponry by NATO warplanes.

France led calls for military intervention in Libya after the popular uprising in the east turned into a war when rebels grabbed weapons abandoned by fleeing Gaddafi loyalists.

They quickly overpowered government forces in the east, but Gaddafi fighters armed with more powerful, longer-range artillery beat back the rebels as they attempted to advance through the central coastal region toward Tripoli.

Ghoga said the rebels had boosted security at oil fields they control after attacks by forces loyal to Gaddafi forced them to halt production. He did not give details.

Gaddafi forces are still occupying parts of the oil port of Brega, Ghoga said. Rebels have fought a seesaw battle over the town but failed to dislodge government loyalists.

(Reporting by Alexander Dziadosz, editing by Tim Pearce)

    Libya rebels ask foreign allies for arms: spokesman, R, 12.4.2011,
    http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/04/12/us-libya-rebels-weapons-idUSTRE73B5C220110412

Pakistan Tells U.S. It Must Sharply Cut C.I.A. Activities

April 11, 2011
The New York Times
By JANE PERLEZ and ISMAIL KHAN

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — Pakistan has demanded that the United States steeply reduce the number of Central Intelligence Agency operatives and Special Operations forces working in Pakistan, and that it halt C.I.A. drone strikes aimed at militants in northwest Pakistan. The request was a sign of the near collapse of cooperation between the two testy allies.

Pakistani and American officials said in interviews that the demand that the United States scale back its presence was the immediate fallout from the arrest in Pakistan of Raymond A. Davis, a C.I.A. security officer who killed two men in January during what he said was an attempt to rob him.

In all, about 335 American personnel — C.I.A. officers and contractors and Special Operations forces — were being asked to leave the country, said a Pakistani official closely involved in the decision.

It was not clear how many C.I.A. personnel that would leave behind; the total number in Pakistan has not been disclosed. But the cuts demanded by the Pakistanis amounted to 25 to 40 percent of United States Special Operations forces in the country, the officials said. The number also included the removal of all the American contractors used by the C.I.A. in Pakistan.

The demands appeared severe enough to badly hamper American efforts — either through drone strikes or Pakistani military training — to combat militants who use Pakistan as a base to fight American forces in Afghanistan and plot terrorist attacks abroad.

The reductions were personally demanded by the chief of the Pakistani Army, Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, said Pakistani and American officials, who requested anonymity while discussing the delicate issue.

The scale of the Pakistani demands emerged as Lt. Gen. Ahmed Shuja Pasha, the head of Pakistan’s chief spy agency, the Inter-Services Intelligence Directorate, or the ISI, arrived in Washington on Monday for nearly four hours of meetings with the C.I.A. director, Leon E. Panetta, and Adm. Mike Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Two senior American officials said afterward that General Pasha did not make any specific requests for reductions of C.I.A. officers, contractors or American military personnel in Pakistan at the meetings.

“There were no ultimatums, no demands to withdraw tens or hundreds of Americans from Pakistan,” said one of the officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the tensions between the two spy services.

A C.I.A. spokesman, George Little, called the meetings “productive” and said the relationship between the two services “remains on solid footing.”

The meetings were part of an effort to repair the already tentative and distrustful relations between the spy agencies. Those ties plunged to a new low as a result of the Davis episode, which has further exposed the divergence in Pakistani and American interests as the endgame in Afghanistan draws closer.

The Pakistani Army firmly believes that Washington’s real aim in Pakistan is to strip the nation of its prized nuclear arsenal, which is now on a path to becoming the world’s fifth largest, said the Pakistani official closely involved in the decision on reducing the American presence.

On the American side, frustration has built over the Pakistani Army’s seeming inability to defeat a host of militant groups, including the Taliban and Al Qaeda, which have thrived in Pakistan’s tribal areas despite more than $1 billion in American assistance a year to the Pakistani military.

In a rare public rebuke, a White House report to Congress last week described the Pakistani efforts against the militants as disappointing.

At the time of his arrest, Mr. Davis was involved in a covert C.I.A. effort to penetrate one militant group, Lashkar-e-Taiba, which has ties to Pakistan’s military and intelligence establishment, has made deepening inroads in Afghanistan, and is perceived as a global threat.

The C.I.A. had demanded that Mr. Davis be freed immediately, on the grounds that he had diplomatic immunity. Instead, he was held for 47 days of detention and, the officials said, questioned for 14 days by ISI agents during his imprisonment in Lahore, infuriating American officials. He was finally freed after his victims’ families agreed to take some $2.3 million in compensation.

Another price, however, apparently is the list of reductions in American personnel demanded by General Kayani, according to the Pakistani and American officials. American officials said last year that the Pakistanis had allowed a maximum of 120 Special Operations troops in the country, most of them involved in training the paramilitary Frontier Corps in northwest Pakistan. The Americans had reached that quota, the Pakistani official said.

In addition to the withdrawal of all C.I.A. contractors, Pakistan is demanding the removal of C.I.A. operatives involved in “unilateral” assignments like Mr. Davis’s that the Pakistani intelligence agency did not know about, the Pakistani official said.

An American official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said without elaborating that the Pakistanis had asked “for more visibility into some things” — presumably the nature of C.I.A. covert operations in the country — “and that request is being talked about.”

General Kayani has also told the Obama administration that its expanded drone campaign has gotten out of control, a Pakistani official said. Given the reluctance or inability of the Pakistani military to root out Qaeda and Taliban militants from the tribal areas, American officials have turned more and more to drone strikes, drastically increasing the number of attacks last year.

The drone campaign, which is immensely unpopular among the Pakistani public, had become the sole preserve of the United States, the Pakistani official said, since the Americans were no longer sharing intelligence on how they were choosing targets. The Americans have also extended the strikes to new parts of the tribal region, like the Khyber area near the city of Peshawar.

“Kayani would like the drones stopped,” said another Pakistani official who met with the military chief recently. “He believes they are used too frequently as a weapon of choice, rather than as a strategic weapon.” Short of that, General Kayani was demanding that the campaign return to its original, more limited, scope and remain focused narrowly on North Waziristan, the prime militant stronghold.

A drone attack last month, one day after Mr. Davis was released, hit Taliban fighters in North Waziristan, but also killed tribal leaders allied with the Pakistani military, infuriating General Kayani, who issued an unusually strong statement of condemnation afterward.

American officials defended the drone attack, saying it had achieved its goal of killing militants. But there have been no drone attacks since then.

General Kayani’s request to reduce the number of Special Operations troops by up to 40 percent would result in the closing of the training program begun last year at Warsak, close to Peshawar, an American official said.

Informed by American officials that the Special Operations training would end even with the partial reduction of 40 percent, General Kayani remained unmoved, the American official said.

American officials believed the training program was essential to improve the capacity of the nearly 150,000 Pakistani soldiers deployed to fight the Taliban in the tribal region.

The C.I.A. quietly withdrew all contractors after Mr. Davis’s arrest, the Pakistani official said.

Another category of American intelligence agents, declared operatives whose purpose was not clear, were also being asked to leave, the Pakistani official said.

In a sign of the severity of the breach between the C.I.A. and the ISI, the official said: “We’re telling the Americans: ‘You have to trust the ISI or you don’t. There is nothing in between.’ ”


Eric Schmitt contributed reporting from Washington.

    Pakistan Tells U.S. It Must Sharply Cut C.I.A. Activities, NYT, 11.4.2011,
    http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/12/world/asia/12pakistan.html

NATO expects hit and run tactics by Gaddafi

BRUSSELS | Tue Apr 12, 2011
10:36am EDT
Reuters
By David Brunnstrom

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Muammar Gaddafi shows no sign of giving up the military struggle in Libya and is expected to resort to "hit-and-run" tactics after strikes to destroy his heavy weaponry, NATO said on Tuesday.

Brigadier-General Mark van Uhm, of NATO's military staff, said the alliance had been flying an average of 155 air sorties daily in the past week, concentrating on preventing Gaddafi's forces from using heavy weapons in civilian areas.

"We know we are having an effect," Uhm told a news briefing.

"Pro-Gaddafi forces cannot fight where they want, they cannot fight how they want, and they cannot use the weapons they want. Nothing indicates, however, that Gaddafi has any intention of disengaging from operations."

Uhm said NATO expected instead to see a change in tactics.

"Because his heavy weapons systems have been hit hard over the last few days, we expect pro-regime forces to favor hit-and-run tactics by motorized columns of pickup trucks to wear out opposition forces psychologically rather than gain ground," he said.

Uhm said the military situation was "dynamic, fluid and changing constantly."

While opposition forces had retaken control of Ajdabiyah on Monday, two days after being driven to the northern edge of the city, Misrata in the west was still under pressure.

While Gaddafi's forces had withdrawn heavy weapons from some of the city's neighborhoods, they had continued shelling and they had also attacked several areas in the Zintan region southwest of Tripoli.

NATO FOCUS

"While NATO attention is focused on destroying heavy military equipment posing the biggest threat to civilians, air strikes are also hitting ammunition bunkers and lines of communications to cut off these forces from their supplies," Uhm said.

Gaddafi forces had withdrawn from Ajdabiyah toward Brega and deployed their lead elements east of the city, while rebel forces had deployed elements southwest of Ajdabiyah.

"So the confrontation line is once again between Ajdabiyah and Brega," he said.

Van Uhm responded to criticism by French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe, who said NATO was not doing enough in Libya, by saying that the alliance had been conducting operations at "a very high operational tempo" in the past few days.

"With the assets we have, we are doing a great job and we fulfill our mission, so it's hard for us to say we need more."

"When you look at the mission, the arms embargo is in effect, the no-fly zone is effective. We are protecting the civilians. So we are executing our mission."

Van Uhm conceded the alliance could do more with more aircraft, but said it was for members of the 28-nation alliance to decide what resources they were willing to provide.

NATO spokeswoman Carmen Romero said the alliance was effectively enforcing its U.N. mandate. "We have 200 planes. Right now we can do operations at a very high tempo using the assets we have at our disposal."

Van Uhm said NATO had flown more than 1,900 sorties since taking over the Libya operations on March 31, about 800 of which were strike missions.

    NATO expects hit and run tactics by Gaddafi, R, 12.4.2011,
    http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/04/12/us-libya-nato-idUSTRE73B3TU20110412

Jittery Libyan rebels can be own worst enemy

Tue, Apr 12 2011
Reuters
By Michael Georgy

AJDABIYAH, Libya (Reuters) - Sometimes the ragtag rebels fighting Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi's forces can be their own worst enemy.

As rebels ranging from engineers to vegetable vendors and university students stood guard at the entrance to the strategic town of Ajdabiyah on Tuesday, the sound of gunfire rang out.

An insurgent fiddling with a machine gun bullet belt had accidentally set off two rounds by pounding firing pins with a stone. One fellow fighter fell to the ground, hit in the head. Another was wounded. Both men were rushed to hospital.

"How can they get rid of Gaddafi? Is it possible? I don't know if they can. It will be difficult," said a shepherd at a rebel checkpoint.

Beside trying to second-guess Gaddafi's next move, the rebels are struggling with their own inexperience under severe psychological pressure because many Libyans are banking on them to topple one of the Arab world's most autocratic rulers.

One young fighter was reading Islamic verses on the frontline, hoping God will help him defeat Gaddafi loyalists who he fears will again attack the coastal town that controls the road north to the rebel stronghold of Benghazi.

"They are hiding around us here in the desert watching us. They will send snipers again to the town," said Na'man Ali, 21.

Rebels who had been hanging around, cleaning rusty weapons or napping, were rattled by shells that landed a few hundred meters away, sending up clouds of smoke and sand.

Two days ago, the rebels pushed out forces loyal to Gaddafi which had entered Ajdabiyah after attacking with artillery.

But confidence in such victories is quickly replaced by fresh anxiety because the rebels have lost several towns they had captured, and Gaddafi has made it clear he and his sons have no intention of giving up.

"GENTLEMEN FROM HELL"

During lulls, the rebels wonder what dangers lurk nearby in this bloodiest of the Arab uprisings, feverishly talking at the checkpoint on the western edge of Ajdabiyah, gateway to the rebel capital of Benghazi.

"I am telling you there are Gaddafi spies among us," said one fighter. "They are listening to what we say. They inform his people of our movements."

Others take a lighter approach to the uncertainty. One rebel twirled himself around in a truck-mounted anti-aircraft gun.

Some of the younger rebels act like teenagers, looking cool in the latest battlefield fashion. One wore a black jacket with a patch reading "Gentlemen From Hell." He did not know what the words meant.

Asked how he planned to defeat Gaddafi's military with his bird-hunting rifle, one fighter held it up to show images of a legendary Libyan rebel who had fought Italian colonialists.

"Gaddafi's people have the devil on their side but we have Allah," said the man, Mikhail Badran, a former government employee.

Nearby, a rebel who lost his leg serving in the Libyan army during Gaddafi's conflict with Chad and moves slowly on crutches was a reminder of the Libyan leader's legacy of confrontation.

Libya and Chad spent years feuding over their common border and were at war the 1980s before settling their dispute in 1994.

Gaddafi seems unlikely to back down unless NATO provides the rebels with heavy weapons and destroys more government tanks, or the rebels suddenly become a far more effective fighting force.

A few hours after the accident at the checkpoint, rebels spotted a man on a rooftop in central Ajdabiyah who they assumed was a sniper, opened fire and wounded him, said a doctor who treated the man.

He turned out to be one of their own.

(Editing by Paul Taylor)

    Jittery Libyan rebels can be own worst enemy, R, 12.4.2011,
    http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/04/12/us-libya-rebels-idUSTRE73B39D20110412

Amnesty says Gaddafi forces "executed prisoners"

LONDON | Tue Apr 12, 2011
5:35am EDT
Reuters

LONDON (Reuters) - Captured rebel Libyan fighters have been found shot in the head with their hands tied behind their backs, Amnesty International said on Tuesday, adding it had strong evidence of other human rights abuses.

Forces loyal to Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi had also deliberately killed unarmed protesters and attacked civilians fleeing fighting, Amnesty said, citing evidence gathered by its delegates in eastern Libya over the past six weeks.

The rights group said Gaddafi's troops appeared to have executed captured rebel fighters close to the town of Ajdabiyah.

Its researchers in eastern Libya had in recent days seen the bodies of two opposition fighters who had been shot in the back of the head after their hands had been bound behind their backs.

Amnesty said it had received credible reports of four similar cases, where bodies of captured fighters were reportedly found with their hands tied behind their backs and multiple gunshot wounds to the upper parts of their bodies.

"The circumstances of these killings strongly suggest that they were carried out by the forces loyal to Colonel Gaddafi," said Malcolm Smart, Amnesty International's director for the Middle East and North Africa.

"The deliberate killing of captured fighters is a war crime. All those responsible for such crimes - those who ordered or sanctioned them as well as those who carried them out - must be left in no doubt that they will be held fully accountable."

Libya has plunged into civil war, with Gaddafi controlling the capital Tripoli and rebels seeking to end his 41 years in power running the eastern city of Benghazi. NATO airstrikes aimed at protecting civilians have failed to end a stalemate.

(Editing by Jon Boyle)

    Amnesty says Gaddafi forces "executed prisoners", R, 12.4.2011,
    http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/04/12/us-libya-amnesty-idUSTRE73B1JA20110412

Libyan fighting goes on after peace bid fails

TRIPOLI | Mon Apr 11, 2011
10:44pm EDT
Reuters
By Maria Golovnina

TRIPOLI (Reuters) - An African Union plan to halt Libya's civil war collapsed, and rebels said the increasingly bloody siege of the city of Misrata by Muammar Gaddafi's troops made talk of a ceasefire meaningless.

The Red Cross said it was opening a Tripoli office and would send a team to Misrata to help civilians trapped by fighting, but one of Gaddafi's ministers warned any aid operation involving foreign troops would be seen as a declaration of war.

Rebel leader Mustafa Abdel Jalil said after talks with the AU delegation in Benghazi in the rebel-held east on Monday:

"The African Union initiative does not include the departure of Gaddafi and his sons from the Libyan political scene, therefore it is outdated." Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi's son Saif quickly dismissed the idea of his father stepping down.

"We want new blood, that's what we want for Libya's future. But to talk of (Gaddafi) leaving, that's truly ridiculous," he told French news channel BFM TV.

"If the West wants democracy, a new constitution, elections, well, we agree. We agree on this point but the West must help us to provide a propitious climate. But all these bombings, this support given to rebel groups, all that is counter-productive."

AIR STRIKES

Libyan television said the "colonial and crusader aggressors" hit military and civilian sites in Al Jufrah district in central Libya on Monday.

Rebels in the coastal city of Misrata, under siege for six weeks, scorned reports that Gaddafi had accepted a ceasefire, saying they were fighting house-to-house battles with his forces, who fired rockets into the city.

Western leaders also rejected any deal that did not include Gaddafi's removal, and NATO refused to suspend its bombing of his forces unless there was a credible ceasefire.

NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen told a Brussels news briefing that Gaddafi's government had announced ceasefires in the past, but "they did not keep their promises."

"Any future proposal that does not include this, we cannot accept," he said, accusing Gaddafi of bombing, shelling and shooting civilians.

A resident of Misrata told Reuters there was heavy fighting on the eastern approaches and in the center.

Rebels told Reuters that Gaddafi's forces had intensified the assault, for the first time firing truck-mounted, Russian-made Grad rockets into the city, where conditions for civilians are said to be desperate.

Human Rights Watch accused Gaddafi's forces of indiscriminate attacks on civilians in Misrata which violated international law. It said about 250 people had died.

At the front outside the eastern rebel-held town of Ajdabiyah, rebels buried the charred bodies of Gaddafi troops killed in air strikes and said they were advancing westwards.

Pro-Gaddafi forces also fired rockets toward the town of Zintan on Monday, a resident called Abdulrahman said.

"Gaddafi's forces fired four rockets toward Zintan around 16:00 (10 a.m. EST) today. No one was wounded," he said.

Abdulrahman said NATO aircraft could be heard above Zintan on Monday evening, but there were no air strikes.

Pro-Gaddafi forces have remained on the outskirts of Zintan, some 160 km (100 miles) southwest of Tripoli, from where they have launched attacks on the town. NATO airstrikes hit weapons depots belonging to pro-Gaddafi forces near Zintan, Abdulrahman said last Friday.

HUMANITARIAN AID

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is already deployed in Libya's rebel-held eastern territory, where it has supplied hospitals, distributed food and visited government soldiers captured during the conflict.

Speaking in Tripoli alongside a government spokesman, its regional head Jean-Michel Monod said his team had been officially invited to the capital.

"Now we will officially be here open for business," he told reporters. "Of course it was high time as a neutral, impartial and independent humanitarian organization that the ICRC would come here as well to conduct discussions with the authorities."

Libyan Social Affairs Minister Ibrahim Zarouk al-Sharif said some aid operations had been used as a cover to supply rebels.

"If humanitarian aid is brought through humanitarian organizations who specialize in this kind of work then we would welcome it. But if it comes with a military face then we won't accept it, it's basically a declaration of war and might lead to a much bigger conflict."

At talks in Luxembourg, Italy quarreled with other European Union governments on how to handle thousands of migrants fleeing the turmoil in Libya and elsewhere in north Africa, while the EU executive urged the bloc to do more for the refugees.

NATO attacks outside Ajdabiyah on Sunday helped break the biggest assault by Gaddafi's forces on the eastern front for at least a week. The town is the gateway to the rebel stronghold of Benghazi 150 km (90 miles) north up the Mediterranean coast.

Opposition fighters have been overwhelmed by Gaddafi's firepower in western Libya, close to his base of Tripoli, but are increasingly using guerrilla tactics to weaken his hold.

Tripoli residents said there had been several attacks on army checkpoints and a police station in the last week and gunfire can be heard at night.

Gaddafi's former foreign minister Moussa Koussa, speaking in Britain where he fled last month, called on "everybody, all the parties, to work to avoid taking Libya into a civil war."

"This will lead to bloodshed and make Libya a new Somalia," he told the BBC. "More than that we refuse to divide Libya. The unity of Libya is essential to any solution and any settlement in Libya."

(Additional reporting by Alex Dziadosz in Ajdabiyah, Michael Georgy in Benghazi and Christian Lowe in Algiers; writing by Andrew Roche; editing by Michael Roddy)

    Libyan fighting goes on after peace bid fails, R, 11.4.2011,
    http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/04/12/us-libya-idUSTRE7270JP20110412

Syrian opposition says 200 killed in protests

AMMAN | Mon Apr 11, 2011
8:33pm EDT
Reuters
By Khaled Yacoub Oweis

AMMAN (Reuters) - Syria's main human rights movement has said the death toll from less than a month of protests has reached 200 and called on the Arab league to impose sanctions on the ruling hierarchy.

"Syria's uprising is screaming with 200 martyrs, hundreds of injured and a similar number of arrests," the Damascus Declaration group said in a letter sent on Monday to the secretary general of the Arab League.

"The regime unleashes its forcers to besiege cities and terrorize civilians, while protesters across Syria thunder with the same chant 'peaceful peaceful'," it added.

"We ask you to... impose political, diplomatic and economic sanctions on the Syrian regime, which continues to be the faithful guardian of Hafez al-Assad's legacy," the letter said, referring to the iron-fisted rule of President Hafez al-Assad, father of current President Bashar.

Bashar, facing unprecedented protests against his 11-year-old rule, has responded with a blend of force -- his security forces have fired at unarmed protesters, according to witnesses -- and vague promises to relax bans on freedoms, such as replacing emergency law with anti-terrorism law.

The protests, which erupted in the southern city of Deraa last month before spreading, have demanded freedom of expression and assembly and an end to corruption.

The authorities said armed gangs and "infiltrators" were responsible for the violence and that soldiers and police also have been killed.

"President Assad has been only giving promises for the last 11 years. Instead of solutions he talks, as the regime usually does, about an outside conspiracy," the letter said.

The Damascus declaration is named for a document signed in 2005 by prominent civic, Islamist and liberal leaders calling for the end of 41 years of Assad family rule and its replacement with a democratic system.

The document demanded the lifting of bans on freedom of speech and assembly and the abolition of emergency law, under which Syria has been governed since 1963 when the ruling Baath Party took power in a coup and banned all opposition.

Most of its members have spent long periods as political prisoners, including leading opposition figure Raid al-Turk, who spent more than 17 years in solitary confinement under Hafez al-Assad.

Fayez Sara, a journalist who was jailed for two-and-a-half years along with 11 Damascus Declaration members and released in 2010, was arrested again on Sunday, rights activists said.

"The secret police have been rounding up every outspoken figure they can get their hands on. They either call them in for 'interrogation' and keep them, pick them up from the street or break into their homes," one of the rights defenders said.

Assad has said the protests are part of a foreign conspiracy to sow sectarian strife. His father used similar language when he crushed leftist and Islamist challenges to his rule in the 1980s, killing thousands.

Syrian security forces sealed off the coastal city of Banias on Monday following pro-democracy protests and killings by irregulars loyal to Assad, residents said.

(Editing by Michael Roddy)

    Syrian opposition says 200 killed in protests, R, 11.4.2011,
     http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/04/12/us-syria-idUSTRE72N2MC20110412

Egypt PM pledges probe over protest crackdown

CAIRO | Mon Apr 11, 2011
7:26pm EDT
Reuters
By Patrick Werr and Marwa Awad

CAIRO (Reuters) - Egyptian Prime Minister Essam Sharaf expressed regret on Monday for a violent crackdown on demonstrators in Cairo at the weekend and said he had asked the minister of justice to investigate.

"All of us, the people, the army and the government, feel regret for the events of last Saturday," Sharaf said in a speech broadcast on Egyptian television.

Rights groups accused the army of using excessive force when it tried to remove protesters early on Saturday, hours after hundreds of thousands had massed for one of the biggest protests since President Hosni Mubarak was ousted.

The protesters were demanding a deeper purge of corrupt officials and that Egypt's ruling military council turn the country's affairs over to civilian rule.

Medical sources said 13 men were wounded by gunfire and two people died when the army tried to clear the protesters from Tahrir Square during a 2 a.m.-to-5 a.m. curfew.

"There are demands by the people over what happened, to find out the facts, and for that I have asked my colleague the minister of justice to take the necessary steps to assure that those demands are achieved," Sharaf said.

Around 2,000 protesters defy on Monday an army demand to quit Tahrir Square, blocking traffic with coils of barbed wire left by the army when it withdrew after the Saturday clashes.

GRAFT PROBES

Egypt's public prosecutor ordered that Safwat Sherif, former head of the upper house of parliament, be detained for 15 days as part of a probe into accusations of graft, the state news agency MENA said.

A special panel formed to uncover illicit gains also summoned Fathi Sorour, former speaker of the lower house of parliament, for questioning on Wednesday over accusations he had amassed large amounts of money illegally, MENA reported.

Sherif and Sorour were senior members of former President Hosni Mubarak's ruling party and among his closest aides. Both are main targets of reformers seeking tough action against figures of the past administration.

The panel, chaired by senior justice ministry official Essam el-Gawahri, has been investigating a string of businessmen and former officials and on Sunday summoned Mubarak and his sons Alaa and Gamal for questioning.

Sherif, who was taken to Torah Prison in southern Cairo on Monday evening, was accused of "exploiting a public position for his own benefit and the benefit of his family, which led to their accumulating large wealth," MENA quoted a panel member as saying.

Sharaf said legal steps against Mubarak were continuing despite a statement by the former president, broadcast on Sunday, that he and his family were not guilty of corruption.

"Concerning the statement broadcast by the former president, all I can say is that the legal procedures are going ahead, as the minister of justice and the public prosecutor have said."

State media said prosecutors had frozen assets of 200 people since Mubarak was forced from office in February.

Former oil minister Sameh Fahmy and his wife had their bank accounts and assets frozen, official news agency MENA reported on Monday.

PROTESTS CONTINUE

But the protesters want tougher and swifter action and have promised to occupy Tahrir Square until a new round of protests on Friday, irritating some Cairo residents who showed little sympathy for their cause.

The army had announced that Tahrir would be cleared, but on Monday there was little to suggest it was preparing for a new attempt to clear the square, a major thoroughfare in the traffic-snarled capital.

A dozen troop carriers and a line of soldiers were posted near Tahrir, focus of the 18-day revolt that culminated on February 11 when Mubarak stepped down after three decades in power.

Around 2,000 protesters chatted in groups or gathered up debris still littering the square after the weekend violence.

"The challenge is keeping the square occupied with protesters from now till Friday," said protester Ismail Ahmed, a protester and activist. "Opposition forces have said they will rally in Tahrir this Friday, so we are not worried."

(Additional reporting by Dina Zayed and Isabel Coles; Editing by Michael Roddy)

    Egypt PM pledges probe over protest crackdown, R, 11.4.2011,
    http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/04/11/us-egypt-protest-idUSTRE73754M20110411

Talk of Gaddafi leaving "ridiculous" says son

PARIS | Mon Apr 11, 2011
3:49pm EDT
Reuters

PARIS (Reuters) - Muammar Gaddafi's most prominent son, Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, said in an interview broadcast on Monday that it was "ridiculous" to imagine the Libyan leader leaving and that allied air strikes were counter-productive.

The interview took place at the weekend in Tripoli. On Monday, rebels in the city of Misrata scorned reports Gaddafi had agreed to a ceasefire, after his forces fired rockets there and fought intense house-to-house battles.

"We want to bring forward a new elite of youths to govern the country and manage local affairs. We want new blood, that's what we want for Libya's future. But to talk of (Gaddafi) leaving, that's truly ridiculous," Saif told French news channel BFM TV.

"If the West wants democracy, a new constitution, elections, well we agree. We agree on this point but the West must help us to provide a propitious climate. But all these bombings, this support given to rebel groups, all that is counter-productive."

An African bid to halt the civil war collapsed on Monday and rebels said there could be no deal unless Gaddafi is toppled. Western leaders also rejected any deal that did not include his removal, and NATO refused to suspend its bombing of his forces unless there is a credible ceasefire.

London-educated Saif, who has tended to be Libya's most Western-friendly face, said that even if Gaddafi did leave, the unrest would not end in Libya, where scores have died in fighting between Gaddafi's troops and a ragtag rebel army.

"(Gaddafi's) departure would not change anything because the Libyan people would not allow these groups of terrorists to run Libya," he said. "The question is: how to get rid of these armed militias? Because these militias cannot govern."

(Reporting by Gerard Bon; Writing by Catherine Bremer)

    Talk of Gaddafi leaving "ridiculous" says son, 11.4.2011,
    http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/04/11/us-libya-saif-idUSTRE73A6OL20110411

Gaddafi forces shell town after he accepts peace plan

BENGHAZI, Libya | Mon Apr 11, 2011
10:41am EDT
Reuters
By Michael Georgy

BENGHAZI, Libya (Reuters) - Forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi shelled the besieged town of Misrata on Monday after the African Union said he had accepted a plan to end Libya's civil war.

Al Jazeera television quoted a rebel spokesman as saying five people died and 20 were wounded in Misrata, a lone rebel bastion in western Libya, which has been under siege for more than six weeks.

Rebels in Misrata told Reuters Gaddafi's forces fired Russian-made Grad rockets into the city, where conditions for civilians are said to be desperate.

The insurgents said they would accept no plan that allowed Gaddafi to stay in power and prepared to advance on the eastern front after repelling a major government assault on Sunday against their town of Ajdabiyah.

Prospects for a ceasefire looked remote.

South African President Jacob Zuma, head of an AU peace mission, said early on Monday that Gaddafi had accepted a peace "road map," including a ceasefire, after talks in Tripoli.

A spokesman in the rebel capital of Benghazi said the opposition would look at the plan but Gaddafi must end his 41-year rule.

"The Libyan people have made it very clear that Gaddafi must step down, but we will consider the proposal once we have more details, and respond," spokesman Mustafa Gheriani told Reuters.

Libyan officials have repeatedly said that Gaddafi, who holds no official state position, will not quit.

The AU delegation went to Benghazi to confer with rebel leaders on Monday and was met by more than 2,000 demonstrators holding banners reading: "African Union take Gaddafi with you" and "Gaddafi has committed genocide."

 

NO LET-UP IN NATO ATTACKS

Officials from NATO, which is bombing Libyan government armor under a United Nations mandate to protect civilians, said they took note of the AU proposal but the alliance would continue operations while civilians were at risk.

"It does not appear that this indication of a peace deal has any substance at this point," said one NATO official in reference to the shelling of Misrata.

The African Union does not have a good track record in brokering peace deals, having failed recently to end conflict or disputes in Somalia, Madagascar and Ivory Coast.

"The issue of Gaddafi stepping down from any political position is a closed issue ... Muammar Gaddafi does not hold a position of power," Abdel Monem al-Lamoushi, a government spokesman, told Al Arabiya television.

"No one has the right to send Muammar Gaddafi into exile out of the land of his forefathers. This man will not leave Libya."

At the front outside the eastern rebel town of Ajdabiyah, rebels buried the charred bodies of Gaddafi troops killed in air strikes and said they had been ordered to wait until noon to advance because new NATO bombing was expected.

Gheriani expressed surprise that Zuma did not travel to Benghazi with the four other African heads of state. Zuma said he had urgent business elsewhere.

NATO, which has denounced attacks by Libya's forces on civilian areas, said only that it took note of the AU proposal.

The alliance stepped up attacks on Gaddafi's armor over the weekend, destroying 25 tanks around Misrata and Ajdabiyah.

 

NO DISCUSSION ON GADDAFI

An African Union statement after the Tripoli talks made no mention of Gaddafi's future. Asked if the issue of him stepping aside was discussed, Ramtane Lamamra, AU Commissioner for Peace and Security, told reporters: "There was some discussion."

However he added: "I cannot report on confidential discussions because first of all I was not part of them."

The AU proposal included an immediate cessation of hostilities, effective monitoring of the ceasefire, the delivery of humanitarian aid and the protection of foreigners.

Asked if he feared rebels might reject the plan, Lamamra said: "We believe what we have proposed is broad enough to launch negotiations ... What we need is for them to accept that we are people of good will."

The rebels have previously rejected a negotiated outcome to what has become the bloodiest in a series of pro-democracy revolts across the Arab world that have ousted the autocratic leaders of Tunisia and Egypt.

NATO said it had increased the tempo of its air operations over the weekend, after rebels accused it of responding too slowly to government attacks.

The NATO attacks outside Ajdabiyah on Sunday helped break the biggest assault by Gaddafi's forces on the eastern front for at least a week. The town is the gateway to the rebel stronghold of Benghazi 150 km (90 miles) north up the Mediterranean coast.

On Monday rebels were putting burned and mangled bodies into blankets by blackened government vehicles outside Ajdabiyah and dragging them into the desert for burial.

"We have been able to advance because of the air strikes," said rebel Belgassim El-Awami. It was not clear how far west the rebels had moved along a front which has swung back and forth for more than a week in a fight for the oil port of Brega.

(Additional reporting by Alex Dziadosz in Ajdabiyah, Mariam Karouny in Beirut, Richard Lough in Rabat, Christian Lowe in Algiers, Foo Yun Chee in Brussels and Karolina Tagaris in London; writing by Barry Moody; editing by Giles Elgood)

    Gaddafi forces shell town after he accepts peace plan, R, 11.4.2011,
    http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/04/11/us-libya-idUSTRE7270JP20110411

Yemen opposition rejects Gulf plan, Saleh accepts

SANAA | Mon Apr 11, 2011
10:30am EDT
By Mohamed Sudam and Mohammed Ghobari

SANAA (Reuters) - Yemen's opposition rejected on Monday a Gulf Arab initiative for President Ali Abdullah Saleh to step down, because it appears to offer him immunity from prosecution, while Saleh himself welcomed the plan.

Gulf Arab foreign ministers meeting in Riyadh late on Sunday said publicly for the first time that the framework of their mediation effort involved Saleh standing down, though it did not say when that would occur.

The ministers called for a meeting of parties to the Yemeni conflict in Saudi Arabia but set no date.

"Who would be a fool to offer guarantees to a regime that kills peaceful protesters? Our principal demand is that Saleh leaves first," opposition spokesman Mohammed al-Sabry said, referring to assurances that Saleh and his sons would not face the fate of rulers in Tunisia and Egypt.

Tens of thousands filled the streets of Sanaa, Taiz, Hudaida, Ibb and the southeastern province of Hadramaut on Monday to protest against the GCC plan, witnesses said.

Diplomatic sources say Saleh has dragged his heels for weeks over U.S. attempts to get him to agree to step down and end protests crippling the country since early February, maneuvering to win guarantees that he and his sons do not face prosecution.

With more than 100 protesters killed as security forces try to break up demonstrations with tear gas and live fire, activists have said they want to see legal action against Saleh and his sons, who occupy key security and political posts.

POWER TRANSFER

General Ali Mohsen, a kinsman of Saleh whose units are protecting protesters in Sanaa, said on Monday he welcomed the details of the GCC plan announced in Riyadh.

"He hopes all parties will accept this initiative and not miss this opportunity," a statement from his office said.

Shortly after the opposition rejected the Gulf initiative, Saleh's office issued a statement saying he accepted it.

"The presidency welcomes the efforts of our brothers in the Gulf Cooperation Council to solve the current crisis in Yemen," the statement said from his office said.

"He (Saleh) has no reservations about transferring power peacefully within the framework of the constitution," it added, in language Saleh has used before to argue he should oversee a transition involving new elections.

Long regarded by the West as a vital ally against al Qaeda militants, Saleh has warned of civil war and the break-up of Yemen if he is forced to leave power before organizing parliamentary and presidential polls over the next year.

He had sought Saudi mediation for some weeks, but Gulf diplomatic sources said Riyadh was prompted in the end by concern over the deteriorating security in its southern neighbor after Saleh failed to act on the backroom deal struck with U.S. officials on a quick exit.

Saudi Arabia, the world's biggest oil exporter, is the key financier of the Yemeni government as well as many Yemeni tribes on its border.

Countries of the region became convinced that Saleh, a shrewd political operator in power since 1978, is an obstacle to stability in a country that overlooks a shipping lane where over 3 million barrels of oil pass daily.

GULF ARABS SAY SALEH SHOULD GO

The GCC statement on Sunday talked of "the formation of a national unity government under the leadership of the opposition which has the right to form committees ... to draw up a constitution and hold elections."

It said Saleh should hand his authorities over to his vice president and that all parties should "stop all forms of revenge .. and (legal) pursuance, through guarantees offered" -- wording that appeared to offer Saleh assurances of no prosecution for him or his family once he leaves office.

Saleh's deputy, Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, has said he is not interested, which could open the way to the perennial survivor nominating an interim successor of his own choice.

Even before the protests, Saleh was struggling to quell a separatist rebellion in the south and a Shi'ite Muslim insurgency in the north -- violence that has given the Arabian Peninsula branch of al Qaeda more room to operate.

In continued unrest, two soldiers and a militant were killed in a clash between militants and the army in Lowdar in the restive Abyan province of south Yemen, which is seen as a hotbed of al Qaeda activity.

 

(Additional reporting by Mohammed Mukhashaf and Erika Solomon; Writing by Andrew Hammond; Editing by Nick Macfie and Paul Taylor)

    Yemen opposition rejects Gulf plan, Saleh accepts, R, 11.4.2011,
    http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/04/11/us-yemen-idUSTRE73A1NJ20110411

Rebels resort to guerrilla tactics in western Libya

TRIPOLI | Mon Apr 11, 2011
8:19am EDT
By Maria Golovnina

TRIPOLI (Reuters) - Overwhelmed by the superior firepower of Muammar Gaddafi's troops, opposition fighters in western Libya are resorting increasingly to guerrilla tactics in their campaign to topple the veteran leader.

Unlike eastern Libya, where rebels hold many coastal cities, the west of the country remains firmly under Gaddafi's control.

The proximity to the nerve center of Gaddafi's powerful military apparatus in the capital Tripoli makes it hard for fragmented dissenters to organize their actions into a movement.

But that may now be changing. Tripoli residents said there have been several attacks on army checkpoints and a police station in the past week, and gunfights can be heard at night.

In one attack a week ago, opposition supporters stormed a checkpoint in eastern Tripoli and seized arms, residents said.

"There have been attacks by Tripoli people and a lot of people have been killed on the Gaddafi army side," said a Libyan rebel sympathizer who lives in exile abroad and maintains daily contact with colleagues in the restive suburb of Tajoura.

Asked who the attackers were, he said they were local residents who wanted to topple the Libyan leader.

Either part of a broader rebel plan or simply a spontaneous evolution of tactics, the shift toward more urban resistance could add a new dimension to the two-month-old conflict and work to erode Gaddafi's support base in his main western stronghold.

Another resident said that in places like Tajoura the government controlled only key junctions and roads, where it has checkpoints reinforced with anti-aircraft guns and tanks.

But smaller streets deep inside suburbs were outside their control.

These reports could not be verified independently. Information is difficult to piece together because the government does not allow journalists to report freely in the capital. Suburbs such as Tajoura are off limits to reporters.

Residents have told Reuters there have been more gestures of defiance in the past week, including a street protest in the neighborhood of Fashloom -- a rarity in Tripoli since a fierce crackdown on anti-Gaddafi demonstrations in early March.

An opposition Facebook group has posted a video of what it described as a protest held on April 7 in Fashloom, a working-class suburb and the site of earlier clashes.

In the video, a group of men, their faces hidden with scarves, hold anti-Gaddafi banners and one of them reads out a statement declaring his allegiance to rebels.

"We are demonstrating yet again after we sacrificed hundreds of martyrs," he said.

 

REVOLT

Emboldened by rebel successes in the east, several western cities tried to rise up against Gaddafi in March but revolts in places like Zawiyah and Sabratha have been suppressed violently.

Militiamen have used live ammunition to prevent protests in Tripoli, locals say, and hundreds of young men have been jailed in the past weeks on suspicion of being rebel sympathizers.

At night, a network of military checkpoints springs up around Tripoli where militiamen stop all passing traffic even though there is no official night-time curfew.

The government says Tripoli and surrounding areas are under its control and denies any rise in underground rebel activity.

Gunfire regularly rings out in Tripoli at night, a normal occurrence in a country awash with weapons and where people enjoy shooting in the air to express emotions.

But even local residents, long used to sporadic shootings, have been alarmed by what sound like genuine gunfights in the dead of night.

"Many believe there have been small sporadic battles being fought in some of Tripoli's districts like Souk al-Juma," another witness was quoted as saying by the BBC on April 8.

The witness reported hearing what sounded like explosions and said he had heard a police station in the opposition-minded Souk al-Juma suburb had been raided.

By day, Tripoli is effectively in a security lockdown and there are no outright signs of protest or dissent.

Gaddafi's powerful propaganda machine has an overwhelming effect on people. Upbeat patriotic songs blare on street corners and cars plastered with Gaddafi portraits speed around, sounding their horns. People are reluctant to voice their opinions.

Social networks have been flooded with contradictory rumors about rebel attacks in Tripoli, and residents have given conflicting accounts of what they hear and see at night. Some users have suggested that rebels had infiltrated the city.

The picture is similar in other parts of western Libya.

In Zlitan, people said the security crackdown was increasingly tough in their small dusty town just west of the besieged city of Misrata, where rebels are fighting Gaddafi troops in an increasingly violent standoff.

"No one wants him anymore. He has to go," one rebel sympathizer in Zlitan told Reuters.

He said fighters from Misrata brought their wounded to local families in Zlitan for medical treatment but that was hard because of an intensifying security crackdown.

Silhouettes of what looked like gunmen could be seen on the rooftops on a recent visit to Zlitan. Its streets were almost deserted of civilians and many shops were boarded up.

Pointing at a large concrete building in central Zlitan, the man added: "They have a close watch on all our movements. That whole building is packed with intelligence. They are trying to divide us."

(Editing by Jeffrey Heller)

    Rebels resort to guerrilla tactics in western Libya, R, 11.4.2011,
    http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/04/11/us-libya-guerrilla-idUSTRE73A2H020110411

Palestinians to tell West they ready for statehood

RAMALLAH, West Bank | Mon Apr 11, 2011
9:07am EDT
Reuters
By Mohammed Assadi

RAMALLAH, West Bank (Reuters) - The Palestinians are ready for statehood, according to a report to be presented to major aid donor countries in Brussels this week by Prime Minister Salam Fayyad.

He will present facts and figures to show how his Palestinian Authority has used hundreds of millions of dollars in foreign assistance over the past two years to create justice, education, energy, health, water, security and housing services.

"I believe that our governing institutions have now reached a high state of readiness to assume all the responsibilities that will come with full sovereignty on the entire Palestinian occupied territory," Fayyad says in the 63-page document.

But he underlines that unless Israel's military occupation comes to an end, these accomplishments can only achieve so much.

"Without a change to the status quo, the positive impact of internal reforms to build a strong and healthy economy will be limited in both scope and sustainability," the report says.

Palestinian leaders aim to ask the United Nations General Assembly in September for recognition of statehood on all of the territory Israel occupied in 1967, including Gaza -- over which Fayyad and President Mahmoud Abbas have no control.

Israel has warned that such unilateral moves are not a substitute for a Middle East peace treaty that would establish a Palestinian state by mutual consent.

"Palestinians seek to go to an international forum and avoid peace negotiations," Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told EU diplomats on Monday. "It pushes peace further back."

INTERNATIONAL SUPPORT

But the Palestinian leadership is plowing ahead with clear signs of international encouragement. The number of countries that recognize Palestine as a state has risen this year to 110, more than half the membership of the United Nations.

The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund last week praised the performance of the PA, saying in separate reports that it was well-positioned to run an independent nation.

Fayyad said his government had connected all Palestinian residential areas, including remote ones, to the electricity grid, and paved and fixed 2,250 km (1,400 miles) of streets.

While they make up two parts of the same future state in theory, Gaza and the West Bank have never been more divided, politically and geographically. Abbas and Fayyad want peace with Israel. Hamas, which controls Gaza, rejects any deal that accepts the Jewish state.

The Israeli occupation, says the report, remains the "most significant challenge to economic development in Palestine."

"Restrictions on movement and access, as well as lack of control over borders and natural resources continue to be real barriers to the growth of the economy."

Palestinians administer their own affairs in islands of land in a West Bank landscape peppered with Jewish settlements. They have no access to some 60 percent of West Bank land.

"Lack of access to natural resources for example, including land and water, severely constrains any sustainable progress through out the economy," the report says.

The document will be presented on April 13 to the Ad Hoc Liaison Committee, a 12-member committee of the European Union and United States which serves as the principal policy-level coordination mechanism for assistance to the Palestinians.

(Editing by Douglas Hamilton and Andrew Heavens)

    Palestinians to tell West they ready for statehood, R, 11.4.2011,
    http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/04/11/us-palestinians-israel-statehood-idUSTRE73A2BF20110411

Gaddafi forces flout international law: watchdog

RABAT | Mon Apr 11, 2011
7:54am EDT
Reuters

RABAT (Reuters) - Human Rights Watch said on Monday indiscriminate attacks on civilians trapped in the Libyan city of Misrata by forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi violate international law.

Hospitals in Libya's third city had documented about 250 deaths over the past month, most of them civilians, as government troops fight for control of the last big rebel stronghold in the west of Libya, the group said.

"We've heard disturbing accounts of shelling and shooting at a clinic and in populated areas, killing civilians where no battle was raging," Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East and North Africa director at Human Rights Watch, said in a statement.

Under international law, warring factions are not allowed to target civilians or carry out assaults that do not discriminate between civilians and combatants, the New York-based organization said.

The watchdog said it spoke to two doctors and 17 evacuees including 35-year-old Jamal Muhammad Suaib, who lost three family members in an attack by government soldiers.

"My wife was holding my son," he was quoted as saying. "The bullet hit her in the arm and ricocheted into my son's face. None of us had a weapon. We were just families looking for (a) safe place to stay."

Libyan officials deny attacking civilians and say they are engaged in a battle against armed militia groups and al Qaeda sympathizers bent on destabilizing the North African country.

Journalists have not been allowed to report freely from Misrata, making it difficult to verify the accounts.

Misrata is not the only place from where allegations that Gaddafi loyalists have waged a campaign of terror against civilians have emerged.

People fleeing the sparsely populated Western Mountains region say government troops are shelling homes, poisoning water wells and threatening to rape women. Gaddafi has long viewed the region's Berber people with suspicion.

In Misrata, children have also fallen prey to the conflict, the United Nation's children's agency UNICEF said, citing "at least 20 child deaths and many more injuries, due to shrapnel from mortars and tanks, and bullet wounds."

Misrata rose up in revolt against Gaddafi's four-decade rule in mid-February along with other towns across the country. Gaddafi's forces have encircled the city and sought to loosen the rebels' grip with persistent shelling and sniper fire.

The humanitarian situation in the city of 300,000 people is an increasing worry, Human Rights Watch said. "The government has blocked all humanitarian aid via land routes," it said, adding this act too flouted international law.

Limited food and medical relief has arrived through Misrata's rebel-controlled port.

 

(Additional reporting by Robert Evans in Geneva; editing by Christian Lowe and Mark Heinrich)

    Gaddafi forces flout international law: watchdog, R, 11.4.2011,
    http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/04/11/us-libya-misrata-rights-idUSTRE73A2AP20110411

Gaddafi accepts peace plan but rebels say he must go

TRIPOLI | Mon Apr 11, 2011
1:41am EDT
Reuters
By Maria Golovnina

TRIPOLI (Reuters) - Muammar Gaddafi has accepted a roadmap for ending the conflict in Libya including an immediate ceasefire, the African Union said on Monday, but an opposition representative said it would only work if Gaddafi left power.

South African President Jacob Zuma, who met Gaddafi at the head of a delegation of African leaders, urged NATO to stop air strikes on government targets to "give ceasefire a chance."

Earlier truce offers from Gaddafi have come to nothing and the rebels, who took up arms across the east and in some towns in the west after the Libyan leader crushed protests in February, have said they will accept nothing less than an end to his 41 year-old rule.

"The brother leader delegation has accepted the roadmap as presented by us. We have to give ceasefire a chance," Zuma said, adding that the African delegation would now travel to the eastern city of Benghazi for talks with anti-Gaddafi rebels.

Asked if the issue of Gaddafi stepping down was discussed, Ramtane Lamamra, AU Commissioner for Peace and Security, told reporters: "There was some discussion."

However he added: "I cannot report on confidential discussions because first of all I was not part of them, and I think they have to remain confidential between the parties involved."

Officials from NATO, which stepped up attacks on Gaddafi's armor on Sunday to weaken a bitter siege of Misrata in the west and disrupt an advance by his troops in the east, were not immediately available for comment on Zuma's ceasefire appeal.

The British-based representative of the Libyan opposition leadership, Guma al-Gamaty, said it would look carefully at the AU plan, but would not accept any deal designed to keep Gaddafi or his sons in place, Britain's BBC reported.

Libyan officials have repeatedly said Gaddafi will not quit.

Zuma met Gaddafi for several hours at the Libyan leader's Bab al-Aziziyah compound with four other African heads of state.

 

SUNDAY FIGHTING

The AU's Lamamra said the proposal included the delivery of humanitarian aid, protection of foreigners, dialogue between all parties and "the establishment of an inclusive transition period with a view to adopting and implementing necessary political reforms."

He said the AU was ready to help with the deployment of a ceasefire monitoring mechanism and could work alongside the United Nations and the Arab League.

Asked if he feared rebels might reject the plan, Lamamra said: "We believe what we have proposed is broad enough to launch negotiations ... What we need is for them to accept that we are people of good will."

"It's not up to any outside force, even the African Union itself, to decide on the behalf of the Libyan people on who the leader of the country should be," Lamamra told a news conference in the early hours of Monday morning after the AU talks.

The rebels have previously rejected a negotiated outcome to what has become the bloodiest in a series of pro-democracy revolts across the Arab world that have ousted the autocratic leaders of Tunisia and Egypt.

 

NATO INTENSIFIES ATTACKS

NATO, mandated by the United Nations to protect civilians in Libya from attacks by Gaddafi's forces, said it had increased the tempo of its air operations over the weekend, after rebels accused it of responding too slowly to government attacks.

The insurgents hailed the more muscular approach.

The NATO strikes outside Ajdabiyah on Sunday helped break the biggest assault by Gaddafi's forces on the eastern front for at least a week. The town is the gateway to the rebel stronghold of Benghazi 150 km (90 miles) north up the Mediterranean coast.

A Reuters reporter saw six burning hulks surrounded by 15 charred and dismembered bodies in two sites on Ajdabiyah's western approaches which rebels said were hit by air strikes. "NATO has to do this to help us every single day. That is the only way we are going to win this war," said 25-year-old rebel Tarek Obeidy, standing over the bodies.

The government attack, which began on Saturday, included a fierce artillery and rocket bombardment, while some of Gaddafi's forces, including snipers, penetrated Ajdabiyah. Rebels cowered in alleys for several hours under the bombardment.

The corpses of four rebels were found dumped on a roadside.

"Their throats were slit. They were all shot a few times in the chest as well. I just could not stop crying when I saw them," said rebel Muhammad Saad. "This is becoming tougher and tougher."

But by afternoon rebels looked back in control of Ajdabiyah, commanding key intersections, and fighting had died down.

Ajdabiyah had been the launch point for insurgents during a week-long fight for the oil port of Brega 70 km (45 miles) further west, and its fall would be a serious loss.

 

GADDAFI APPEARS

Gaddafi, making his first appearance to foreign media in weeks, joined the visiting African leaders at his compound.

He then climbed into a sports utility vehicle and was driven about 50 meters (yards) where he waved through the sunroof and made the "V" for victory sign to a crowd of cheering supporters.

The appearance, his second in two days, and his upbeat demeanor, confirmed the impression among analysts that his circle has emerged from a period of paralysis and is preparing for a long campaign, another sign mediation will be difficult.

Analysts predict a drawn-out, low-level conflict possibly leading to partition between east and west in the sprawling North African Arab state, a major oil and natural gas producer.

NATO's commander of Libyan operations, Canadian Lieutenant General Charles Bouchard, said after Sunday's air attacks: "The situation in Ajdabiyah, and Misrata in particular, is desperate for those Libyans who are being brutally shelled by the regime."

Asked for comment on the ceasefire announcement, a British official repeated a well-worn statement: "We will judge Gaddafi by his actions not his words."

(Additional reporting by Michael Georgy in Ajdabiyah, Mariam Karouny in Beirut, Richard Lough in Rabat, Christian Lowe in Algiers, Stella Mapenzauswa in Johannesburg, Foo Yun Chee in Brussels and Karolina Tagaris in London; writing by Barry Moody and Philippa Fletcher; editing by Miral Fahmy)

    Gaddafi accepts peace plan but rebels say he must go, R, 11.4.2011,
    http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/04/11/us-libya-idUSTRE7270JP20110411

Factbox - NATO military operations against Libya's Gaddafi

BRUSSELS | Sun Apr 10, 2011
12:39pm EDT
Reuters

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Following are latest available details of Western military operations in Libya.

* NATO forces have a total of about 195 aircraft at their disposal.

* Since NATO took command of Western military operations in Libya on March 31, its aircraft have made 1,567 sorties, including 643 intended as strike missions. On April 9, it conducted 133 sorties and 56 strike missions. Not all strike sorties have led to targets being hit.

* Eighteen vessels are patrolling the Mediterranean to enforce a U.N.-mandated arms embargo. Thirty-three vessels were stopped by NATO forces on April 9 to determine what they were carrying and their destination; no boardings were conducted.

More than 200 vessels have been halted and five boardings conducted since the beginning of arms embargo operations.

* NATO said its forces destroyed 25 tanks belonging to Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi's forces on Sunday. Eleven vehicles were struck as they approached Ajdabiyah, a town bombarded heavily by Gaddafi loyalists on Sunday. Fourteen were hit on the outskirts of Misrata.

* NATO air strikes have also sought to take out ammunition bunkers and lines of communications.

* Gaddafi's forces forced their way inside Ajdabiyah early on Sunday in their most determined assault on the strategic eastern town for at least a week. But by early afternoon the rebels looked back in control and seemed to have cleared the town. They commanded key intersections and fired six rockets toward the west.

* NATO aircraft hit six vehicles carrying Libyan government soldiers during an assault on Ajdabiyah on Sunday, killing at least 15. The strikes appeared to have helped break an assault by Gaddafi forces on the town, a strategic town 150 km (90 miles) km south of the rebel stronghold of Benghazi.

* Britain's ministry of defense said on Sunday UK Royal Air Force aircraft were continuing to provide support for NATO's operations.

* On Saturday, it said, Tornado GR4 aircraft used Brimstone Missiles to hit four Main Battle Tanks and one armored fighting vehicle in the area of Misrata.

* NATO said its forces destroyed 17 tanks belonging to Gaddafi's forces on Friday and early Saturday -- 15 near the western city of Misrata, and two south of Brega.

* NATO's commander of Libyan operations said on Saturday the alliance had destroyed "a significant percentage" of Gaddafi's armored forces in the previous 24 hours.

* Targets also included ammunition stockpiles east of the capital, Tripoli.

* A NATO official said the alliance had intercepted a MIG 23 aircraft near Benghazi on Saturday, flown by a rebel pilot, and advised him to land.

* Troops loyal to Gaddafi launched a heavy assault on the coastal city of Misrata on Saturday, killing at least 30 rebel fighters, a rebel spokesman said.

    Factbox - NATO military operations against Libya's Gaddafi, R, 10.4.2011,
    http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/04/10/us-libya-nato-idUSTRE7391Z920110410

Syrian forces seal off Banias, sectarian tension mounts

Sun, Apr 10 2011
AMMAN | Sun Apr 10, 2011
11:58pm EDT
Reuters
By Khaled Yacoub Oweis

AMMAN (Reuters) - Syrian security forces sealed off the coastal city of Banias overnight following sectarian killings by irregulars loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, witnesses said on Monday.

Violence in Banias, home to one of Syria's two oil refineries, erupted on Sunday when irregulars from the ruling Alawite minority, known as "shabbiha," fired at residents with automatic rifles from speeding cars, following pro-democracy protests in the mostly Sunni Mediterranean city.

At least three people were killed, a human rights activist in the city told Reuters. The authorities said an armed group had ambushed a patrol near Banias, killing nine soldiers.

Another rights activist said roads to the town were blocked.

"We tried to get to Banias from the main exit off the coastal highway, but secret police had blocked the road and were turning cars back. Side roads were also blocked," he said.

Facing an unprecedented challenge to his authoritarian rule, Assad has said the protests are part of a foreign conspiracy to sow sectarian strife.

His father, the late President Hafez al-Assad, used similar language when he crushed leftist and Islamist challenges to his rule in the 1980s, killing thousands.

Civic leaders and opposition figures reject the allegation and issued a declaration last month denouncing sectarianism, committing to non-violent democratic change and stating that Syria's people "as a whole are under repression."

ALAWITES PROTEST

The ruling family -- Bashar's brother Maher is the second most powerful person in Syria -- belong to the Alawite minority, an offshoot of Shi'ite Islam, which comprises around 10 percent of the country's 20 million population.

"The Alawites, like other minorities living under tyrannical systems, fear the unknown if the regime falls. But this does not mean that they support the violence it is committing," an Alawite human rights lawyer said.

The protests have spread across Syria despite Assad's attempts to defuse resentment by making gestures toward demands for an end to an emergency law in force for five decades and to appease minority Kurds and conservative Sunni Muslims.

With popular dissent now in its fourth week, security forces fanned out in tanks on Saturday night near the Banias oil refinery -- one of two in Syria -- near the Alawite district of Qusour, where its main hospital is located.

Gunfire could be heard across the city on Sunday. A human rights activist in Banias told Reuters at least three civilians died when the shabbiha came from mountains overlooking Banias.

"Banias's residents know they were thugs under orders and that sectarian strife would spell destruction for everybody," he said, pointing out that Alawites, along with Sunnis, have participated in pro-democracy protests in Banias.

"The streets have emptied following the killings. People are afraid. The shabbiha fired at random and you can see bullet holes on buildings," he added.

REPERCUSSIONS

At least 90 people in Syria have been killed in mass demonstrations, which first erupted in March to demand the release of school children who scrawled pro-democracy graffiti on school walls in the southern city of Deraa, and later progressed to calling for freedoms and an end to Assad's rule.

Any political change in Syria would have wider repercussions because the ruling Assad family maintains an anti-Israel alliance with Iran and supports the militant Hezbollah and Hamas movements while also seeking a peace deal with the Jewish state.

The West has condemned Syria's use of violence but diplomats say it is unlikely that Syria will face the kind of intervention seen in Libya, unless killings reach the scale of the 1980s.

Then, mostly Alawite forces loyal to the elder Assad attacked the city of Hama to crush an uprising led by the Muslim Brotherhood. Up to 30,000 people were killed.

"I am afraid that the security forces in Syria are much more tied to the regime than in Libya. The Syrian protesters are oblivious to the distinct possibility that the ruling elite may not hesitate to kill thousands to hold onto power," one of the diplomats said.

The authorities have intensified a crackdown on independent media since the protests began, expelling Reuters Damascus correspondent and detaining four other Reuters journalists for several days. Two Associated Press journalists were also expelled at less than an hour's notice, the agency said.

Syria has blamed the unprecedented unrest on "armed groups" firing randomly at citizens and security forces and state television is the only media allowed into the flashpoints.

A doctor and a university professor in Banias said a group was guarding the Sunni Abu Bakr al-Siddiq mosque with sticks during morning prayers when it came under attack by the shabbiha in their cars.

"Four people were hit in the feet and legs. The fifth sustained the most serious injury, an AK-47 bullet that went through his left chest lateral," said the doctor.

The attack followed a demonstration of some 2,000 people in Banias on Friday when protesters shouted "the people want the overthrow of the regime" -- the rallying cry of the Egyptian and Tunisian revolutions that have inspired growing protests across Syria against decades of Alawite domination.

(Editing by Philippa Fletcher)

    Syrian forces seal off Banias, sectarian tension mounts, R, 10.4.2011,
    http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/04/11/us-syria-idUSTRE72N2MC20110411

More than 1,000 defy Egypt army order to quit square

CAIRO | Sun Apr 10, 2011
8:53pm EDT
Reuters
By Patrick Werr

CAIRO (Reuters) - More than 1,000 protesters ignored an army order to leave Cairo's main square on Sunday, extending into a third day their calls for a quick move to civilian rule and a deeper purge of corrupt officials.

Barbed wire blocked roads into Tahrir Square, the center of the protests that toppled Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak on February 11 and a major thoroughfare in the traffic-choked capital.

Protesters cried "revolution, revolution" and brandished an effigy of Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, who heads the military council now ruling Egypt and is also defense minister, as he was under Mubarak for many years.

"What is wanted is a civilian council," read one slogan. "The people demand that the field marshal be toppled," the protesters cried.

A dozen armored personnel carriers full of troops waited near the square but out of sight.

Egypt's army rulers have enjoyed broad support since taking control on February 11, but complaints against them are growing -- although they have promised free, fair elections for a new parliament in September.

A hard core of protesters say the army is colluding with remnants of Mubarak's network and thwarting popular demands for more of his lieutenants to face trial.

 

TASERS, BATONS

Hundreds of thousands packed Tahrir Square on Friday in one of the biggest demonstrations since Mubarak was ousted.

Soldiers and police used tasers and batons to try to drive out the protesters. Medical sources said 13 men were wounded by gunfire and two died late on Friday.

The army backed out of the square after failing to remove all the protesters, and later announced that it would clear the square on Saturday night.

"But nothing happened," said Ahmed el-Moqdami, 25, who said he was in a group representing the youth of Upper Egypt.

"We will continue the sit-in until our demands are met," he said. "First of all, the field marshal must go. Mubarak must be put on trial and a civilian council must be formed for the transition period."

The army said violence at the protest was caused by elements "that backed the counter-revolution" -- an apparent reference to those loyal to Mubarak, who ruled autocratically for 30 years.

It said they were trying to "sow discord between the army and the people" and said soldiers did not use live ammunition.

There was little security presence in the square on Sunday morning. A burned-out vehicle was as a reminder of the violence and men were sweeping away rubbish.

The protesters were checking the identity of people walking into Tahrir Square but later stopped, removed some of the barbed wire and briefly allowed some cars to pass through.

"We did this so that no one can blame us for supposedly bringing normal life to a halt as has been said before," said Mohamed Abduh, 29.

Later, 40 to 50 youths arrived in the square and began hurling rocks. Protesters chased the youths away into side streets and blocked the square to traffic again.

(Writing by Tom Pfeiffer; editing by Tim Pearce)

    More than 1,000 defy Egypt army order to quit square, R, 10.4.2011,
    http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/04/11/us-egypt-protest-idUSTRE73754M20110411

Gulf states push for Yemen's Saleh to leave

RIYADH | Sun Apr 10, 2011
6:50pm EDT
Reuters
By Jason Benham

RIYADH (Reuters) - Gulf Arab countries have stepped up their push for Yemen's President Ali Abdullah Saleh to hand over power, pressuring him and opposition representatives to meet to negotiate an orderly transition.

Tens of thousands have taken to the streets demanding an end to Saleh's 32 years as leader of the poorest country in the Middle East, where he has struggled to quell a northern Shi'ite rebellion, a southern separatist movement and a resurgent wing of al Qaeda.

A proposal last week by Saudi Arabia, Saleh's main financial backer until now, and other Gulf states for talks appeared to be in jeopardy Friday, when Saleh lashed out in fury at Qatar's prime minister for suggesting that mediation would lead to Saleh standing down. Saleh called it "belligerent intervention."

But foreign ministers from the Gulf Cooperation Council -- Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates -- gathered in the Saudi capital presented a united front Sunday.

In a joint statement, they said Saleh's government and the opposition should meet soon under GCC sponsorship, but gave no date.

They said a key principle of the meeting should be "the formation of a national unity government under the leadership of the opposition which has the right to form committees ... to draw up a constitution and hold elections."

Long regarded by the West as a vital ally against al Qaeda militants, Saleh has warned of civil war and the break-up of Yemen if he is forced to leave power before organising new parliamentary and presidential elections over the next year.

DEATHS

But the killing of more than 100 protesters by security forces has begun to convince countries of the region that Saleh is now an obstacle to stability in a country that overlooks a shipping lane carrying over 3 million barrels of oil a day.

Analysts say that both Saudi Arabia and United States are now keen to arrange a quick exit.

Although Saleh had early last week accepted a GCC proposal to hold talks with the opposition, it was not clear whether the renewed push would work. The opposition has also set tough conditions for a meeting, diplomatic sources say.

Gulf officials told Reuters Wednesday that the GCC had put together a detailed proposal that involved a governing council grouping all the various political parties and tribes ruling Yemen for up to three months, and that names were being circulated of figures who could head the council.

But diplomats familiar with the negotiations who spoke to Reuters last week questioned whether a deal was anywhere close to being struck.

In recent weeks, talks that included the U.S. ambassador in Sanaa became bogged down over Saleh's demand for assurances that he and members of his family would not face prosecution.

Sunday's GCC proposal calls for Saleh to transfer power to his vice president Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi "smoothly and safely" so that Yemen would not "slide into chaos and violence."

Some 40 percent of Yemen's 23 million people live on less than $2 a day and one-third face chronic hunger. Exasperation with state repression and rampant corruption have poured fuel on the fire of the pro-democracy movement.

Violent clashes have continued almost daily with at least 27 people killed over the past week. Security forces have used live ammunition and tear gas against the protesters.

(Writing by Reed Stevenson; Editing by Kevin Liffey)

    Gulf states push for Yemen's Saleh to leave, R, 10.4.2011,
    http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/04/10/us-yemen-idUSTRE73920A20110410

Prosecutor to summon Mubarak in deaths, graft probes

CAIRO | Sun Apr 10, 2011
12:50pm EDT
Reuters
By Sherine el Madany and Sarah Mikhail

CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt's public prosecutor on Sunday summoned Hosni Mubarak as part of probes into the killing of protesters and the embezzlement of public funds, but the ousted former president said allegations against him of wrongdoing were lies.

Mubarak's sons Gamal and Alaa were also summoned in the embezzlement probe, general prosecutor Abdel Maguid Mahmoud said in a statement, adding that Mubarak's rejection of the corruption accusations against him and his family would not affect the investigations.

The prosecutor also detained former Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif for 15 days as part of investigations into squandering of public funds.

Earlier, Mubarak broke a two-month silence since his fall from power on February 11 to say information sent to the prosecutor would show he owned no financial assets or real estate abroad.

Details of bank accounts owned by his sons Alaa and Gamal would disprove any suspicions of profiteering and illegal gains, he said.

"I will uphold all my legal rights to defend my reputation as well as that of my family both at home and abroad," Mubarak said in a recorded statement carried by Al Arabiya TV.

Several countries froze assets of Mubarak's family and some of their associates after he was forced from office under a wave of public indignation at corruption among the political elite.

Protesters who massed across Egypt for 18 days to demand Mubarak's removal accused him of squandering the country's wealth and some media reports have suggested the former president may have amassed a fortune worth billions of dollars.

 

MEDIA "LIES"

Mubarak's family and some political allies were banned from traveling while state prosecutors investigate the complaints against them.

"I have been, and still am, pained by what I and my family are facing from fraudulent campaigns and unfounded allegations that seek to harm my reputation, my integrity and my military and political record," said Mubarak.

He said he only had assets and bank accounts in one Egyptian bank, as he had previously disclosed.

Mubarak said "lies" carried by local and foreign media that he and his family own extensive real estate holdings abroad would be disproved.

Since he left office, Mubarak, 82, and his family have stayed in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh and Egyptian officials have denied reports and rumors that he is very ill.

Reformers who drove the mass street protests that ousted the autocratic leader of three decades have demanded tougher steps to recover assets they say he and others took from the state.

A committee set up to probe violence during the demonstrations that toppled Mubarak laid charges against the former president for the murder of protesters.

More than 360 people died in the uprising and thousands were injured when police fired rubber bullets, live ammunition, water cannon and tear gas at peaceful protesters.

(Additional reporting by Patrick Werr; Writing by Tom Pfeiffer; editing by Jon Boyle)

    Prosecutor to summon Mubarak in deaths, graft probes, R, 10.4.2011,
    http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/04/10/us-egypt-mubarak-idUSTRE7391II20110410

Mubarak says he will fight "lies" about assets

CAIRO | Sun Apr 10, 2011
10:53am EDT
Reuters

CAIRO (Reuters) - Former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak, breaking a two-month silence, said Sunday that accusations of corruption against his family were lies and he had the right to defend his reputation.

In his first public comments since being ousted from power on February 11, Mubarak said information sent to Egypt's public prosecutor would show he owns no financial assets or real estate abroad.

Details of bank accounts owned by his sons Alaa and Gamal would disprove any suspicions of profiteering and illegal gains.

"I will uphold all my legal rights to defend my reputation as well as that of my family both at home and abroad," Mubarak said in a recorded statement carried by Al Arabiya TV.

"I have been, and still am, pained by what I and my family are facing from fraudulent campaigns and unfounded allegations that seek to harm my reputation, my integrity and my military and political record."

He said he only had assets and bank accounts in one Egyptian bank, as he had previously disclosed.

Reformers who drove the mass street protests that ousted the autocratic leader of three decades have demanded tougher steps to recover assets they say he and others took from the state.

Since he left office, Mubarak, 82, and his family have stayed in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh and Egyptian officials have denied reports and rumors that he is very ill.

Mubarak said "lies" carried by local and foreign media that he and his family own extensive real estate holdings abroad would be disproved.

 

(Reporting by Sherine El Madany and Sarah Mikhail; writing by Tom Pfeiffer; editing by Mark Heinrich)

    Mubarak says he will fight "lies" about assets, R, 10.4.2011,
    http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/04/10/us-egypt-mubarak-idUSTRE7391II20110410

Gaddafi forces bombard and enter strategic rebel town

AJDABIYAH, Libya | Sun Apr 10, 2011
10:30am EDT
Reuters
By Michael Georgy

AJDABIYAH, Libya (Reuters) - Muammar Gaddafi's artillery heavily bombarded Ajdabiyah and his forces forced their way inside on Sunday in their most determined assault on the strategic eastern town for at least a week.

Rebels cowered in alleyways from sustained artillery, rocket and small-arms fire and appeared to be losing control of the town, which is gateway to their stronghold of Benghazi 150 km (90 miles) up the Mediterranean coast to the north.

Ajdabiyah had been the launch point for insurgents during a week-long fight for the oil port of Brega further west and its fall would be a serious loss.

Rebels said Gaddafi's forces killed at least four fighters in the second day of fighting for Ajdabiyah.

"I saw the four this morning. Their throats were slit and they were all shot through the chest and dumped on the road. Their car was also riddled with bullets," said a rebel, Mohammed Saad, at a checkpoint on the eastern edge of Ajdabiyah.

Insurgent Hassan Bosayna said eight Gaddafi fighters and four rebels were killed in fighting on Saturday, with one of the rebels shot in the forehead by a sniper.

Another rebel, Muftah, said: "There are Gaddafi forces inside Ajdabiyah in sand-colored Land Cruisers and we know there are snipers in civilian clothing in the city as well."

Gaddafi's artillery shelled the western approaches all morning and two rockets landed in the center in the middle of the day. There were long exchanges of small arms fire.

The streets were deserted as insurgents guarded various crossroads and dashed around in pick-ups.

The mostly untrained rebels have tried to reorganize and re-equip but were unable to hold ground last week against Gaddafi's better-armed forces in the fight for Brega.

 

AFRICAN UNION PEACE MISSION

A high-level African Union delegation led by South African President Jacob Zuma was due in Tripoli on Sunday to try to kindle peace talks between the two sides.

South African officials said the delegation, which also included the leaders of Mauritania, Congo, Mali and Uganda, would meet rebel leaders in Benghazi after talking to Gaddafi.

Western officials have acknowledged that their air power will not be enough to help the rag-tag rebels overthrow Gaddafi by force and they are now emphasizing a political solution.

But a rebel spokesman rejected a negotiated outcome in the conflict, the bloodiest in a series of pro-democracy revolts across the Arab world that have already dethroned the leaders of Tunisia and Egypt.

"There is no other solution than the military solution, because this dictator's language is annihilation, and people who speak this language only understand this language," spokesman Ahmad Bani told al Jazeera television.

Analysts predict a long, low-level conflict possibly leading to partition between east and west in the sprawling North African Arab country.

Gaddafi's government sought to showcase a reform-friendly face on Sunday, gathering foreign journalists in the early hours of the morning to unveil a "Libyan version" of democracy.

Details were vague and officials could not explain what Gaddafi's role would be, but it was clear he would continue to play a leading role. Insurgents say they want democracy in Libya without Gaddafi, who has ruled with an iron hand for 41 years.

The fight for Ajdabiyah on Sunday followed pitched battles on Saturday when rebels fought off a heavy assault by government forces on the besieged western coastal city of Misrata.

One insurgent there said 30 fighters were killed but another said there were eight confirmed dead and 10 unconfirmed.

Rebels in Misrata, a lone rebel bastion in western Libya which has been under siege for six weeks, hailed more muscular NATO operations against Gaddafi's besieging forces.

The alliance confirmed an increased tempo of attacks and said it had destroyed 17 government tanks between Friday and Saturday, 15 near Misrata and two south of Brega.

Gaddafi's forces appear bent on seizing Misrata and crucially its port, which some analysts say is vital if Gaddafi is to survive because it supplies the capital Tripoli.

Rebel spokesman Mustafa Abdulrahman said by telephone that Saturday's Misrata fighting centered on a road to the port, where a Red Cross vessel brought in badly needed medical supplies earlier in the day.

As fighting raged on for the coastal town, where conditions are said to be desperate, a buoyant Muammar Gaddafi made his first television appearance for five days on Saturday.

Wearing his trademark brown robes and dark glasses, he was shown smiling and pumping his fists in the air at a school where he was welcomed ecstatically. Women ululated, one wept with emotion and pupils chanted anti-western slogans.

Gaddafi looked relaxed, confirming the impression among analysts that his administration has emerged from a period of paralysis and is hunkering down for a long campaign.

 

INCREASED NATO STRIKES

NATO's commander of Libyan operations said the alliance, which took over air strikes against Gaddafi from three Western powers on March 31, had destroyed "a significant percentage" of his armored forces and ammunition stockpiles east of Tripoli.

Canadian Lieutenant General Charles Bouchard also accused Gaddafi's forces of using civilians as human shields, adding to similar charges made by other Western commanders.

"We have observed horrific examples of regime forces deliberately placing their weapons systems close to civilians, their homes and even their places of worship," Bouchard said in a statement on Saturday.

(Additional reporting by Maria Golovnina in Tripoli, Mariam Karouny in Beirut, Richard Lough in Rabat, Joseph Nasr in Berlin, Marie-Louise Gumuchian in Tunis, Stella Mapenzauswa in Johannesburg and William Maclean in London; Writing by Barry Moody; editing by Mark Heinrich)

    Gaddafi forces bombard and enter strategic rebel town, R, 10.4.2011,
    http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/04/10/us-libya-idUSTRE7270JP20110410

Syrian forces fire at mourners, U.N. "greatly disturbed"

AMMAN | Sat Apr 9, 2011
11:54pm EDT
By Khaled Yacoub Oweis and Suleiman al-Khalidi

AMMAN (Reuters) - Syrian security forces opened fire on mourners near a mosque in the flashpoint city of Deraa after a mass funeral for pro-democracy protesters, two witnesses said.

Security forces used live ammunition and tear gas to disperse thousands of people who were chanting freedom slogans after assembling near the old Omari mosque in the old quarter of the city, the witnesses said on Saturday.

Dozens of people have been killed in a wave of protests across Syria against the rule of President Bashar al-Assad.

A Syrian rights group said at least 37 people had been killed in protests across the country on Friday.

"Syrian security committed (in Deraa) what could be called a crime against humanity," the National Organization for Human Rights said in a statement. "It fired indiscriminately on protesters and killed and wounded tens of them."

State television for its part said armed groups had killed 19 policemen and wounded 75 in the city, near the border with Jordan. The Interior Ministry warned it would not tolerate breaches of the law and would deal with "armed groups," state news agency SANA said.

United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon told Assad in a telephone call "he was greatly disturbed by the latest reports of violence against protesters," a U.N. statement said.

WOUNDED YOUTHS

A witness in Deraa said he had seen at least four youths wounded by snipers being taken by protesters to a nearby clinic.

Residents say people avoid taking many of the wounded to state-run hospitals for fear the injured will be arrested by plain clothes security personnel stationed in hospitals.

Popular demonstrations calling for greater freedom, inspired by Arab uprisings that began in Tunisia and Egypt, have shaken Syria. Assad has responded with a mixture of force against protesters, gestures toward political reform and concessions to conservative Muslims, including closing Syria's only casino.

In the early hours of Saturday, security forces used live ammunition to disperse hundreds of people in Latakia, causing scores of injuries and possible deaths, residents said.

One witness said he had seen water trucks washing blood off the streets near Takhasussieh School in the Sleibeh district.

"You can't go two steps on the street without risking arrest," a resident said. "It's difficult to know if there were deaths, but we heard heavy AK-47 fire."

Ban, who urged "maximum restraint" in a call with Assad a week earlier, told him on Saturday violence by any side was deplorable and the government had a duty to protect civilians.

There was no alternative to an immediate and inclusive debate on comprehensive reform, Ban said.

A key demand of the protesters is the repeal of emergency laws imposed by the Baath party after it took power in a coup in 1963 and banned all opposition.

Assad has ordered a committee to study replacing them with anti-terrorism legislation, but critics say it will probably grant the state many of the same powers.

 

NATIONWIDE PROTESTS

On Friday, rallies swept Syria from Latakia in the west to Albu Kamal on the east, as demonstrations entered a fourth week. But on Saturday, most cities were calm.

Foreign Minister Walid al-Moualem told ambassadors in Damascus that "subversive elements infiltrated the protesters and opened fire on the police and the protesters to drag the country into violence and cause chaos."

Assad, a member of the Alawite sect, which accounts for 10 percent of Syria's population, has said the protests are serving a foreign conspiracy to sow sectarian strife.

The Interior Ministry accused "plotters pushed by known foreign sides" of firing at protesters to create a rift between people and police.

"(They) have infiltrated the ranks of the demonstrators to sow discord between the citizens and the security forces. There is no more room for leniency or tolerance in enforcing law ..."

 

(Additional reporting by Mariam Karouny and Peter Cooney in New York; editing by Kevin Liffey and Philippa Fletcher)

    Syrian forces fire at mourners, U.N. "greatly disturbed", R, 9.4.2011,
    http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/04/10/us-syria-idUSTRE72N2MC20110410

Increased NATO strikes help rebels beat Misrata assault

TRIPOLI | Sat Apr 9, 2011
11:26pm EDT
Reuters
By Maria Golovnina

TRIPOLI (Reuters) - Libyan rebels beat off a new assault by Muammar Gaddafi's forces on the besieged western city of Misrata, losing as many as 30 fighters but helped by more intense NATO air strikes.

As fighting raged on for the coastal town, where conditions are said to be desperate, a buoyant Muammar Gaddafi made his first television appearance for five days and his troops engaged rebels in more fighting on the eastern front of the civil war.

Misrata is the last major rebel outpost in the west of Libya. Gaddafi's forces appear bent on seizing the city and crucially its port, which some analysts say Gaddafi needs if he is to survive a long conflict.

Rebel spokesman Mustafa Abdulrahman said by telephone Saturday's fighting centered on a road to Misrata port, where a Red Cross vessel brought in badly needed medical supplies earlier in the day.

Abdulrahman praised what he called a positive change from NATO, saying its aircraft carried out several air strikes on Gaddafi's besieging forces. Rebels have complained for days that NATO is too slow to respond to government attacks.

A government-organized trip to Misrata revealed deserted streets and many heavily shelled buildings in the city's south. An official there said a NATO strike hit the outskirts and a warplane could be seen sweeping across the sky.

NATO aircraft hit 15 tanks near Misrata and two south of Brega in the east of the country on Friday and early Saturday, an alliance official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

NATO's commander of Libyan operations said the alliance, which took command of air strikes against Gaddafi on March 31, had destroyed "a significant percentage" of his armored forces and ammunition stockpiles east of Tripoli in the past 24 hours.

Canadian Lieutenant General Charles Bouchard also accused Gaddafi's forces of using civilians as human shields, adding to similar charges made by other Western commanders.

"We have observed horrific examples of regime forces deliberately placing their weapons systems close to civilians, their homes and even their places of worship," Bouchard said in a statement on Saturday.

"Troops have also been observed hiding behind women and children. This type of behavior violates the principles of international law and will not be tolerated."

 

GADDAFI VISIT

Misrata, 200 km (125 miles) east of the capital Tripoli, has been under siege by Gaddafi's forces for weeks. Libya's third largest city, it rose up with other towns in mid-February.

"Today they (government troops) attacked Misrata on three fronts," a rebel who identified himself as Abdelsalem said by telephone. "Medical workers and rebels told me that at least 30 rebel fighters were killed in Misrata today."

A second rebel spokesman, Saadoun, said the day's rebel death toll was eight confirmed and 10 unconfirmed. Five rebels were killed in another government assault on Friday.

Rebels say people are crammed five families to a house in the few safe districts to escape weeks of sniper, mortar and rocket fire. There are severe shortages of food, water and medical supplies and hospitals are overflowing.

In Tripoli, Gaddafi, who was last seen on television on April 4, was shown smiling and pumping his fists in the air at a school where he was welcomed ecstatically. Women ululated, one wept with emotion and pupils chanted anti-western slogans.

Wearing his trademark brown robes and dark glasses, Gaddafi looked confident and relaxed, confirming the impression among analysts that his administration has emerged from a period of paralysis and is hunkering down for a long campaign.

Gaddafi's military have pushed back a rebel advance in the east, and inconclusive battles have been fought along the desert road between the Mediterranean oil port of Brega and Ajdabiyah, gateway to the rebel stronghold of Benghazi, for over a week.

Rebels had said they had intended to take Brega and some had penetrated the outskirts. But their assault seemed to have petered out by nightfall, following a familiar pattern.

 

REBELS REJECT TALKS

Abdullah Mutalib, 27, a rebel lying in a hospital bed in Ajdabiyah with a bullet wound in his side, told Reuters: "Some of us got inside Brega to the university, some got to the outskirts. Then we came under rocket fire."

In a sign of rebel frustration, a NATO official said the alliance had intercepted what they assumed to be a rebel MIG 23 aircraft near Benghazi on Saturday and advised it to land, the first interception of a fighter aircraft since they began enforcing a United Nations-mandated no-fly zone over Libya last month.

Western officials have acknowledged that their air power will not be enough to help the rag-tag rebels overthrow Gaddafi by force and they are now emphasising a political solution.

But a rebel spokesman rejected a negotiated outcome.

"There is no other solution than the military solution, because this dictator's language is annihilation, and people who speak this language only understand this language," spokesman Ahmad Bani told al Jazeera television.

Analysts predict a long, low-level conflict possibly leading to partition between east and west in the sprawling country.

(Additional reporting by Michael Georgy in Ajdabiyah, Mariam Karouny in Beirut, Hamid Ould Ahmed and Christian Lowe in Algiers, Richard Lough in Rabat, Joseph Nasr in Berlin, Marie-Louise Gumuchian in Tunis and William Maclean in London; Writing by Barry Moody and Philippa Fletcher; Editing by Robert Birsel)

    Increased NATO strikes help rebels beat Misrata assault, R, 9.4.2011,
    http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/04/10/us-libya-idUSTRE7270JP20110410

Army "ready to use force" to clear Cairo square

CAIRO | Sat Apr 9, 2011
8:38pm EDT
Reuters
By Patrick Werr and Marwa Awad

CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt's ruling generals said on Saturday they were ready to use force to end protests in Tahrir Square after troops cracked down on demonstrators overnight and sparked violence that medical sources said killed two people.

Soldiers and police had used tasers and batons to try to drive out protesters from the square, the epicenter of protests that toppled Hosni Mubarak on February 11. Gunshots echoed across the square in the overnight operation.

But hundreds defied the army move and stayed. Thousands more joined them on Saturday, demanding power be handed to civilians and calling for the resignation of Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, who heads the ruling council.

"Tahrir Square will be emptied of protesters with firmness and force to ensure life goes back to normal," the council's Major General Adel Emarah told a news conference.

The army has become a target for a hard core of protesters who say it is colluding with remnants of Mubarak's network and thwarting calls for a deeper purge of former officials.

"The military council is part and parcel of the corrupt regime. It is made up of heads of the army that have benefited from Mubarak and his 30 years of robbing the Egyptian people," said Abdullah Ahmed, 45, a protester in Tahrir.

Responding to Emarah's remarks, protester Zain Abdel Latif in Tahrir said: "If they use force, we will use force. This isn't Libya, where the army can just attack us."

The protesters' anger was fueled early on Saturday morning when the army tried to clear demonstrators from Tahrir during the 2 a.m. to 5 a.m. curfew. After failing to remove all the protesters, troops backed out of the square during the day.

WASHINGTON CONCERNED

The United States, which gives Egypt $1.3 billion a year in military aid, said it was concerned by events in Tahrir.

"We have seen the disturbing reports of the use of excessive force overnight in Tahrir Square and are looking into the situation. We urge the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces to conduct a thorough and timely investigation," the U.S. embassy said in a statement.

Medical sources said 13 men had been wounded by gunfire and two had died. The army said the troops who entered the square did not have live ammunition and none was fired by soldiers. The army detained 42 people during the curfew hours on Saturday.

The military blamed the trouble on what it described as elements "that backed the counter-revolution" -- an apparent reference to Mubarak loyalists. They were trying to "sow discord between the army and the people," it said.

Emarah said they included eight people dressed illegally in military uniform who had entered Tahrir during the protest on Friday. An investigation was under way, he said.

A former army officer said around 15 serving military officers had taken part in the protest to express anger with Tantawi and to show solidarity with the revolution.

Ibrahim Abdel Gawad, the ex-officer, said he spoke for the group of soldiers in uniform. He said 11 had been detained.

He said the officers had worn uniforms to make clear they were defying the authority of Tantawi, who served as defense minister for two decades under Mubarak.

Hundreds of thousands of Egyptians had packed into Tahrir on Friday in the biggest rally since February 18, when millions turned out across Egypt to celebrate Mubarak's downfall.

In scenes reminiscent of the protests that brought down Mubarak, three army vehicles were burned out in the square and the roads were strewn with rocks from the overnight violence.

"Either Field Marshal Tantawi puts these people -- Mubarak, Gamal (his son), and the others -- on trial, or he leaves his post and lets someone else do it. The slowness of the process makes people suspicious that the army (leadership) might be implicated," said Ashraf Abdel-Aziz, 36, a shop owner.

The army dismisses such charges and says it is guarding against any attempt by former officials to undermine reforms.

In a concession, the military said it would change some of the provincial governors from Mubarak's era.

Although angering reformists, emptying Tahrir may please those Egyptians who are tired of the disruption caused by demonstrations. The economy has been hammered as tourists have fled and investors hold back.

 

"MEASURED STEPS"

"The army is trying to strike a balance between carrying out reforms, purging the old system and maintaining economic and political stability," said Hassan Nafaa, a political science professor who was active in mobilizing the protest movement.

He dismissed the idea that the army was complicit with Mubarak's old network, adding: "The army knows well that many key people from Mubarak's era control the economy and have deep roots in society. It is therefore taking measured steps."

The Muslim Brotherhood, an influential Islamist movement, said the army and the people were united. "The solidarity that happened between the army and the people during this great revolution must continue and be strengthened," it said.

It praised the army as the "protector of the nation."

A statement in the council's Facebook page said an order had been issued to detain Ibrahim Kamel, a senior member of Mubarak's ruling party, for "incitement and thuggery by some of his associates that stirred up the people in Tahrir Square."

General Emarah denied that such an order had been issued.

The military has enjoyed broad support since it took control, but complaints against its rule have grown.

"We condemn the intentional slowness of the military council in meeting demands of the revolution and call on Egyptians to return to Tahrir Square and stay until Mubarak and his followers are arrested and tried," a coalition of youth groups that drove the initial anti-Mubarak protests said in a statement.

Some protesters took barbed wire that had been left unused by the army on Saturday and dragged it across roads leading to the square. As they had done during protests to oust Mubarak, demonstrators started checking the IDs of those entering Tahrir.

"We will not leave here again until they take tangible steps to put Mubarak and high officials on trial," said Mohamed Abdul-Karim, 31, a lawyer. He said he was a member of a committee to protect the rights of people injured in protests.

Mubarak and his family are banned from leaving Egypt. The former president, 82, is living in internal exile in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh..

(Additional reporting by Dina Zayed, Isabel Coles and Tom Perry; Writing by Edmund Blair; Editing by Kevin Liffey)

    Army "ready to use force" to clear Cairo square, R, 9.4.2011,
    http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/04/10/us-egypt-protest-idUSTRE73754M20110410

China says U.S. human rights outcry is interference

BEIJING | Sat Apr 9, 2011
6:24pm EDT
Reuters

BEIJING (Reuters) - China said it was willing to discuss its differences on human rights "with mutual respect" with the U.S. on Saturday after rejecting a recent official report from Washington as interference in its internal affairs.

"China would like to conduct dialogue on the basis of equality and mutual respect. But China resolutely opposes using the issue of human rights to interfere in China's internal affairs," Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said in a statement posted on the ministry's website www.fmprc.gov.cn.

China has extended a crackdown on dissidents, human rights lawyers and protesters challenging Communist Party controls, with artist Ai Weiwei the most prominent of activists to be detained by police or held in secretive custody.

Police have said Ai faces an investigation for "suspected economic crimes," a charge his family has rejected as a fig leaf for smothering his outspoken criticism of government censorship and abuses.

China's clampdown on dissent has brought an outcry from Washington and other Western capitals, and the U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Friday she was "deeply concerned" about it, citing "negative trends" including Ai's detention.

China's Foreign Ministry spokesman countered that the U.S. should focus on its own human rights issues.

"We advise the U.S. side to reflect on its own human rights issues and don't position itself as a preacher of human rights, and to stop using the issue of human rights reports to interfere in other countries' internal affairs," Hong said.

China is routinely dismissive of foreign criticism of its restrictions on citizens' legal, political and religious activities, saying its people enjoy more freedom and better lives than in the past. It also accuses the U.S. of hypocrisy in human rights standards.

The latest U.S. State Department report on human rights across the globe said Beijing had stepped up restrictions on lawyers, activists, bloggers and journalists; tightened controls on civil society; and stepped up efforts to control the press, the Internet and Internet access.

Chinese authorities also increased the use of forced disappearances, house arrest, and detention in illicit "black jails" to punish activists, petitioners and their families, said the U.S. report.

(Reporting by Jacqueline Wong; Editing by Mike Nesbit)

    China says U.S. human rights outcry is interference, R, 9.4.2011,
    http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/04/09/us-china-usa-rights-idUSTRE7382EH20110409

Army says ready to use force to clear Cairo square

CAIRO | Sat Apr 9, 2011
3:36pm EDT
Reuters
By Patrick Werr and Marwa Awad

CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt's ruling generals said on Saturday they were ready to use force to end protests in Tahrir Square after troops cracked down on demonstrators overnight and sparked violence that medical sources said killed two people.

Soldiers and police had used tasers and batons to try to drive out protesters from the square, the epicenter of protests that toppled Hosni Mubarak on February 11. Gunshots echoed across the square in the overnight operation.

Hundreds defied the army move and stayed. Thousands more joined them on Saturday demanding power be handed to civilians and calling for the resignation of Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, who heads the ruling council.

"Tahrir Square will be emptied of protesters with firmness and force to ensure life goes back to normal," the council's Major General Adel Emarah told a news conference.

The army has become a target for a hard core of protesters who say it is colluding with remnants of Mubarak's network and thwarting calls for a deeper purge of former officials.

"The military council is part and parcel of the corrupt regime. It is made up of heads of the army that have benefited from Mubarak and his 30 years of robbing the Egyptian people," said Abdullah Ahmed, 45, a protester in Tahrir.

Responding to Emarah's remarks, protester Zain Abdel Latif in Tahrir said: "If they use force we will use force. This isn't Libya, where the army can just attack us."

The protesters' anger was fueled early on Saturday morning when the army tried to clear demonstrators from Tahrir during the 2 a.m. to 5 a.m. curfew. After failing to remove all the protesters, troops backed out of the square during the day.

WASHINGTON CONCERNED

Medical sources said 13 men were wounded by gunfire and two had died. The army said troops who entered the square did not have live ammunition and none was fired by soldiers.

"There were elements that backed the counter-revolution and attempted to sow discord between the army and the people. These elements included persons wearing armed forces uniform," said Emarah, adding eight people entered Tahrir wearing military uniform illegally. He said an investigation was underway.

The United States, which gives Egypt $1.3 billion a year in military aid, said it was concerned by events in Tahrir.

"We have seen the disturbing reports of the use of excessive force overnight in Tahrir Square and are looking into the situation. We urge the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces to conduct a thorough and timely investigation," the U.S. embassy said in a statement.

Ibrahim Abdel Gawad, an ex-officer who said he spoke for a group of soldiers in uniform, said about 15 serving officers joined the Tahrir protest on Friday. He said 11 were detained.

He said the officers wore uniforms to make clear they did not accept the authority of Tantawi, who served as defense minister for two decades under Mubarak.

Hundreds of thousands of Egyptians had packed into Tahrir on Friday in the biggest rally since February 18, when millions turned out across Egypt to celebrate Mubarak's downfall.

In scenes reminiscent of protests that brought down Mubarak, three army vehicles were burned out in the square and the roads were strewn with rocks from the overnight violence.

"Either Field Marshal Tantawi puts these people -- Mubarak, Gamal (his son), and the others -- on trial, or he leaves his post and lets someone else do it. The slowness of the process makes people suspicious that the army (leadership) might be implicated," said Ashraf Abdel-Aziz, 36, a shop owner.

The army dismisses such charges and says it is guarding against any attempt by former officials to undermine reforms.

Although angering reformists, emptying Tahrir may please those Egyptians who are tired of the disruption caused by demonstrations. The economy has been hammered as tourists have fled and investors hold back.

ISLAMISTS SAY ARMY, PEOPLE UNITED

"The army is trying to strike a balance between carrying out reforms, purging the old system and maintaining economic and political stability," said Hassan Nafaa, a political science professor who was active in mobilizing the protest movement.

He dismissed the idea the army was complicit with Mubarak's old network, adding: "The army knows well that many key people from Mubarak's era control the economy and have deep roots in society. It is therefore taking measured steps."

The Muslim Brotherhood, an influential Islamist movement, said the army and the people were united. "The solidarity that happened between the army and the people during this great revolution must continue and be strengthened," it said.

It praised the army as the "protector of the nation."

A statement the council's Facebook page said an order had been issued to detain Ibrahim Kamel, a senior member of Mubarak's ruling party, for "incitement and thuggery by some of his associates that stirred up the people in Tahrir Square."

General Emarah denied such a statement was issued.

The military has enjoyed broad support since it took control, but complaints against its rule have grown.

"We condemn the intentional slowness of the military council in meeting demands of the revolution and call on Egyptians to return to Tahrir Square and stay until Mubarak and his followers are arrested and tried," a coalition of youth groups that drove the initial anti-Mubarak protests, said in a statement.

Some protesters took barbed wire that had been left unused by the army on Saturday and dragged it across roads leading to the square. As they had done during protests to oust Mubarak, demonstrators started checking IDs of those entering Tahrir.

"We will not leave here again until they take tangible steps to put Mubarak and high officials on trial," said Mohamed Abdul-Karim, 31, a lawyer. He said he was a member of a committee to protect the rights of people injured in protests.

Mubarak and his family are banned from leaving Egypt. The former president, 82, is living in internal exile in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh.

    Army says ready to use force to clear Cairo square, R, 9.3.2011,
    http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/04/09/us-egypt-protest-idUSTRE73754M20110409

At least 37 killed on Friday in Syria: rights group

Sat, Apr 9 2011
BEIRUT | Sat Apr 9, 2011
10:31am EDT
Reuters

BEIRUT (Reuters) - A Syrian rights group accused state security forces on Saturday of committing a crime against humanity, saying they had killed at least 37 people during Friday's demonstrations across the country.

The National Organization for Human Rights said that 30 people were killed in the southern city of Deraa, the center of protests. Three more people died in the central city of Homs and three in Harasta, a Damascus suburb, as well as one in Douma.

"What is happening in Syria is a flagrant violation of (human rights)," it said in a statement. "The Syrian security committed (in Deraa) what could be called a crime against humanity ... It fired indiscriminately on protesters and killed and wounded tens of them."

The group listed the names of the dead in Deraa.

State television said armed groups killed 19 policemen and wounded 75 in the city. The interior ministry accused "plotters pushed by known foreign sides" of firing at protesters to create a rift between people and police.

Protests have spread across Syria, challenging the 40-year rule of the Assad family and dozens of demonstrators have been killed with security forces opening fire.

Syrian security forces opened fire again on Saturday on mourners near the old Omari mosque in Deraa following a mass funeral for the dead pro-democracy protestors, two witnesses said.

(Reporting by Mariam Karouny; editing by David Stamp)

    At least 37 killed on Friday in Syria: rights group, R, 9.4.2011,
    http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/04/09/us-syria-protests-toll-idUSTRE7381UM20110409

Gaza-Israel violence rages on, 4 militants killed

GAZA | Sat Apr 9, 2011
4:41am EDT
By Nidal al-Mughrabi

GAZA (Reuters) - Israel killed four Palestinian militants and wounded half a dozen others as it pursued air raids in Gaza for a third day on Saturday, responding to increased rocket fire out of the territory, local medics said.

Militants in the Gaza Strip, ruled by the Islamist Hamas, continued striking Israel's south with rockets, wounding five Israelis at around daybreak, according to Israeli media reports.

Cross-border violence has surged since Hamas militants fired an anti-tank rocket at an Israeli school bus on Thursday, wounding two people including a teenager, who was listed in critical condition.

Israel has said it wants to teach Hamas a lesson for that attack which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Friday amounted to "crossing a line," adding that "whoever tries to attack and murder children puts his life on the line."

Israeli security cabinet member Gideon Sa'ar said on Saturday that Israel's raids in Gaza, a tiny coastal territory under Israeli blockade, would go on.

"We will not permit sporadic shootings or the disruption of life" inside Israel," Sa'ar told Israel Radio. "We will continue to operate, under full consideration, to implement a principle of defending our citizens."

At least 18 Palestinian militants and civilians, including an 11-year-old boy, have been killed in retaliatory strikes on the Gaza Strip since Thursday, and 36 since the latest round of bloodletting began in earnest on March 20.

Political analysts in Gaza, explaining the timing of the new bloodshed, said Hamas wanted to beef up its claim to leadership of the divided Palestinian national movement and divert attention from popular demands -- fueled by pro-democracy unrest elsewhere in the Arab world -- for an end to a split with its Western-backed Fatah rivals, who govern in the West Bank.

70 ROCKETS FIRED AT ISRAEL

Gaza militants have fired over 70 rockets and mortars into Israel since Thursday, damaging a house, police said. Israeli media said half a dozen people have been wounded. Some 50 rockets were fired on Friday, and an "Iron Dome" missile defense system in place since last week intercepted some of them.

Israeli forces killed a local Hamas commander in the southern Gaza town of Rafah bordering Egypt, as well as two of his bodyguards, in a targeted strike on a vehicle, medics said.

All three were killed instantly, they said. Five militants were wounded in a second air raid in northern Gaza, and at daybreak another air strike killed a further militant.

Israeli air strikes killed nine Palestinian militants and civilians on Friday. They included an adult found dismembered by a cemetery in a densely populated town, an elderly Palestinian and two women when their house in Khan Younis was hit, hospital sources said. Three other women were wounded.

An Israeli military spokesman said Palestinians firing rockets at Israel were targeted in that strike.

The Israeli military said "uninvolved civilians have apparently been injured" in one strike on Friday and said it "regrets that the Hamas terrorist organization chooses to operate from within its civilian population, using it as a 'human shield'."

Two years of low-level skirmishing on the border escalated suddenly last month when Hamas, which rules Gaza, fired a barrage of rockets at Israel. Hamas had largely withheld fire at Israel since a Gaza war in late 2008 in which 1,400 Palestinians and 13 Israelis were killed.

(Writing by Allyn Fisher-Ilan; editing by Mark Heinrich)

    Gaza-Israel violence rages on, 4 militants killed, R, 9.4.2011,
    http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/04/09/us-palestinians-israel-gaza-idUSTRE7377Z620110409

Egyptians protest, defy army bid to disperse them

CAIRO | Sat Apr 9, 2011
4:39am EDT
By Patrick Werr and Marwa Awad

CAIRO (Reuters) - About 2,000 Egyptians defied soldiers who tried to disperse a protest overnight in Cairo's Tahrir Square and vowed on Saturday to keep demonstrating until former President Hosni Mubarak was tried and other demands met.

Some protesters, angry at the army's use of tasers and batons to drive them out of Tahrir overnight, hurled rocks at a smoldering army truck. Two other army vehicles were burned out. Soldiers were not in the central square area on Saturday.

After a protest by hundreds of thousands of Egyptians during the day on Friday, the army surrounded the square to clear it for the curfew from 2 a.m. to 5 a.m. Gunshots echoed around the square during the night as the army clashed with protesters.

Protesters in the rock-strewn square showed off casings of live rounds they said were used. One demonstrator pointed to a pool of blood. In one street near the square, a Reuters witness counted about a dozen trucks carrying troops lined up.

"Thank God, we resisted them (the army), and we are still here," said one protester in Tahrir, which was the epicenter of demonstrations that pushed Mubarak out on February 11 after 30 years in office. Egypt is now run by a military council.

Some protesters took barbed wire that had been left unused by the army and dragged it across roads leading to the square. As they had done during protests to oust Mubarak, demonstrators started checking IDs of those entering Tahrir.

"We will not leave here again until they take tangible steps to put Mubarak and high officials on trial," said Mohamed Abdul-Karim, 31, a lawyer. He said he was a member of a committee to protect the rights of people injured in protests.

Some protesters also want the ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces to hand power to a civilian council and have called for the resignation of Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, who heads the army council. He has stayed on as defense minister after serving for two decades in that post under Mubarak.

DETENTION

Many ordinary Egyptians, however, are tired of the protests that have hurt the economy and want an end to the disruption.

The ruling military council said police and soldiers had "confronted acts of rioting and implemented a curfew" without causing any loss of life and blamed disturbances on "elements outside the law in Tahrir," the state news agency reported.

The council also said on its Facebook page it had ordered the detention of Ibrahim Kamel, a senior member in Mubarak's party, for "incitement and thuggery by some of his associates that stirred up the people in Tahrir Square" on Friday.

The council said it would "continue with firmness to seek out remnants of the previous regime and National Democratic Party" involved in such acts in order to maintain security.

The military has enjoyed broad support since it took control of the country on February 11, but complaints against its rule are growing. Attention is now focused on the perceived tardiness of legal measures against Mubarak and his entourage.

"We will stay here until Mubarak is brought to trial," Mahmoud Salama, who works in a tourist agency, said in Tahrir.

Mubarak and his family are banned from leaving Egypt. The former president, 82, is in internal exile in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh.

Speaking overnight from the square, Mohamed Fahmy, 29, said: "They are moving in on us with very aggressive force, I can see people running in every direction."

The sound of gunshots resounded as he spoke. He said the shots were fired into the air.

"Why is the army beating us? Why is the army firing at us?" chanted protesters overnight, according to one witness.

The military had forcibly dispersed protesters before from Tahrir Square. In that case, the military apologized the next day, saying there had been no order to assault the protesters and called the incident unintentional.

(Additional reporting by Dina Zayed;
Writing by Edmund Blair; editing by Philippa Fletcher)

    Egyptians protest, defy army bid to disperse them, 9.4.2011,
    http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/04/09/us-egypt-protest-idUSTRE73754M20110409

Israel kills Hamas commander in Gaza strike

Fri, Apr 8 2011
GAZA | Fri Apr 8, 2011
7:01pm EDT
By Nidal al-Mughrabi

GAZA (Reuters) - An Israeli air strike killed a Hamas commander in the southern Gaza Strip and two of his bodyguards in their vehicle on Saturday, Palestinian medics said.

Israel had no immediate comment on the attack, which raised to 17 the number of Palestinians killed in retaliatory strikes since a rocket fired from the Hamas-ruled territory struck an Israeli school bus on Thursday seriously wounding a teenager.

In all 35 Palestinians in Gaza have been killed since the start on March 20 of the latest round of bloodletting, which has included dozens of rockets and mortar bombs fired by Palestinian militants at the Jewish state.

An Israeli missile was fired before dawn on Saturday targeting a vehicle whose passengers included a Hamas commander for the Rafah area, near the border with Egypt, and two of his bodyguards, medical officials said. All three were killed instantly.

Violence has escalated dramatically since Gaza militants fired an anti-tank rocket at a yellow school bus in southern Israel on Thursday, seriously wounding a 16-year-old Israeli and wounding an adult. Hamas claimed responsibility for the attack.

Israel has said it wants to teach Hamas a lesson for that attack which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Friday amounted to "crossing a line" adding that "whoever tries to attack and murder children puts his life on the line."

Israeli air strikes killed nine Palestinian militants and civilians on Friday, including an 11-year-old boy and an adult found dismembered by a cemetery in a densely populated town east of Gaza City.

 

ROCKETS SHOT AT ISRAEL

An Israeli military spokesman said that strike had targeted Palestinians firing rockets at Israel, and that more than 50 rockets were shot at Israel on Friday. Israeli media said a house was damaged and one soldier was slightly injured by these rockets and mortar attacks.

Several of the rockets fired from Gaza on Friday were intercepted by Israel's "Iron Dome" anti-missile system deployed earlier in the week for the first time.

Among those killed in Gaza on Friday were militants, and an elderly Palestinian and two women killed when their house in Khan Younis was hit. Three other women were wounded, according to hospital sources.

The Israeli military said "uninvolved civilians have apparently been injured" in one strike on Friday.

"The IDF regrets that the Hamas terrorist organization chooses to operate from within its civilian population, using it as a 'human shield'," the statement said.

Two years of low-level skirmishing on the border escalated suddenly last month when Hamas, which rules Gaza, fired a barrage of rockets at Israel. Hamas had largely withheld fire at Israel since a Gaza war of late 2008 in which 1,400 Palestinians and 13 Israelis were killed.

(Writing by Allyn Fisher-Ilan; editing by Philippa Fletcher)

    Israel kills Hamas commander in Gaza strike, R, 8.4.2011,
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/04/08/us-palestinians-israel-gaza-idUSTRE7377Z620110408

Rebels repel assault on Misrata, five dead

TRIPOLI | Fri Apr 8, 2011
6:25pm EDT
Reuters
By Maria Golovnina

TRIPOLI (Reuters) - Libyan rebels said on Friday they had repulsed a government assault on the besieged western port city of Misrata and a resident said five people were killed in the fighting.

Prospects faded that Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi would be ousted by the armed revolt and NATO leaders acknowledged the limits of their air power, which has caused rather than broken a military stalemate.

Alliance officials expressed frustration that Gaddafi's tactics of sheltering his armor in civilian areas had reduced the effects of air supremacy and apologized for a "friendly fire" incident on Thursday in which rebels said five fighters were killed.

Misrata, a lone major rebel outpost in the west of the country, has been under siege by Gaddafi's forces for weeks. On Friday, insurgents said they had pushed back an assault on the eastern flank of the coastal city after fierce street battles.

A rebel spokesman said government troops had advanced on the heavily populated Esqeer district in an effort to loosen the rebels' grip on Misrata, where families are crammed together in the few remaining safe districts.

"The attack from the east has been repelled now and the (pro-Gaddafi) forces have been pushed back," rebel spokesman Hassan al-Misrati told Reuters by telephone.

A Misrata resident called Ghassan told Reuters: "Medics at the hospital told us that five people were killed today and 10 others were wounded. We were at the hospital and we talked to medics."

Also speaking by phone, he said he could still hear clashes in the town. "We can still hear mortar fire in the distance."

NATO air strikes hit weapons depots belonging to Gaddafi's forces near the town of Zintan on Friday, a resident said.

"The depots are situated 15 km southeast of Zintan. We could see buildings on fire in the distance," the resident, called Abdulrahman, said by phone.

 

DESULTORY STALEMATE

The only active front in the war, along the Mediterranean coast around the eastern towns of Brega and Ajdabiyah, has descended into a desultory stalemate with both sides making advances and then retreating behind secure lines.

On Friday, rebels at the western boundary of Ajdabiyah, still jittery after the friendly fire accident, fled from an artillery bombardment but there was no sign of a government advance.

Ahmed Ignashy, a doctor at Ajdabiyah hospital, said about six rebels were wounded in skirmishes 20 km (12 miles) west.

The head of U.S. Africa Command, General Carter Ham, said the conflict was entering stalemate and it was unlikely the rebels would be able to fight their way into Tripoli.

Early hopes that air attacks on Gaddafi forces would tip the balance in favor of the rebels had evaporated and Western leaders were emphasizing a political solution.

NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen took a similar line to Ham on Friday. "There is no military solution only. We need a political solution," he told Al Jazeera television.

NATO spokeswoman Oana Lungescu spoke of the difficulties facing alliance pilots because of Gaddafi's tactics. "The fact is they are using human shields and parking tanks next to mosques and schools so it is very hard to pinpoint any military hardware without causing civilian casualties," she said.

 

POSSIBLE DIVISION

Political analysts predicted an extended conflict leading toward possible division of the country between east and west.

"The opposition forces are insufficient to break this deadlock and so as things stand the march on Tripoli is not going to happen," said John Marks, chairman of Britain's Cross Border Information consultancy.

"This standoff looks like it could go on pretty much forever ... for now we have a stalemate so we are looking rather more at a de facto partition."

Geoff Porter of North Africa Risk Consulting agreed. "It is increasingly unlikely that the rebels will get anywhere close to Tripoli," he said.

The confusion on the desert battlefield has caused friendly fire incidents, increasing anger among the rebels, who said they lost five men on Thursday when NATO planes bombed a column of 20 tanks brought out of storage to bolster the eastern front.

It was the second time in less than a week that rebels had blamed NATO for bombing their comrades by mistake after 13 were killed in an air strike not far from the same spot on Saturday.

Misrata, Libya's third city, rose up with other towns against Gaddafi in mid-February and has been under siege for weeks after a crackdown put an end to most protests in the west.

Rebels say people in Misrata are crammed five families to a house in the few safe districts, to escape weeks of sniper, mortar and rocket fire. There are severe shortages of food, water and medical supplies and hospitals are overflowing.

The insurgents have used containers filled with sand and stone to block roads and break supply lines to Gaddafi forces including snipers in Misrata, the rebel spokesman said.

They destroyed lower levels of a multi-storey building, stranding dozen of government snipers.

 

(Additional reporting by Alex Dziadosz in Ajdabiyah, Michael Georgy in Benghazi, Mariam Karouny in Beirut, Hamid Ould Ahmed and Christian Lowe in Algiers and Marie-Louise Gumuchian in Tunis, Phil Stewart in Washington, Justina Pawlak in Brussels, William Maclean in London; Writing by Barry Moody; editing by Andrew Dobbie)

    Rebels repel assault on Misrata, five dead, R, 8.4.2011,
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/04/08/us-libya-idUSTRE7270JP20110408

Syrian Protests Are Said to Be Largest and Bloodiest to Date

April 8, 2011
The New York Times
By LIAM STACK and KATHERINE ZOEPF

CAIRO — Dozens of communities across Syria erupted in protest on Friday in what activists said were by far the largest and bloodiest demonstrations against the iron rule of President Bashar al-Assad.

While the number of protesters, said by some opposition activists to be in the hundreds of thousands, could not be independently confirmed, the size of the protests and their level of coordination suggest that Syria’s fragmented opposition movement is reaching new levels of coherence and organization.

The deadliest clashes were in the southern city of Dara’a, where security forces opened fire on demonstrators, witnesses said. A Syrian human rights activist said 21 deaths had been confirmed, but that figure was likely to rise.

The government, meanwhile, said its security forces had been fired on by armed groups in Dara’a. The Interior Ministry said 19 police officers and members of security forces were killed, in addition to several civilians, the government news agency, Sana, reported. It was the first time the government had made a substantial claim of deaths.

The numbers reported by either side were difficult to verify. Foreign news media have not been permitted to travel outside Damascus, the capital, and state security forces have cordoned off the towns and suburbs where the largest protests took place.

There were also protests on Friday in Damascus, in a suburb where at least 15 protesters were killed by security forces last Friday, and in Kurdish towns in the east.

In Washington, President Obama condemned what he called “the abhorrent violence committed against peaceful protesters by the Syrian government today and over the past few weeks.” He also condemned “any use of violence by protesters.”

Ausama Monajed, a London-based political activist who is in frequent touch with protesters in Dara’a and other cities, said that the protest movement had gained enormous momentum and confidence over the past week. Though Syria lacks a natural mass gathering point like Tahrir Square in Egypt, he said, he estimated that across Syria, total numbers of protesters might add up to hundreds of thousands.

He called the attack on protesters in Dara’a “a massacre.” He feared that the government might be trying to make an example of Dara’a, where the protests began three weeks ago after a group of teenagers was arrested for writing antigovernment graffiti, as it did with Hama in 1982.

“What happened is that after Friday Prayers, the marchers started to chant, ‘Freedom! Freedom!’ and security forces opened fire,” Mr. Monajed said in a phone interview. “When the protesters tried to collect the dead and wounded, the security forces opened fire again.”

There were reports that security forces had closed the hospitals, possibly to forestall further protests at funerals on Saturday, Mr. Monajed said. According to Islamic custom, the dead are buried as soon as possible, and the funerals of protesters in recent weeks have turned into political demonstrations.

Ammar Abdulhamid, a Syrian dissident who lives in Maryland and has helped organize the protests, said that according to his contacts in Dara’a, 100 may have been killed there and as many as 500 wounded.

Though Syria’s protest movement is far more decentralized than it has been in Egypt and Bahrain, Mr. Abdulhamid said, its strength is growing.

“Each community has its own uprising,” he said. “Every week the regime is being forced closer to its endgame.”

The killings in Dara’a on Friday, he said, may have been an attempt by the government “to send a lesson to other cities,” the way Mr. Assad’s father, Hafez al-Assad, massacred at least 10,000 Muslim Brotherhood members in Hama in 1982 to strike fear in Islamists across the country.

Amr al-Azm, a Syrian historian, cautioned that it was not yet clear how broad support for the protest movement was. He said the greatest numbers of protesters were poor, semirural and young, and that the country’s powerful Sunni upper-middle class had not yet decided where it stood.

“The urban upper-middle classes feel uncomfortable with these people,” he said. “The thing about Syria is that in order for these protests to reach the critical mass you need to achieve real change, you have to tap into the merchant classes of Damascus and Aleppo.”

He said that group was unhappy with the government but also concerned about stability.

There were also protests on Friday in the eastern Kurdish areas, two days after Mr. Assad sought to quell unrest there by offering Syrian nationality to the estimated 200,000 Kurds, formerly classified by the government as stateless.

Kurdish leaders and human rights activists rejected the offer.

Hakeem Bashar, a Kurdish leader, said that thousands of people had demonstrated in Qamishli, one of the largest towns in the Kurdish northeast.

“We want all of the demands that other Syrians in other parts of the country are making,” Dr. Bashar said. “These are national demands, but we are demanding them too because this is our country. We are Kurds, but we are also Syrians.”

Security forces have maintained a heavy presence in Damascus. Six buses carrying uniformed and plainclothes officers arrived at the Al Rifai mosque, a center of protests last week, during Friday Prayer, said Wissam Tarif, a human rights activist, pulling open its doors and beating worshipers as they exited.

Security forces scuffled with protesters and hauled others into the waiting buses as they chanted “Freedom! Freedom!”

Villagers outside of Damascus marched toward Douma, a village where security forces fired on demonstrators last week, killing at least 15 people.


Liam Stack reported from Cairo, and Katherine Zoepf from New York. J. David Goodman contributed reporting from New York, and an employee of The New York Times from Damascus, Syria.

    Syrian Protests Are Said to Be Largest and Bloodiest to Date, R, 8.4.2011,
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/09/world/middleeast/09syria.html

Syrian protests erupt, 17 dead in southern city

AMMAN | Fri Apr 8, 2011
12:45pm EDT
Reuters
By Khaled Yacoub Oweis and Suleiman al-Khalidi

AMMAN (Reuters) - Protests erupted across Syria against the rule of President Bashar al-Assad on Friday and sources said 17 people were killed in the southern city of Deraa, the cradle of unrest challenging his 11-year rule.

In the east, thousands of ethnic Kurds demonstrated for reform despite the president's offer this week to ease rules which bar many Kurds from citizenship, activists said.

Protests swept the country of 20 million people, from the Mediterranean port of Latakia to Albu Kamal on the Iraqi border, as demonstrations entered their fourth week in defiance of Assad's security crackdown and growing list of reform pledges.

Security forces fired on thousands of protesters in Deraa, where demonstrations first broke out in March, residents said. They said protesters set fire to a building belonging to the ruling Baath Party and smashed a statue of the president's late brother Basil.

A volunteer at Deraa hospital and an activist said that 17 people were killed, reading a list of names. It took the death toll in three weeks of protests to more than 90.

Authorities have blamed armed groups for the violence and state television broadcast footage on Friday of plain clothed gunmen it said fired at security forces and civilians alike. It said a policeman and an ambulance driver were killed.

Syria has prevented other media reporting from Deraa.

"I saw pools of blood and three bodies in the street being picked up by relatives," a Deraa resident told Reuters by phone.

"The were snipers on roofs. Gunfire was heavy. The injured are being taken to homes. No one trusts putting his relative in a hospital in these circumstances," he added. Many protesters feared they would be arrested if taken to clinics.

The city's Omari Mosque was turned once again into a makeshift clinic, residents said, and its loudspeakers broadcast an appeal for medical assistance.

Popular demonstrations calling for greater freedom have shaken the country, ruled under emergency law since Assad's Baath Party took power in a 1963 coup.

Assad has responded with a blend of force against protesters, gestures toward political reform and concessions to conservative Muslims including closing Syria's only casino.

A key demand of the protesters is the repeal of the emergency law. Assad ordered a committee to study replacing it with anti-terrorism legislation, but critics say it will probably grant the state many of the same powers.

Under Assad, who took over as president in 2000 when his father Hafez al-Assad died after 30 years in power, Syria has been Iran's closest Arab ally, a major player in Lebanon and a supporter of militant groups Hamas and Hezbollah.

 

KURDISH PROTESTS

In the northeastern city of Qamishli, Kurdish youths chanted: "No Kurd, no Arab, Syrian people are one. We salute the martyrs of Deraa." The protests broke out despite Assad's pledge on Thursday to grant citizenship to stateless Kurds.

It was not clear how many Kurds would be given nationality, but at least 150,000 Kurds are registered as foreigners as a result of a 1962 census in the eastern region of al-Hasaka.

"The citizenship gesture only helped fuel the street. The Kurdish cause is one for democracy, freedom and cultural identity," Hassan Kamel, a senior member of the Kurdish Democratic Party, told Reuters.

Protests erupted in the western city of Homs and gunfire was heard in the Damascus suburb of Harasta.

A Westerner living in the Kfar Souseh district of Damascus said police and Assad loyalists attacked protesters as they left a mosque. "I never saw so many thugs in my life. They beat them with electric batons and with sticks that had nails sticking out," said the witness.

Residents and activists reported demonstrations in the coastal town of Banias, in Douma and in Tel. In several cities they chanted: "Christians and Muslims, we want freedom."

In Deraa, protesters echoed the slogans that toppled leaders in Egypt and Tunisia and challenged others across the Arab world: "The people want the overthrow of the regime."

Deraa's Sunni Muslim tribes resent the wealth and power amassed by the minority Alawites, an offshoot sect of Shi'ite Islam to which Assad belongs.

Last week, Assad sacked his government and later appointed Agriculture Minister Adel Safar to form a new cabinet. The state news agency SANA said on Thursday the new government was expected to be announced next week.

Thaer al-Deeb, an activist in Damascus, said the Syria faced a crisis that needed more radical solutions. "There are demands that goes back to decades, on top of it is lifting emergency laws and fighting corruption," he told Al Jazeera.

British Foreign Secretary William Hague told Al Jazeera Assad's steps toward reforms were not enough, a sentiment he said was shared by many Syrians.

Syrian opposition figure Maamoun al-Homsi called for international action. "There are massacres happening in Syria. The world has to move," he told Reuters. "In Libya (the world) acted and the people have weapons. In Syria, they are unarmed. This is a scream of conscience for the United Nations."

New media operate in Syria under severe restrictions. Syria expelled Reuters' Damascus correspondent last month. Three other foreign Reuters journalists were expelled after being detained for two or three days and a Syrian Reuters photographer was held for six days.

(Additional reporting by Yara Bayoumy and Mariam Karouny in Beirut; Writing by Dominic Evans; Editing by Andrew Dobbie)

    Syrian protests erupt, 17 dead in southern city, R, 8.4.2011,
 http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/04/08/us-syria-idUSTRE72N2MC20110408

Cairo crowds demand army crackdown on corruption

CAIRO | Fri Apr 8, 2011
12:29pm EDT
By Shaimaa Fayed

CAIRO (Reuters) - Tens of thousands of Egyptians protested in Cairo on Friday demanding the prosecution of Hosni Mubarak and accusing the military of being too slow to root out corruption from his era.

"Oh Field Marshal, we've been very patient!" chanted some of the demonstrators gathered in Tahrir Square, the hub of the protests that toppled Mubarak from the presidency and left the army, led by Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, in charge.

Friday's protest had swollen by early afternoon to at least 100,000, making it one of the largest since Mubarak was toppled and indicating growing frustration with the army, which has enjoyed broad support since it took control of the country on February 11.

The crowd's demands included the removal of remaining Mubarak-era officials, such as the powerful provincial governors.

"It's a strong message that the revolution is not over yet and is still going on and will not quieten down before its goals are realized," said Hassan Nafaa, a professor of political science and a prominent figure in the reform movement.

A coalition of youth groups which was at the heart of mobilizing the protests against Mubarak named the protest "The Friday of Purification and Accountability."

Street action remained "the real guarantee to the success of the revolution," it said in a statement. "There has to be continued pressure for the quick and effective realizations of the demands of the revolution," it said.

"Oh Field Marshal, oh Field Marshal, we are staying in Tahrir," read one of the banners directed at Tantawi, who served as defense minister in Mubarak's administration from 1991 until he was ousted from the presidency.

The military has scheduled a parliamentary election for September. It has said a presidential election will be held in either October or November, until when the army will hold presidential powers.

"ENOUGH COLLUSION"

"We are calling on the Field Marshal to meet the demands of the people," said Ibrahim Ahmed, a 20-year old student. "Enough collusion in not carrying out prosecutions," he said.

The interim government installed by the military council has set up a new committee to uncover corruption from Mubarak's 30-year rule. The illicit gains panel is set to question Gamal Mubarak, the president's son, next week.

"If Mubarak is not prosecuted, we will go to Sharm el-Sheikh," read another banner held aloft by the protesters, who waved Egyptian flags.

Mubarak has been living in the Red Sea resort since he was ousted. The military has said the 82-year-old president, himself a former military officer, is banned from leaving the country.

The campaign against Mubarak-era figures has resulted in the arrest of once untouchable figures including the former interior minister and other ministers who held economic portfolios and are accused of corruption.

Zakaria Azmi, a leading Mubarak aide, was the latest high-profile figure to be arrested. He was detained on Thursday on accusations of illegal gains. Reformists questioned why it had taken so long.

"There is a feeling that the military council faces many restrictions," Nafaa, the political science professor, said.

"The aim of the protest isn't to criticize or revolt, but to express a sense of frustration because of the tardiness in bringing to trial those responsible for corruption," he said.

 

(Writing/additional reporting by Tom Perry; Editing by Ruth Pitchford)

    Cairo crowds demand army crackdown on corruption, R, 8.4.2011,
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/04/08/us-egypt-protest-idUSTRE73754M20110408

Israeli strikes kill six as Gaza seethes

GAZA | Fri Apr 8, 2011
1:45pm EDT
By Nidal al-Mughrabi

GAZA (Reuters) - Israeli air strikes in the Gaza Strip killed three militants from the Islamist group Hamas and three Palestinian civilians on Friday, in a second day of a fresh upsurge in the conflict.

At least 29 Palestinians have been killed since the latest spasm of violence erupted on March 20, with 11 killed over the past two days by Israeli action after an attack on a school bus which injured two Israelis including a teenager.

The Israeli military on Friday said it "identified two terrorist squads from Hamas" and hit the militants from the ground and air. A later strike near the coast killed a third militant and wounded another, Gaza medical sources said.

Hamas said a local commander was also badly injured, and it responded by firing six rockets at Israel from the south.

An elderly Palestinian and two women died earlier when their house in Khan Younis was hit and three other women were wounded, according to hospital sources.

An Israel Defense Forces (IDF) statement said "uninvolved civilians have apparently been injured" in one strike.

"The IDF regrets that the Hamas terrorist organization chooses to operate from within its civilian population, using it as a 'human shield'," the statement said.

At least 15 rockets have been fired into Israel since dawn, causing damage but no injuries, said a police spokesman. Police were restricting traffic near the border area and there appeared to be no early end in sight to operations.

"We are in the middle of an event," General Tal Russo, head of Israel forces Southern Command, told reporters. "We are considering all actions, and we are in the midst of it."

Hamas had been hit hard, he said, but it was not over yet.

"We are considering everything. We are looking short-term, long-term. There are many tools in the box."

RED LINE CROSSED

Two years of low-level skirmishing on the border escalated suddenly last month when the Islamist Hamas group which rules Gaza fired a barrage of rockets at Israel, triggering a surge of fighting which killed 18 Palestinians.

Analysts in Gaza said Hamas wanted to bolster its claim to leadership of the divided Palestinian national movement and divert attention from popular demands -- fueled by the "Arab Spring" -- for an end to the split with its Fatah rivals.

That spurt of violence subsided, but fighting flared again on Thursday when Hamas gunmen fired an anti-tank missile at an Israeli school bus, wounding two. Israel retaliated with planes and armored forces, killing five Palestinians.

An Israeli analyst said Hamas was plainly smarting from recent setbacks, including an April 2 Israel airstrike that killed three Gazans, and which it vowed to avenge.

But firing a long-range anti-tank weapon at a clearly marked yellow school bus may have been a further miscalculation.

"The attack yesterday on a children's bus is crossing a line," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in Prague.

"The Israeli army responded immediately during the night and will continue to act with determination. Whoever tries to attack and murder children puts his life on the line," he said.

The United Nations and European Union called on the sides to show restraint and bring an end to the latest round of fighting.

Gaza militants on Thursday fired 45 rockets and mortars into Israel. Israeli forces struck targets throughout the densely populated territory, including Hamas positions, smuggling tunnels along the border with Egypt and Gaza's derelict airport.

Hamas has again said it was interested in restoring "calm" to the front and was trying to get smaller militant groups to halt attacks.

During Thursday's barrage, Israel used for the first time its short-range Iron Dome interceptor. Its missiles destroyed in mid-flight a rocket heading for the city of Ashkelon.

Minister of Home Front Defense Matan Vilnai said Israel will consider deploying further Iron Dome systems near Gaza to join the two currently stationed there, but hinted at budgetary restraints.

Hamas, which does not recognize Israel's right to exist, seized control of the Gaza Strip in 2007 from forces loyal to Western-backed Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. The two wings of the Palestinian national movement remain enemies.

 

(Reporting by Nidal al-Mughrabi and Ari Rabinovitch; Writing by Douglas Hamilton; Editing by Sophie Hares)

    Israeli strikes kill six as Gaza seethes, R, 8.4.2011,
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/04/08/us-palestinians-israel-violence-idUSTRE7363AS20110408

U.S. report slams Bahrain for repressing Shi'ites

DUBAI | Fri Apr 8, 2011
1:05pm EDT
Reuters

DUBAI (Reuters) - Sunni-ruled Bahrain was guilty of human rights abuses including arbitrary detentions, censorship and discrimation against majority Shi'ites before its violent crackdown on street protests, the United States said on Friday.

Bahrain last month saw the worst sectarian clashes since the 1990s after protesters, inspired by uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt, took to the streets, prompting the government to impose martial law and invite in troops from Sunni-ruled neighbors.

"Discrimination on the basis of gender, religion, nationality, and sect, especially against the Shia (Shi'ite) majority population, persisted," the U.S. State Department said in its Human Rights Report for 2010.

"Authorities arbitrarily arrested activists, journalists, and other citizens and detained some individuals incommunicado... The government restricted civil liberties, including freedoms of speech, press, assembly, association, and some religious practices," it said.

The report cited allegations of mistreatment and torture, especially of activists and said Shi'ites were under-represented in the civil service, police and security forces.

The government censored stories especially those related to sectarianism, national security, or criticism of the royal family, the Saudi royal family, or the judiciary, it said.

"According to some members of the media, government officials contacted editors directly and asked them to stop writing about certain subjects or asked them not to publish a press release or a story," the U.S. report said.

Shi'ites, who make up at least 60 percent of the population, have long complained of discrimination when competing for jobs and services. They are demanding better representation and a constitutional monarchy, but radicals calling for an overthrow of the monarchy alarmed the Sunni minority.

On Friday, Human Rights Watch denounced what it called arbitrary detentions and said freed detainees interviewed reported incidents of beatings and abuse. The U.S.-based rights group called on Bahrain to give a reason for all detentions.

(Writing by Nick Macfie; Editing by Louise Ireland)

    U.S. report slams Bahrain for repressing Shi'ites, R, 8.4.2011,
    http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/04/08/us-usa-rights-bahrain-idUSTRE73756920110408

Yemen's Saleh again rejects move to replace him

SANAA | Fri Apr 8, 2011
12:35pm EDT
Reuters
By Mohamed Sudam and Mohammed Ghobari

SANAA (Reuters) - Dozens of anti-government protesters in Yemen were shot and wounded in fresh clashes with police Friday as President Ali Abdullah Saleh rejected a new deal to secure an end to his 32 years in power.

Saleh, facing an unprecedented challenge from hundreds of thousands of protesters, initially accepted an offer by Saudi Arabia and other Gulf Arab states as part of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) to hold talks with the opposition.

Wednesday, Qatar's Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim al-Thani said the GCC would strike a deal for Saleh to leave.

"We don't get our legitimacy from Qatar or from anyone else...we reject this belligerent intervention," Saleh told a crowd of tens of thousands of supporters in the capital Sanaa.

Frustration with the impasse may push the thousands of Yemenis who have taken to the streets closer to violence. Some 21 people died in clashes this week in Taiz, south of the capital and the Red Sea port of Hudaida.

"I don't think the GCC or the West want Yemen to go down the road of Libya, because that's exactly where it's going," said Theodore Karasik, an analyst at the Dubai based INEGMA group.

"The more entrenched Saleh gets, the greater the outside pressure, so this could really illustrate how much influence outside powers actually have over Yemen."

Fresh clashes broke out in Taiz Friday when hundreds of protesters clashed with police, who fired gunshots and tear gas. Two protesters were shot dead and 25 wounded by gunfire, hospital sources said. Some 200 were hurt by tear gas inhalation.

The protesters had been carrying the bodies of five people killed earlier in the week to their gravesites when they ran into security forces.

In the port city of Aden, once the capital of an independent south, thousands of anti-government protesters gathered peacefully and in Hudaida, some 15,000 gathered to mourn protester deaths and demand Saleh step down.

"We're tired of this poverty and oppression in Hudaida and all of Yemen," said protester Abdullah Fakira. "Enough already."

Some 40 percent of Yemen's 23-million people live on less than $2 a day and a third face chronic hunger. Poverty and exasperation with rampant corruption, protesters say, drove the pro-democracy protests that began over two months ago.

 

AL QAEDA FEARS

Even before the protests, inspired by regional uprisings, Saleh was struggling to quell a separatist rebellion in the south and a Shi'ite insurgency in the north. The potential for a violent power struggle with the opposition also could give al Qaeda's Yemen-based regional wing more room to operate.

These factors spark concern for stability in a country that sits on a shipping lane through which more than three million barrels of oil pass each day.

Friday, local officials from Abyan, a hotbed for militant groups, told Reuters that military forces were trying to retake the city of Jaar, which state troops retreated from two weeks ago when they said they were overpowered by militants.

Security forces surrounded Jaar with tanks and artillery and clashed with what the official described as "jihadist militants," but they appeared to have fled. He said troops would soon enter the city.

The United States and Yemen's key financial backer, Saudi Arabia, both targets in attempted attacks by al Qaeda's Yemen-based branch, appear ready to push aside Saleh, their long-time ally against al Qaeda to avoid a chaotic collapse in one of the Arab world's poorest countries.

"Saleh's options are gone. The Gulf initiative must have come as a shock from Saudi Arabia, which was his last ally," Mohammed Sharqi, the leader of a youth protest movement in Sanaa, said, referring to the plan for Saleh to step down.

In an apparent effort to avoid a snub to Saleh's main backer, a presidential aide told Reuters the comments were not aimed at Saudi Arabia's offer to host GCC mediated talks.

"Saudi efforts are welcome, but we reject Qatari intervention," he said.

"The president welcomes the efforts of our brothers in the Gulf to solve the crisis but rejects the statements from the Qatari prime minister which he considers interference in Yemen's affairs," he added.

Washington froze its largest aid package for Yemen in February after protests began, the Wall Street Journal reported.

"The first installment of the aid package, worth a potential $1 billion or more over several years, was set to be rolled out in February, marking the White House's largest bid at securing Saleh's allegiance in its battle against al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula," it said.

Citing unnamed U.S. officials, the paper said the proposed package included up to $200 million in counter-terrorism support this fiscal year, up from $155 million in fiscal 2010, as well as a nearly equal amount for development aid.

The Washington Post said a Yemeni opposition party leader had told a U.S. embassy official in Sanaa about a secret plan to oust Saleh less than two years ago.

 

COMPETING FRIDAY PROTESTS

Pro-democracy protesters held a "Friday of firmness" in Sanaa, shouting "You're next, you leader of the corrupt," as armored vehicles and security forces deployed across the city.

Some 4 km (2.5 miles) away, tens of thousands of Saleh loyalists were marching, waving pictures of the president and banners that read "No to terrorism, no to sabotage."

In a move that could spark clashes, some 700 riot police took up position in an area close to General Ali Mohsen's forces. The veteran commander defected from Saleh weeks ago, and his troops are protecting a protest camp near Sanaa University.

Earlier this week, clashes broke out between Mohsen's forces and armed tribesmen, killing at least three people.

"We want this regime to go. Enough lying and oppression. The (GCC) initiative came late and the only initiative we want is one that makes him step down," said 45-year-old Sanaa protester Mahfouz Salam.

Friday prayers traditionally have been a trigger for demonstrations which at one point looked to have brought Saleh's rule close to collapse. Both sides in the dispute are now considering the Gulf Arab plan for his orderly departure.

Talks with the opposition to negotiate a transition stalled weeks ago, and the GCC is having trouble obtaining agreement from all parties for its initiative.

The plan would guarantee Saleh and his family immunity from prosecution, an opposition source said Thursday, but youth activists have said that should be rejected.

"Saleh needs to understand that he is going," Sanaa protester Mohammed al-Sharaabi said. "Yet he is still looking for more guarantees."

 

(Additional reporting by Khaled al-Mahdi and Mohammed Mukhashaf; Writing by Erika Solomon; Editing by Nick Macfie and Samia Nakhoul)

    Yemen's Saleh again rejects move to replace him, R, 8.4.2011,
    http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/04/08/us-yemen-idUSTRE7310ON20110408

Timeline: Violence escalates in Gaza Strip

Fri Apr 8, 2011
10:10am EDT
Reuters

(Reuters) - Here is a timeline of events in the Gaza Strip since late 2008 and the start of a three-week war between Israel and Hamas militants.

December 27, 2008 - Israel launches huge air strikes across the Gaza Strip after heavy rocket and mortar fire from Hamas.

January 3, 2009 - Israel launches a ground offensive in the Gaza Strip, sending tanks and infantry into battle with Hamas.

January 17 - Israel declares unilateral ceasefire.

January 18 - Hamas announces a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.

January 21 - Israel completes a troop pullout from Gaza. About 1,400 Palestinians and 13 Israelis are killed in the war.

August 14/15 - Twenty-eight people are killed in fighting between Hamas and a rival group aligned with al Qaeda, the Jund Ansar Allah (Warriors of God) led by Abdel-Latif Moussa.

September 15 - The Israeli army and Palestinian militants committed war crimes, and possibly crimes against humanity, during the Gaza war, according to a report by the U.N. Human Rights Council. Israel did not cooperate with the investigation.

May 31, 2010 - Six ships taking supplies to Gaza ignore warnings by Israel that they should not breach its blockade of the territory. Israeli commandos land on the lead ship, Mavi Marmara, killing nine Turkish activists. Israel says they acted in self-defense when passengers attacked them.

July 30 - An Israeli air strike kills Hamas military commander and rocket-maker, Issa Batran -- the first Hamas commander killed in an Israeli air strike since the war.

Sept 22 - Israeli attack on Gaza-bound flotilla in May was unlawful, says a panel of three experts nominated by the U.N. Human Rights Council. Israel rejects the findings.

November 3 - Israel kills Mohammed Jamal al-Nimnim, an Army of Islam leader. The group is inspired by al Qaeda.

December 6 - Militants fire advanced missile against Israeli tank, revealing sophisticated nature of smuggled arms arsenal.

December 8 - Israel announces a relaxation of its Gaza blockade, saying exports of manufactured goods are now permitted.

December 18 - An Israeli air strike kills five Palestinian militants belonging to a small militant group, Ansar al-Sunna.

January 8, 2011 - Gaza mortar wounds two men at Israeli farm.

January 9 - Hamas calls on other militant groups in Gaza to halt recent upsurge of missile fire into Israel.

January 11 - An Israeli missile kills Islamic Jihad member.

February 11 - Hamas celebrates downfall of Egypt's Hosni Mubarak, says new rulers bound to adopt softer line with Gaza.

February 23 - A Gaza rocket hits Israeli city of Beersheba. No injuries reported. Israel responds with several air strikes.

March 15 - Israel seizes arms aboard a cargo ship in the Mediterranean. Says arms came from Iran and were headed to Gaza.

March 19 - Israeli strikes wound 5 Hamas security officials and a boy after militants launch mortar bombs into Israel.

March 22 - Israeli air strikes and shelling kill nine Palestinians in Gaza after barrage of mortars fired into Israel. The death toll is the highest for a single day in months.

March 23 - Grad rockets fired from Gaza hit the Israeli cities of Ashdod and Beersheba, wounding one resident.

March 30 - Israel says its aircraft kill a Palestinian gunman and wounded another in the southern Gaza Strip.

April 2 - Israeli aircraft kill three gunmen in Gaza. Israel says they were from Hamas and were planning to kidnap Israelis.

April 2 - Israel calls on the U.N. to cancel a report which said it had committed war crimes during the 2008/09 Gaza offensive, after its author, South African jurist Richard Goldstone, backtracks on key part of it.

April 7 - Hamas fires anti-tank missile at an Israeli school bus, wounding two. Israel retaliates, killing five Palestinians. Gaza militants fire 45 rockets and mortars into Israel.

April 8 - Israeli air strikes in the Gaza Strip kill two militants from Hamas and three Palestinian civilians. More rockets fired into Israel.

    Timeline: Violence escalates in Gaza Strip, 8.4.2011,
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/04/08/us-palestinians-israel-gaza-timeline-idUSTRE7373L520110408

NATO says likely hit rebels by mistake,

defends Libya campaign

BRUSSELS | Fri Apr 8, 2011
8:55am EDT
By Justyna Pawlak

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - NATO said on Friday its aircraft probably killed rebels in a "friendly fire" incident on Thursday near the oil port of Brega but defended its Libya campaign, saying it was stepping up operations.

Rebels said on Thursday that five of their fighters were killed in a NATO strike on a column of tanks moving toward Brega from Ajdabiyah further east. The pilots apparently believed the tanks belonged to forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi.

British Rear Admiral Russell Harding, deputy commander of NATO operations in Libya, told a news briefing: "It would appear that two of our strikes may have resulted in deaths of (rebel) forces. The incident took place in the east of Brega where fighting had gone back and forth on the road to Ajdabiyah."

Harding said the situation was "fluid", and NATO was finding it difficult to distinguish between rebel forces and those of Gaddafi.

NATO accuses Gaddafi's military of hiding equipment in urban areas or behind human shields.

"For the last 48 hours and maybe longer, the situation in Brega and Ajdabiyah has been fluid. If someone wants to define that as a stalemate, that's fine. All I am saying it is fluid, but in a reasonably small area," Harding said.

The alliance has come under pressure to overcome what a senior U.S. general called a stalemate in Libya, with NATO air strikes holding a balance between forces loyal to leader Muammar Gaddafi and rebels in eastern cities.

Harding rejected rebel charges that NATO is sluggish in ordering strikes to help their uprising to end more than four decades of Gaddafi rule.

"The operational tempo has been steadily increasing" since the alliance took over command from a Western coalition led by the United States, Britain and France last week to fulfil a United Nations' mandate, he said.

 

POLITICAL SOLUTION

Echoing U.S. comments that Gaddafi could not be overthrown by military force alone, NATO spokeswoman Oana Lungescu added:

"We have always made clear there is no purely military solution to this conflict. This is why it is so important to find a political solution. For this there is no stalemate."

Harding said NATO had succeeded in striking a number of targets this week.

"Since we started this effort, we have hit targets including T-72 tanks, armored personnel carriers, rocket launchers, surface-to-air missiles and ammunition dumps in locations near Misrata, Ras Lanuf and Brega," he said.

"Some approaches have destroyed equipment and disrupted military formations, others have (targeted) lines of communication, cutting the government forces' access to vital supplies. Others have struck directly at forces attacking civilians."

(Reporting by Justyna Pawlak; Editing by Barry Moody)

    NATO says likely hit rebels by mistake, defends Libya campaign, R, 8.4.2011,
    http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/04/08/us-libya-nato-idUSTRE7372ZI20110408

Rebels repel Gaddafi assault on Misrata's east

BEIRUT | Fri Apr 8, 2011
8:22am EDT
Reuters
By Mariam Karouny

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Libyan rebels said on Friday they had repelled an assault by government troops on the eastern flank of the coastal city of Misrata but the fighting had forced residents to flee the area.

A rebel spokesman said forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi had advanced on the heavily populated Esqeer district in an effort to loosen the rebels' grip on Misrata where families are crammed together in the few remaining safe districts.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said it expected a humanitarian vessel it had chartered to reach Misrata by midday on Saturday, but gave no details of the relief cargo it was carrying.

"The attack from the east has been repelled now and the (pro-Gaddafi) forces have been pushed back," a rebel spokesman who gave his name as Hassan al-Misrati told Reuters by telephone.

Gaddafi's armor also shelled areas around Misrata's strategically important Tripoli road, which cuts through to the city center from the western outskirts.

Earlier, rebels had barricaded parts of the main artery with containers full of sand and stones in an effort to isolate government snipers deployed on rooftops from back-up forces.

Residents say they and thousands of migrant workers trapped in Misrata face shortages of basic foodstuffs and have only sporadic water and electricity. Doctors in the past few days have said the hospitals are overwhelmed.

Accounts from Misrata cannot be independently verified because the Libyan authorities have not allowed journalists to report freely from the city.

SHELTERING IN SCHOOLS

Families desperately sought refuge as rebels countered the latest military push by government forces, with many seeking shelter in schools.

In the district of Ramla, residents were camped out in each of the area's 12 schools.

"They have been turned into refugee camps," said Misrati. "When will this end, how will it end? God knows," he added.

NATO says protecting Misrata's civilians is a priority. The city's rebel-controlled port is a vital lifeline for supplies for trapped civilians.

ICRC spokesman Christian Cardon said the agency's relief shipment was due to land in Misrata by midday on Saturday. The aid follows a delivery of food and medical supplies by the United Nation's World Food Programme on Thursday.

"Meetings continue in Tripoli," he added, referring to talks that started more than a week ago between senior ICRC officials and Libyan government officials to increase the agency's access to civilians caught in the conflict.

A Maltese logistics company, Medserv, which supplies the offshore oil and gas industry but has suspended operations at Misrata port, confirmed vessels were able to enter the port.

"It seems the port is still OK," Anthony Diacono, chairman of Medserv told Reuters.

(Additional reporting by Stephanie Nebehay in Geneva and Jonathan Saul in London; Writing by Richard Lough; Editing by Paul Taylor)

    Rebels repel Gaddafi assault on Misrata's east, R, 8.4.2011,
    http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/04/08/us-libya-misrata-idUSTRE7371RB20110408

U.N. rights investigators to start probe in Libya

GENEVA | Fri Apr 8, 2011
4:51am EDT
Reuters

GENEVA (Reuters) - U.N. human rights investigators said Friday they would go to Libya this month to begin a probe into alleged violations committed by both forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi and rebels trying to topple him.

The independent three-member commission of inquiry, headed by American war crimes expert Cherif Bassiouni, declined to reveal their exact travel schedule but said that it would include stops in Egypt and Tunisia.

"We are going to Libya, both the eastern and western part of Libya," Bassiouni told a news conference in Geneva. "An investigation has to be fair, impartial and independent. This is what we intend to do. We are leaving Geneva Sunday we hope to return by the ened of the month."

    (Reporting by Stephanie Nebehay; editing by Mark Heinrich)

    U.N. rights investigators to start probe in Libya, R, 8.4.2011,
    http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/04/08/us-libya-rights-idUSTRE7371HO20110408

Libyan rebels blame deadly strike on NATO mistake

AJDABIYAH, Libya | Thu Apr 7, 2011
8:06pm EDT
By Michael Georgy

AJDABIYAH, Libya (Reuters) - Rebels fighting to overthrow Muammar Gaddafi said five of their fighters were killed when NATO planes mistakenly bombed a rebel tank column near the contested port of Brega in eastern Libya.

In Washington, the head of U.S. Africa command told a Senate hearing the United States should not provide arms to the rebels without a better idea of who they were.

Asked if there was an emerging stalemate in the seven-week-old conflict, General Carter Ham replied: "I would agree with that at present, on the ground."

In rebel-held eastern Libya, wounded rebels being brought to a hospital Ajdabiyah said their trucks and tanks were hit on Thursday by a NATO air strike outside Brega.

NATO said it was investigating an attack by its aircraft on a tank column in the area along the Mediterranean coast on Thursday, saying the situation was "unclear and fluid."

The fighting for Brega, the only active front, has dragged on for a week and has entered a daily pattern of advances back and forth with neither side making major gains.

Medical workers carried blood-soaked uniforms from hospital rooms in Ajdabiyah, gateway to the insurgent stronghold of Benghazi in the east, after wounded fighters were ferried back from Brega.

"It was a NATO air strike on us. We were near our vehicles near Brega," wounded fighter Younes Jumaa said from a stretcher at the hospital.

Nurse Mohamed Ali said at least five rebels were dead.

"NATO are liars. They are siding with Gaddafi," Salem Mislat, one of the rebels, said.

A rebel commander said it appeared to be a case of "friendly fire" and said it did not cause tension with NATO although the rebels wanted an explanation.

Rebels had brought about 20 tanks out of storage and were advancing with them along the coastal desert strip that divides Ajdabiyah and Brega when they were hit, he said.

"We would assume it was NATO by mistake, friendly fire," Abdel Fattah Younes told a news conference in Benghazi, speaking through an English translator.

AIR STRIKES CAUSE STALEMATE

It was the second time in less than a week that rebels had blamed NATO for bombing their comrades by mistake. Thirteen were killed in an air strike not far from the same spot on Saturday.

Rebel spokesmen told Reuters Gaddafi forces killed five people and wounded 25 in an artillery bombardment of the isolated and besieged western city of Misrata on Wednesday.

The barrage forced the temporary closure of Misrata's port, a vital lifeline for supplies to besieged civilians, the spokesmen said.

Misrata, Libya's third city, rose up with other towns against Gaddafi in mid-February and has been under siege for weeks, after a violent crackdown put an end to most protests elsewhere in the west of the country.

A rebel spokesman told Reuters that people in Misrata were crammed five families to a house in the few safe districts, to escape a rain of mortar shells from Gaddafi forces which have subjected them to weeks of sniper and artillery fire.

Two rebel spokesmen reported fighting on a key road to the city's port as government forces tried to advance.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon expressed concern about deteriorating conditions for civilians in Misrata and Zintan in the west, and Brega in the east.

He said the situation in Misrata was particularly grave with the city under heavy bombardment and shortages of food, water and medical supplies.

Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan said Turkey was working on a "road map" to end the war in Libya which would include a ceasefire and the withdrawal of Gaddafi's forces from some cities. Turkey has held talks with envoys from Gaddafi's government and representatives of the opposition. A rebel spokesman said later the rebels rejected talks with Gaddafi and demanded he leave power.

OIL PRODUCTION CUT

Sweden said its warplanes operating from Sicily took part in NATO operations against Gaddafi on Thursday, the first combat sortie by the Nordic country's air force since the early 1960s.

The civil war has cut Libyan oil output by 80 percent, a senior government official said on Thursday, as rebels and Gaddafi's forces traded exchanged accusations over who had attacked oil fields vital to both sides.

Rebels say government attacks on three different installations in the east have halted production of the oil they desperately need to finance the uprising against Gaddafi.

The government's Deputy Foreign Minister Khaled Kaim told reporters the British air force had damaged an oil pipeline in a strike against the Sarir oilfield which killed three guards.

NATO denied the alliance carried out any air strikes in the Sarir area and said forces loyal to Gaddafi were responsible for an attack which started a fire in the oilfield.

Shokri Ghanem, chairman of the government National Oil Corporation, told Reuters on Thursday the country's production had fallen to 250,000 to 300,000 barrels per day compared with 1.6 million before the uprising.

The Liberian-registered tanker Equator sailed from the port of Marsa el-Hariga, near Tobruk, on Wednesday, apparently with the first cargo of crude sold by rebels since their uprising began in February. Oil traders said the cargo, vital to fund the uprising, was headed for China.

After reported advances by Gaddafi forces from Brega toward Ajdabiyah during the day, both sides appeared to have withdrawn within their secure lines by nightfall, following a familiar pattern.

A senior Treasury official said Washington had frozen more than $34 billion of Libyan assets as part of sanctions against Gaddafi and his top officials. European governments had also frozen a substantial amount he said.

"Mr. Gaddafi knows what he must do," Clinton told a news conference with Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini, reiterating calls for a ceasefire, the withdrawal of his forces from cities they have stormed and his departure from Libya.

(Additional reporting by Alex Dziadosz in Benghazi, Mariam Karouny in Beirut, Hamid Ould Ahmed and Christian Lowe in Algiers and Marie-Louise Gumuchian in Tunis, Phil Stewart and David Lawder in Washington, Justina Pawlak in Brussels; Writing by Barry Moody; Editing by Andrew Dobbie)

    Libyan rebels blame deadly strike on NATO mistake, R, 7.4.2008,
    http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/04/08/us-libya-idUSTRE7270JP20110408

Casualties complicate NATO tactics in Libya

BRUSSELS | Thu Apr 7, 2011
2:18pm EDT
Reuters
By Justyna Pawlak

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Reports of civilian casualties in Libya have shown the limitations of NATO's ability to step up its military involvement to break a stalemate between rebels and forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi.

NATO, which took control of a Western military campaign against Gaddafi last week from a coalition led by the United States, Britain and France, faces mounting pressure to address complaints by rebels that it is not doing enough to help them.

Its firepower has helped keep a balance in Libya so far, preventing Gaddafi's forces overrunning the seven-week old revolt that started in the port city of Benghazi.

To tip it in favor of the revolt, military experts say, NATO may have to significantly increase its presence in Libya.

But the political consequences to participating governments of a potential rise in casualties -- either among civilians or Western troops -- stemming from a shift in military tactics may be too daunting for now, they say.

NATO air strikes killed more than a dozen rebel fighters last week in the oil town of Brega, rebels say, and on Thursday, the alliance faced accusations of having caused five more casualties in the area.

"Stepping up the military pressure is not going to happen, because of the cost," Shashank Joshi of the Royal United Services Institute said.

"You will only see a major expansion into (new) tactics if there was some sort of a major setback, for example the rebels being pushed back to the outskirts of Benghazi, but this isn't going to happen because of the military balance."

 

RANGE OF OPTIONS

A senior U.S. general highlighted the challenges on Thursday, saying the likelihood of a stalemate was higher now than before NATO took over command of operations in Libya.

But General Carter Ham, who led the coalition air campaign before handing over command to NATO, said Washington should not arm the rebels without knowing more about them.

Arming rebels is one option military experts list as a solution to the impasse. But there are other possible shifts in the campaign which for now focuses on air strikes and enforcing a no-fly zone, mandated by the United Nations to protect civilians.

"To break the stalemate, there is nothing that can happen short of an invasion but that's not going to happen," said Marko Papic of political risk consultancy Stratfor.

He said France, one of the biggest contributors to NATO fire power, was preparing public opinion for a drawn-out campaign.

French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said on Thursday the West must work harder for a political solution.

"You can already see France setting itself up politically for a stalemate," Papic said.

Other military options could include changing equipment used in Libya in favor of more precise firepower, to address mounting concerns from NATO that Gaddafi's forces are hiding their equipment in urban areas. But this could carry more risk of casualties among coalition troops.

"Helicopter gunships crash," Joshi said. "They are more vulnerable to ground fire. The are slow and they have more mechanical failures. A simple crash could kill a dozen (troops).

"It would be politically disastrous if that happens."

Another alternative, experts say, would be to send specialized commando troops to assists the rebels, but there is little Western appetite for sending in ground troops.

 

(Reporting by Justyna Pawlak; Editing by Michael Roddy)

    Casualties complicate NATO tactics in Libya, R, 7.4.2011,
    http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/04/07/us-libya-nato-tactics-idUSTRE73666O20110407

Fighting flares in Gaza, shattering lull

GAZA | Thu Apr 7, 2011
11:11am EDT
Reuters
By Nidal al-Mughrabi

GAZA (Reuters) - An anti-tank missile fired from Gaza hit an Israeli school bus on Thursday, wounding two people, and Israeli forces retaliated by shelling the territory, killing a 50-year-old man, Palestinian medics said.

A teenage boy aboard the bus was seriously wounded, and at least eight people including a 4-year-old girl were injured in the densely populated Gaza Strip by the Israeli response, which included tank, warplane and helicopter fire.

An Israeli F-16 warplane bombed a major security compound of the Islamist Hamas group which rules Gaza, rocking Gaza City with a big explosion and wounding at least one person there.

The Israeli military said 45 rockets and mortars were launched into Israeli territory from Gaza in the space of three hours, the heaviest fire in two weeks. There were no immediate reports of further Israeli casualties as a result.

An Israeli helicopter gunship machine-gunned a target in Gaza for the first time since the January 2009 war and fired a missile at some targets in the center of the coastal territory.

Palestinian sources said militants in the enclave fired back at the helicopter with a heavy machine-gun.

Israeli police spokesman Mickey Rosenfeld said those wounded in the bus attack were being treated at the scene. The head of the Magen David Adom ambulance service told Israel Radio that helicopters were ferrying the worst injured to hospital.

He said the military had confirmed that the bus, taking pupils home from school, was hit by an anti-tank missile. Video showed the blast badly damaged the bus, particularly the rear whose windows were blown out.

Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak issued a statement saying he had ordered the military to "swiftly take all the necessary steps and respond to the attack" and that Israel held Hamas responsible for all events taking place in the enclave.

The missile attack followed a relative lull in cross-border attacks between Gaza and Israel after a sudden rise in violence last month in which at least 16 Palestinians were killed.

Israel and Hamas had signaled readiness to return to a de facto ceasefire which has kept the border relatively quiet since the end of the December 2008-January 2009 Gaza war.

 

(Reporting by Nidal al-Mughrabi, writing by Douglas Hamilton; editing by Mark Heinrich)

    Fighting flares in Gaza, shattering lull, R, 7,4.2011,
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/04/07/us-palestinians-israel-violence-idUSTRE7363AS20110407

Israel detains 100 women in murder investigation

AWARTA, West Bank | Thu Apr 7, 2011
11:09am EDT
Reuters

AWARTA, West Bank (Reuters) - Israeli troops briefly detained about 100 women in the West Bank early on Thursday as part of an ongoing investigation into the murder last month of a young Jewish settler family, locals said.

The women, many of them seized with their husbands, were released after police took their fingerprints and DNA samples.

The Fogel family, including two young children and a baby, were knifed to death in their beds on March 11 in the Itamar settlement which is near the Palestinian village of Awarta.

Israeli officials blamed Palestinians for the murders. No Palestinian group had claimed responsibility and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has described the killing as inhumane.

Israeli investigators have repeatedly descended on Awarta since the killing and the head of the village council, Qais Awwad, said troops entered houses overnight, taking away women aged between 20 to 80 in armored trucks to a detention center.

Sumayyah Shurrab, 30, said she had to take her 11-month old child with her. After fingerprint and DNA checks she was taken back to Awarta.

"They told me they wanted to compare them with finger prints they found in the settlement," she said.

"This was a very inhuman act," she added.

An Israeli army spokeswoman said she was aware of reports of the arrests but could not comment because of censorship surrounding the case.

Awwad said that since the killing of the Fogel family, troops have arrested all the young males of the 6,000-strong community. He said some 30 people were still in jail. Israel has not given any details of the investigation.

Half a million Jewish settlers live in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, which is also home to 2.5 million Palestinians. Palestinians want the lands, along with Gaza Strip for a state of their own.

(Writing by Mohammed Assadi; editing by Crispian Balmer)

    Israel detains 100 women in murder investigation, R, 7.4.2011,
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/04/07/us-palestinians-israel-women-idUSTRE7364DB20110407

Residents shelter from mortars in Libya's Misrata

ALGIERS/BEIRUT | Thu Apr 7, 2011
10:59am EDT
Reuters
By Hamid Ould Ahmed and Mariam Karouny

ALGIERS/BEIRUT (Reuters) - People in the Libyan city of Misrata are crammed five families to a house in the few safe districts to try to escape mortars raining down from government forces, a rebel spokesman said on Thursday.

Troops loyal to Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi have mounted mortars on the rooftops of buildings, allowing them to extend their range into almost every part of the city, said the rebels.

Misrata is the only big rebel stronghold left in the west of Libya, but weeks of artillery attacks and sniper fire have shrunk the parts of the city controlled by the rebels -- despite airstrikes by NATO warplanes aimed at protecting civilians.

"It does not seem there is a safe place in Misrata any more," the spokesman, who gave his name as Hassan al-Misrati, told Reuters by telephone from the city.

"They are using mortars, a lot of mortars, and they are firing anywhere. They do not care where it lands," he said. "This crazy man (Gaddafi) has turned hysterical and wants to kill as many people as he can.

"His forces have even attacked the cemetery. What is in the cemetery but dead people? But he doesn't care," Misrati said.

Accounts from Misrata cannot be independently verified because the Libyan authorities have not allowed journalists to report freely from the city.

Residents say they and thousands of migrant workers stranded there face shortages of basic foodstuffs, a lack of medical supplies and have only sporadic water and electricity.

MORTARS ON ROOFTOPS

Rebels in Misrata, Libya's third-biggest city about 200 km (130 miles) east of Tripoli, control the Mediterranean Sea port and the northern and eastern districts. Until now they have been under fire from long-range artillery.

But residents say pro-Gaddafi forces, backed by tanks and snipers on rooftops have been able to push gradually into more of the city, and are now using shorter-range mortar fire.

"Because there are few safe areas in Misrata, many families are now living together in the same house," said Misrati. "Houses are overcrowded and you find at least four of five families together in one house.

"The snipers are on top of 14-storey buildings ... Now they brought the mortars up on to the buildings too, to reach more areas inside Misrata," he said.

Officials in Tripoli deny targeting civilians but say they are battling armed gangs linked to al Qaeda who are terrorizing the civilian population.

Rebels said five people were killed in bombardments on Wednesday and a further 25 were injured.

Misrati said the dead included two children, aged three and five, who were killed when a mortar hit their house. Their sister lost her leg in the blast, he said.

Another rebel spokesman, called Mohamed, said the port was shelled for several hours on Wednesday, forcing it to close temporarily.

With the city surrounded on three sides by pro-Gaddafi forces, the port is the only lifeline. It has been used by aid vessels to bring in food and medicines and evacuate the wounded.

NATO-led Western forces have staged air strikes on pro-Gaddafi targets in Misrata, which they say is part of their United Nations mandate to protect Libyan civilians.

"The coalition bombed the camps of Hamza (brigade) yesterday. The strikes hit the outskirts of the city," said Mohamed, referring to one of the pro-Gaddafi militias attacking Misrata.

"The brigades stopped their bombardment for fear of coming under new attacks by the coalition," he said.

But some in Misrata say NATO should be doing more to halt the attacks on the city.

The other rebel spokesman, Misrati, said NATO warplanes targeted a line of 15-20 tanks on Wednesday on the outskirts of Misrata but damaged only one.

"We don't know how that is," he said. "NATO does not seem to be efficient. We are very angry with them."

A spokeswoman at NATO headquarters in Brussels said the alliance would keep up the pace of air strikes, even though pro-Gaddafi forces were moving tanks into residential areas.

"The pace of our operations continues unabated," the spokesman, Carmen Romero, said on Wednesday. "Misrata is our number one priority."

(Writing by Christian Lowe; Editing by Paul Taylor)

    Residents shelter from mortars in Libya's Misrata, R, 7.4.2011,
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/04/07/us-libya-misrata-idUSTRE73646Z20110407

Former Libyan oil minister escapes to Malta

Thu, Apr 7 2011
VALLETTA | Thu Apr 7, 2011
5:44am EDT

VALLETTA (Reuters) - Former Libyan energy minister Omar Fathi bin Shatwan has escaped to Malta from the besieged Libyan town of Misrata, the Maltese Foreign Ministry said on Thursday.

He arrived in Malta on a small trawler Friday, but his presence was kept secret, the ministry said.

Shatwan also served as industry minister and was chairman of a Libya-Malta bilateral commission before leaving the Libyan government in 2007.

Malta has been sending limited humanitarian aid to Misrata, Libya's third city, on trawlers, but this was the first confirmation that any Libyan had used the boats to escape.

Before the start of a popular uprising against its leader Muammar Gaddafi, Libya accounted for around 2 percent of world oil output.

(Reporting by Cris Scicluna; Editing by Kevin Liffey)

    Former Libyan oil minister escapes to Malta, R, 7.4.2011,
    http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/04/07/us-libya-malta-idUSTRE7361MR20110407

Rebels say Gaddafi halts oil, Libya blames Britain

TRIPOLI | Thu Apr 7, 2011
3:53am EDT
Reuters
By Maria Golovnina

TRIPOLI (Reuters) - Libya accused Britain of damaging an oil pipeline in an air strike, hours after rebels said government attacks had halted production of oil they hope to sell to finance their uprising.

"British warplanes have attacked, have carried out an air strike against the Sarir oilfield which killed three oilfield guards and other employees at the field were also injured," Deputy Foreign Minister Khaled Kaim told reporters.

There was no immediate comment from Britain's Ministry of Defense or from NATO, which is coordinating air strikes to protect civilians in Libya from Muammar Gaddafi's forces.

Kaim said the strike damaged a pipeline connecting the oilfields to the Marsa el Hariga port. "There is no doubt this aggression ... is against international law and is not covered by the U.N. resolution," he said.

Any damage to a pipeline leading to Marsa el Hariga is likely to cause more harm to the rebels than to Gaddafi.

The Liberian-registered tanker Equator sailed from the port, near Tobruk, on Wednesday, apparently with the first cargo of crude sold by rebels since their uprising began in February.

A rebel spokesman had said Gaddafi artillery hit rebel-held oilfields in Misla and the Waha area on Tuesday and Wednesday, halting production.

No one on the rebel side was immediately available for comment on the latest allegations from Tripoli, which insisted the oil fields were under its control.

The rebels regained ground around the oil port of Brega on Wednesday but repeated accusations NATO was not doing enough to help them as Gaddafi's forces unleashed yet more mortar rounds, tank fire and artillery shells on the western city of Misrata.

A French minister said NATO air strikes in Libya risked getting "bogged down" and a top U.S. official warned U.S. lawmakers Libyan agents could be inside the United States and might try to launch retaliatory attacks.

"We want to make certain that we've identified these individuals to ensure no harm comes from them, knowing they may well have been associated with the Gaddafi regime," FBI Director Robert Mueller said.

Gaddafi himself appealed for a halt in the air campaign in a rambling three-page letter to U.S. President Barack Obama bluntly dismissed by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

"Mr. Gaddafi knows what he must do," Clinton told a news conference with Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini, reiterating calls for a ceasefire, the withdrawal of his forces from cities they have stormed and his departure from Libya.

Misrata, Libya's third city, rose up with other towns against Muammar Gaddafi's rule in mid-February, and is now under siege by government troops after a violent crackdown put an end to most protests elsewhere in the west of the country.

Rebels who control eastern Libya are angry at what they perceive to be a scaling back of operations since NATO took over an air campaign, after an early onslaught led by the United States, France and Britain tilted the war in their favor.

French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said Gaddafi forces were making it harder for alliance pilots to distinguish them from civilians by hunkering down in populated areas. "The situation is unclear. There is a risk of getting bogged down," he said.

Juppe told France Info radio he would address the issue of tactics shortly with the head of NATO, adding Misrata's ordeal "cannot go on". NATO has accused Gaddafi of using human shields to make targeting harder for its warplanes.

Civil war in the vast North African desert oil producer ignited in February when Gaddafi tried to crush pro-democracy rallies against his 41-year rule inspired by uprisings that have toppled or endangered other autocrats across the Arab world.

The head of Libya's rebel army has condemned NATO for its slowness in ordering air strikes to protect civilians, saying the alliance was "letting the people of Misrata die every day".

Juppe said: "We've formally requested that there be no collateral damage for the civilian population ... That obviously makes operations more difficult."

But General Abdel Fattah Younes was adamant that Gaddafi was conducting massacres. "Day by day people are dying. Hundreds of families are being wiped off the face of the earth. Patience has its limits," he said.

Asked whether he found NATO's argument that it is trying to prevent civilian casualties convincing he said:

"No, it's not convincing at all. NATO has other means. I requested there be combat helicopters like Apaches and Tigers. These damage tanks and armored vehicles with exact precision without harming civilians."

NATO ON THE DEFENSIVE

Libyan officials deny attacking civilians in Misrata, saying they are fighting armed gangs linked to al Qaeda. Accounts from Misrata cannot be independently verified as Libyan authorities are not allowing journalists to report freely from there.

Rebel criticism has put the Western military alliance on the defensive, particularly over Misrata. Spokeswoman Carmen Romero said that "the pace of our operations continues unabated. The ambition and the position of our strikes has not changed".

NATO air strikes are targeting Gaddafi's military infrastructure but only to protect civilians, not to provide close air support for rebels, much to their dismay, as part of a no-fly zone mandated by the U.N. Security Council.

Relieving the siege of Misrata was a NATO priority but alliance officials conceded that Gaddafi's army was proving a resourceful and elusive target.

"The situation on the ground is constantly evolving. Gaddafi's forces are changing tactics, using civilian vehicles, hiding tanks in cities such as Misrata and using human shields to hide behind," Romero told reporters in Brussels.

Misrata on Wednesday faced another heavy bombardment.

"There was firing on three fronts today, the port in the east, the center around Tripoli street and the west of the city. Mortars, tank fire, and artillery were used to shell those areas," rebel Abdelsalam said by telephone.

"NATO needs to either launch a serious operation to take out all the heavy armored vehicles, including tanks ... If they don't want to do this, they should provide us with weapons to do it ourselves."

Meanwhile, living conditions in Misrata worsened.

"People are panicking, especially women, children and old people. Most people left their homes for safer areas and found refuge with other families," Abdelsalam said, adding:

"No fruit and vegetables have been available in Misrata for over 25 days, bread is also difficult to find. People are scared to go out because of the snipers and the indiscriminate shelling. The upper-hand is still with Gaddafi's forces."

(Additional reporting by Brian Love and Nick Vinocur in Paris, Mariam Karouny in Beirut, Justyna Pawlak in Brussels, Simon Cameron-Moore in Ankara, Angus Macswan in Benghazi, Tim Castle, Joseph Nasr, Mariam Karouny and Marie-Louise Gumuchian; writing by Peter Millership and Philippa Fletcher; editing by Jeremy Laurence)

    Rebels say Gaddafi halts oil, Libya blames Britain, R, 7.4.2011,
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/04/07/us-libya-idUSTRE7270JP20110407

Migrant boat sinks off Italy, up to 250 missing

ROME | Wed Apr 6, 2011
1:21pm EDT
Reuters
By Daniele Mari

ROME (Reuters) - Between 130 and 250 people were missing and at least 15 appeared to be dead after a boat carrying refugees from Libya capsized south of Sicily early on Wednesday, coast guard officials and aid workers said.

Rescuers picked up 47 people, including a heavily pregnant woman after the overloaded boat, which left Libya two days ago, sank at about 4:00 a.m. (0200 GMT) 40 miles south of the island of Lampedusa.

According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), a migrant assistance agency which has officials on Lampedusa, an Italian fishing boat rescued another three people.

Between 15 and 20 bodies were seen in the water, officials said but high winds and rough seas made it difficult for coast guard boats and a police helicopter to operate.

Coast guard officials said the boat had originally been carrying around 200 people but the IOM put the figure as high as 300, of whom it said some 250 were missing.

The incident provided a stark illustration of the dangers run by desperate people who pay about 1,000 euros ($1,427) for a place on one of the overloaded fishing vessels carrying refugees and migrants from Africa.

"The vessel, which was laden beyond capacity, had left the Libyan coast with migrants and asylum seekers from Somalia, Nigeria, Bangladesh, Cote d'Ivoire, Chad and Sudan," IOM said in a statement. "Some 40 women and 5 children were on board. Only two women survived the shipwreck."

Monday, the United Nations refugee agency said more than 400 people fleeing Libya on two boats were missing.

BORDER CONTROLS

Thousands have crossed so far this year after the collapse of the former Tunisian regime and fighting in Libya brought down strict border checks that had previously barred the way into Europe.

Most have been young men from Tunisia, seeking to get to France but in recent days there have been growing numbers of arrivals from Libya, underscoring Italian fears the fighting there could set off a new exodus.

IOM said that 2,000 mostly African migrants and asylum seekers had landed in Lampedusa from Libya in the past 10 days.

Lampedusa, roughly midway between Sicily and Tunisia, has been the focal point for the crisis, with some 20,000 illegal migrants arriving this year and overwhelming the infrastructure of the tiny island, which normally lives on fishing and tourism.

Thousands were forced to shelter in makeshift tent camps until Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi sought to end the weeks-long emergency by sending ferries to clear the island.

However, that has simply shifted the problem to other areas in Italy and caused arguments among regional governments over where to set up migrant holding centers.

Italy has also been at odds over the issue with France, which has turned back migrants trying to cross the border. Berlusconi is due to meet French President Nicolas Sarkozy on April 26 in Rome, when the issue will probably be discussed.

Tuesday, Italian Interior Minister Roberto Maroni signed an agreement with the Tunisian government to try to halt the flow, pledging aid, increased police cooperation and possible compulsory repatriation for illegal immigrants.

The accord was confirmed Wednesday by a cabinet meeting in Rome which set up an inter-ministerial contact group to monitor progress.

(Additional reporting by Wladimiro Pantaleone in Palermo and Stephanie Nebehay in Geneva)

(Writing by James Mackenzie, Editing by Matthew Jones)

    Migrant boat sinks off Italy, up to 250 missing, R, 6.4.2011,
    http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/04/06/us-italy-immigrants-idUSTRE73515120110406

Time’s Up, Qaddafi

April 5, 2011
The New York Times
By CURT WELDON

Tripoli, Libya

IN 2004 I traveled to Libya as the head of a bipartisan Congressional delegation to express support for Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi’s decision to give up his country’s nuclear weapons program. We met with Colonel Qaddafi, high-level officials and ordinary people, and I even addressed the annual meeting of Libyan legislators.

Neither the White House nor I wanted to lend support to Colonel Qaddafi himself; our goal was to open a new era of engagement between the United States government and American business with the Libyan people themselves.

Seven years later I am back in Libya, this time on a much different mission, as the leader of a small private delegation, at the invitation of Colonel Qaddafi‘s chief of staff and with the knowledge of the Obama administration and members of Congress from both parties. Our purpose is to meet with Colonel Qaddafi today and persuade him to step aside.

There is no question that America should play a critical role in helping the Libyans build a new government. Sadly, in the years since my first trip, Washington has squandered many opportunities to achieve that goal without bloodshed. And unless we begin to engage with the country’s leaders — even those close to Colonel Qaddafi — we may again lose our chance to help build a new Libya.

Despite our stated goal in 2004, and that of two subsequent delegations I also led, America has concentrated on Colonel Qaddafi himself. All contacts went through him or his family, who were given too much say over American-led initiatives. But as we’ve learned through similar efforts in Azerbaijan and Armenia, the key to promoting reform in a foreign country is to identify and engage with emerging leaders.

Indeed, that’s what we intended to do in Libya. But plans for a coordinated effort between Congress and Libyan legislators to nurture a new generation of Libyan leaders never developed. A plan to bring international nongovernmental organizations into Libya to develop its civil institutions never materialized.

Because both the Bush and Obama administrations failed to follow up on those initial efforts, today we have few contacts in the country’s leadership beyond Colonel Qaddafi himself, and we have no strategic plan for Libya after he leaves.

A second element to our plan was to promote engagement between American and Libyan business interests, and thus foster the country’s free market. But while American companies have made billions of dollars in Libya since 2004, they have failed to engage with anyone but the Qaddafi regime itself.

On a trip to Libya last summer I met with Ahmed Gadi, an engineer at Al Fateh University. I asked how a recent $500 million contract awarded by the Libyan government to an American engineering company had benefited his students. Not at all, he said; there had been no contact at all. The government and the company preferred to keep the deal, and the money, between themselves.

There’s nothing wrong with American companies profiting from business with Libya. But did they also consider their larger responsibility to American interests? And where were the White House and Congress in all this?

Fortunately, despite the bombs still dropping on Libya, it’s not too late to act.

First, we must engage face-to-face with Colonel Qaddafi and persuade him to leave, as my delegation hopes to do. I’ve met him enough times to know that it will be very hard to simply bomb him into submission.

Simultaneously, we must obtain an immediate United Nations-monitored cease-fire, with the Libyan Army withdrawing from contested cities and rebel forces ending attempts to advance.

Then we must identify and engage with those leaders who, if not perfect, are pragmatic and reform-minded and thus best positioned to lead the country.

For example, Baghdadi Mahmudi, the prime minister, and Mustapha Abdul Jalil, the head of the rebel National Council, should meet with the United Nations envoy to the country, Abdel Ilah al-Khatib, and work out a schedule for fair elections for a new president and legislature. They should also create a committee to develop a new governing framework.

Colonel Qaddafi’s son Saif, a powerful businessman and politician, could play a constructive role as a member of the committee to devise a new government structure or Constitution.

The younger Mr. Qaddafi, who has made belligerent comments about the rebels, has his detractors. But he also pushed his government to accept responsibility for the bombings of a Pan Am flight over Scotland and a disco in Germany, and to provide compensation for victims’ families. He also led the effort to free a group of Bulgarian nurses in Libya who had twice been sentenced to death.

The world agrees that Colonel Qaddafi must go, even though no one has a plan, a foundation for civil society has not been constructed and we are not even sure whom we should trust. But in the meantime, the people of Libya deserve more than bombs.


Curt Weldon was a Republican representative from Pennsylvania from 1987 to 2007.

    Time’s Up, Qaddafi, NYT, 5.4.2011, http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/06/opinion/06Weldon.html

Assad holds Syria army despite Sunni-Alawite divide

AMMAN | Wed Apr 6, 2011
12:57pm EDT
Reuters
By Khaled Yacoub Oweis

AMMAN (Reuters) - Senior Syrian army ranks are packed with loyal members of President Bashar al-Assad's Alawite minority, reducing any prospect of military pressure on him to stand aside if protests grow, military experts say.

Unlike the armies in Tunisia and Egypt, whose refusal to confront non-violent demonstrations spelt the demise of their autocratic rulers, the fate of many senior Syrian military officers is closely tied to that of Assad.

Although some officers from the Sunni Muslim majority have been promoted to senior ranks, Sunni influence has been weakened and Assad's brother Maher controls key military units packed with Alawite soldiers.

"It will take an extraordinary amount of people power to defeat a regime this deeply entrenched. This is not Tunisia," said W. Andrew Terrill, research professor of national security affairs at the U.S. Army War college.

"The regime has been careful about placing Alawite loyalists in all key positions within the military so that the regime can defeat any effort to overthrow it. Some Sunni officers have risen to very high ranks but have very little power to command troops," Terrill said from Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania.

The Assad family which has ruled Syria for 41 years comes from the Alawite mountains overlooking the Mediterranean, a stronghold of the secretive sect with links to Shi'ite Islam.

Assad, who faces the greatest threat to his rule from more than two weeks of protests calling for an end to emergency law and one-party rule, has responded with a blend of force -- his security forces have killed dozens of protesters -- and vague promises of reform.

 

SECURITY BACKBONE

Residents of Deraa, cradle of the Syrian protests, say Alawite forces commanded by Assad's younger brother Maher have taken up positions around the southern city.

Maher controls the Presidential Guard, the Republican Guard, and the Fourth Armoured Division -- key units that form the security backbone of the state together with the Alawite-dominated secret police.

"Some observers consider Maher al-Assad to be excessively violent and emotionally volatile. It appears that President Assad views his brother as totally trustworthy," said Terrill, a specialist in Syrian military affairs.

Although family ties ensure the loyalty of the top brass, Assad cannot antagonize the army rank-and-file with a repeat of the 1982 crackdown on the city of Hama, when his father Hafez al-Assad sent commandos, paratroopers and Baath Party irregulars to put down an armed uprising by the Muslim Brotherhood.

Hafez al-Assad's brother Rifaat personally managed the Hama operation, in which tens of thousands were killed and parts of the city flattened.

"Syria 2011 is not Syria 1982. You have hundreds of thousands of soldiers -- conscripts and professional soldiers -- who have seen only corruption and abuse of position by their Alawite commanders," said a former Syrian army member. "It will be very dangerous for Bashar to play this game.

"The army will not ask Bashar to step down, as was the case in Egypt and Tunisia, but he cannot easily ask the army to commit massacres either," the ex-soldier said.

Assad would also be hesitant to use Maher's Republican Guard to quell protest because it would increase resentment against Alawites, he said..

Another military expert working for a Western government said the Syrian army would fracture if the Alawite ruling hierarchy attempted a repeat of the Hama massacre, but the president could get away with smaller scale killings.

"It would also depend on how the killings are presented. There is a difference between shooting peaceful protesters and killing demonstrators who attack security forces," he said.

Although Deraa residents say Maher al-Assad's units are positioned around the city, Alawite secret police and special police units have deployed to confront demonstrators. More than 40 protesters have been killed in the clashes, witnesses said.

Terrill said Alawite units would have no qualms suppressing dissent because they have been indoctrinated to believe their community would lose out if majority Sunnis attain power.

"It can be safely assumed that virtually all of the Alawites within the military will fight to defend the regime."

Asked if Sunni soldiers could revolt if they saw more of their co-religionists killed, Terrill said: "Syria's security organs will move quickly and ruthlessly to suppress even the germs of revolt within the military."

(editing by Paul Taylor)

    Assad holds Syria army despite Sunni-Alawite divide, R, 6.4.2011,
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/04/06/us-syria-army-idUSTRE73543X20110406

North Korea may be considering more attacks: U.S.

WASHINGTON | Wed Apr 6, 2011
11:27am EDT
Reuters

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - North Korea may be considering additional attacks and provocations, a top U.S. general told Congress on Wednesday, adding Washington needed to be prepared to respond appropriately if necessary.

"I do worry that there are additional attacks and provocations that are being considered within North Korea," said the commander of U.S. forces in South Korea, General Walter Sharp.

Tensions with North Korea rose to their highest since the 1950-53 Korean War after last year's sinking of a South Korean warship and the bombarding a South Korean island in the sea off the peninsula's west coast.

Those attacks killed more than 50 South Koreans.

Pyongyang denies any involvement in the sinking and accuses Seoul of goading it into launching the later artillery attack -- claims dismissed by Seoul and the United States.

Sharp, testifying before the House of Representatives Armed Services Committee, renewed U.S. concerns that last year's attacks may be only a sign of things to come, especially as ailing North Korea leader Kim Jong-il prepares his son Kim Jong-un for succession.

"There are some real challenges from North Korea that we need to be prepared to deter, and if deterrence does not work, be prepared to respond to," Sharp said, without predicting what kind of response might be necessary.

U.S. deterrence strategy has included stepping up joint military exercises with South Korea. Washington has also pressed China, North Korea's closest ally, to lean on Pyongyang to avoid additional provocations.

(Reporting by Phil Stewart; Editing by Vicki Allen)

    North Korea may be considering more attacks: U.S., R, 6.4.2011,
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/04/06/us-korea-usa-idUSTRE73549W20110406

NATO may get bogged down in Libya: France

PARIS | Wed Apr 6, 2011
5:30am EDT
Reuters

PARIS (Reuters) - French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said on Wednesday NATO could get bogged down in Libya because leader Muammar Gaddafi had made it more difficult for the military alliance to avoid civilian deaths.

NATO has been accused by Libyan rebels of being too slow to launch air strikes against Gaddafi's troops and military hardware to protect civilians, but the alliance has been forced to change bombing tactics because of human shields.

"We've formally requested that there be no collateral damage for the civilian population," Juppe said in an interview on France Info radio. "That obviously makes operations more difficult."

He said he would discuss the issue in a few hours with the head of NATO, adding: "The situation is unclear. There is a risk of getting bogged down."

"The situation in Misrata cannot go on," Juppe added. Gaddafi's forces have been shelling Misrata, the only city in western Libya holding out against him, for weeks.

The head of France's armed forces expressed frustration over the pace of the NATO operation to protect Libyan civilians.

"I would like things to go faster, but as you are well aware, protecting civilians means not firing anywhere near them," Admiral Edouard Guillaud said in an interview on Europe 1 radio. "That is precisely the difficulty."

He said NATO forces were concentrating their firepower on Misrata, while trying to stop any transportation of weapons toward Tripoli, still firmly in the hands of Gaddafi's camp.

Warplanes from Qatar and the United Arab Emirates were taking part in these missions, Guillaud added.

 

(Reporting by Brian Love and Nick Vinocur; editing by Elizabeth Piper)

    NATO may get bogged down in Libya: France, R, 6.4.2011
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/04/06/us-libya-france-civilians-idUSTRE73510K20110406

Gaddafi sends message to Obama: Libyan news agency

ALGIERS | Wed Apr 6, 2011
5:57am EDT
Reuters

ALGIERS (Reuters) - Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi has sent a message to President Barack Obama "following the withdrawal of America from the crusader colonial alliance against Libya," Libya's official news agency JANA said on Wednesday.

No further details were given.

 

(Reporting by Hamid Ould Ahmed; Writing by Richard Lough)

    Gaddafi sends message to Obama: Libyan news agency, R, 6.5.2011,
    http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/04/06/us-libya-gaddafi-obama-idUSTRE7351QG20110406

Migrant boat sinks off Italy, 150 missing

ROME | Wed Apr 6, 2011
3:40am EDT
Reuters

ROME (Reuters) - Around 150 people were missing after a boat carrying migrants from North Africa capsized in heavy seas near the southern Italian island of Lampedusa early Wednesday, coast guard officials said.

Rescuers picked up 47 people from the sea after the boat sank at around 4.00 a.m. (0200 GMT) 40 miles south of Lampedusa, but high winds and rough seas made it difficult for coast guard boats and a police helicopter to operate.

Thousands of illegal immigrants from North Africa have arrived in southern Italy since the beginning of the year, most of them aiming for the tiny island of Lampedusa, some 150 kilometres (95 miles) from the Tunisian coast.

(Reporting by Daniele Mari, editing by Tim Pearce)

    Migrant boat sinks off Italy, 150 missing, R, 6.4.2011,
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/04/06/us-italy-immigrants-idUSTRE73515120110406

Libyan rebels condemn NATO over Gaddafi advance

BENGHAZI, Libya | Wed Apr 6, 2011
12:47am EDT
Reuters
By Angus MacSwan

BENGHAZI, Libya (Reuters) - The head of Libya's rebel army has condemned NATO for its slow chain of command in ordering air strikes to protect civilians, saying the alliance was "letting the people of Misrata die every day".

The besieged city of Misrata, the only big population center in western Libya where a revolt against Gaddafi has not been crushed and which faces army tanks and snipers, is now the priority for NATO air strikes, alliance officials said earlier.

"NATO blesses us every now and then with a bombardment here and there, and is letting the people of Misrata die every day," Abdel Fattah Younes, head of the rebel forces said in the eastern stronghold city of Benghazi. "NATO has disappointed us."

NATO said it was carrying out its mandate and the pace of the air campaign had not abated since it took over from a coalition led by the United States, Britain and France on March 31. It now leads air strikes targeting Gaddafi's military infrastructure and policing a no-fly zone and an arms embargo.

Younes said NATO had been moving very slowly, allowing Gaddafi forces to advance, and that rebels were considering referring the issue to the U.N. Security Council which authorized its mission. "NATO has become our problem," he said.

A rebel spokesman said Gaddafi's forces bombarded Misrata again on Tuesday. "Misrata was shelled with tank fire, artillery and mortars," the rebel, called Abdelsalam, told Reuters, adding: "Unfortunately NATO operations have not been effective in Misrata. Civilians are dying every day."

Another rebel in Misrata, called Nasser, said two people had been killed and 26 injured on Tuesday in mortar attacks.

Stalemate on the frontline of fighting in eastern Libya, defections from Gaddafi's circle and the plight of civilians caught in fighting or facing food and fuel shortages has prompted a flurry of diplomacy to find a solution to the civil war in this oil-producing North African desert state.

Protests against the government that began on February 15 swiftly descended into civil war after Gaddafi forces opened fire on demonstrators. He then crushed uprisings in Libya's west, leaving the east and Misrata in rebel hands.

 

SECURITY COUNCIL

NATO-led air power is holding the balance in Libya, preventing Gaddafi forces from overrunning the rebels but unable for now to hand them outright victory.

"Either NATO does its work properly or I will ask the (rebel) national council to raise the matter with the Security Council," Younes, a former interior minister in Gaddafi's administration who defected, told reporters.

"The reaction of NATO is very slow. One official calls another and then from the official to the head of NATO and from the head of NATO to the field commander. This takes eight hours," Younes said, adding:

"Misrata is being subjected to a full extermination."

Asked about Younes's remarks, NATO spokesman Oana Lungescu said: "The facts speak for themselves. The pace of operations since NATO took over has not abated. We have conducted 851 sorties in the past six days ... we are fulfilling our mandate."

Another NATO official said: "The rebels may not see us. We may be 100 or 150 km away. We are some distance from where the fighting is going on so the rebels are not aware."

Earlier in the day, NATO had given details of the campaign.

"The assessment is that we have taken out 30 percent of the military capacity of Gaddafi," Brigadier General Mark van Uhm, a senior NATO staff officer, said in Brussels.

Over the last day, air strikes around Misrata hit Gaddafi's tanks, air defense systems and other armored vehicles. Near Brega in the east, where intense fighting raged for a sixth day on Tuesday, NATO aircraft struck a rocket launcher.

HUMAN SHIELDS

Van Uhm said Gaddafi was using civilians as human shields and hiding his armor in populated areas, curbing NATO's ability to hit targets. "The operational tempo remains, but we have seen a change of tactics (from Gaddafi)," he said. "When human beings are used as shields we don't engage."

Referring to NATO, Younes said: "They say they don't want to bomb in order not to kill civilians. The area where Gaddafi troops are does not include civilians."

Abdelsalam in Misrata agreed. "NATO says Gaddafi's forces are hiding among civilians. But we tell them that there are no civilians left in the areas where the Gaddafi forces are positioned. We urge them to destroy civilian property to take out the snipers and armed gangs."

After a series of rapid rebel advances followed by headlong retreats, the insurgents held their ground for six days in Brega, putting their best trained forces in to battle for the oil town and keeping the disorganized volunteers away.

A sustained government bombardment of rockets and mortar bombs, however, pushed the insurgent pick-up truck cavalcade back toward the rebel stronghold of Benghazi, their biggest retreat in several days of inconclusive battles.

"Since the day NATO took over the air strikes, we have been falling back," said Ziad el Khafiefy, 20, a rebel fighter, echoing Younes's comments.

"Gaddafi's troops are hitting us with Grad missiles," said Mabrouk el Majbary, 35. "Something is wrong ... When the U.S. gave leadership to NATO, the bombings stopped."

GADDAFI FACES ICC

As the row erupted over the military campaign, the International Criminal Court said on Tuesday it had evidence Gaddafi's government had developed plans to crush protests by killing civilians even before the uprising in Libya broke out.

"We have evidence that after the Tunisia and Egypt conflicts in January, people in the regime were planning how to control demonstrations inside Libya," court prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo told Reuters in The Hague.

"The planning at the beginning was to use tear gas and (if that failed to work) ..., shooting," said Moreno-Ocampo who is investigating Gaddafi, his sons and close aides and who will be requesting arrest warrants in the coming weeks.

The rebels are set for a boost with the arrival of a tanker in one of their ports which can carry one million barrels of crude, worth more than $100 million, which would be their first shipment since the fighting broke out.

Diplomatic efforts to end the conflict have failed to make progress with the rebels adamant that Libya's leader for the past 41 years leave and the government side offering concessions, but insisting Gaddafi stay in power.

"All armed militias, if they want a peaceful end to this crisis, they have to give up their arms, and then they are most welcome to take part in the political process," Libyan Deputy Foreign Minister Khaled Kaim told reporters in Tripoli.

Libyan envoy Abdelati Obeidi ended a shuttle to Greece, Turkey and Malta to set out the position of the government, which said on Tuesday he had been appointed foreign minister. His predecessor Moussa Koussa, once a close ally of Gaddafi, defected to Britain last week.

Turkey is expecting an envoy to visit from the opposition in the coming days and is listening to both sides.

"Both sides have a rigid stance," a Turkish Foreign Ministry official said after Obeidi's visit. "One side, the opposition, is insisting that Gaddafi should go. The other side is saying Gaddafi should stay. So there is no breakthrough yet." (Additional reporting by Alexander Dziadosz near Brega, Aaron Gray-Block in The Hague and Ibon Villelabeitia in Cairo, Justyna Pawlak in Brussels; Writing by Peter Millership; editing by David Stamp and Philippa Fletcher)

    Libyan rebels condemn NATO over Gaddafi advance, R, 4.2011,
    http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/04/06/us-libya-idUSTRE7270JP20110406

U.S. doubts Pakistan's plan to defeat Taliban: report

WASHINGTON | Tue Apr 5, 2011
7:49pm EDT
By Alister Bull

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Pakistan lacks a robust plan to defeat Taliban militants and its security forces struggle to hold areas cleared of the al Qaeda-linked fighters at great cost, according to U.S. report released on Tuesday.

The United States wants Pakistan to subdue Taliban fighters using safe havens in its rugged tribal areas to attack U.S. forces across the border in Afghanistan.

"There remains no clear path toward defeating the insurgency in Pakistan, despite the unprecedented and sustained deployment of over 147,000 forces," President Barack Obama's administration said in a report to lawmakers in Congress.

Major security operations by Pakistani forces along the lawless Afghan border have failed to break Taliban fighters' resolve, a fact underlined by twin suicide bombings of a Sufi shrine in eastern Pakistan on Sunday that killed 41.

The report highlighted concern that even if areas were cleared of militants, fighters were not being kept out.

"This is the third time in the past two years that the army has had to conduct major clearing operations ... a clear indication of the inability of the Pakistani military and government to render clear areas resistant to insurgent return," the report said.

The doctrine of clearing ground occupied by insurgents, holding it against their return and then building up the infrastructure and public services to engender confidence in the local population was used effectively by U.S. forces in Iraq.

One problem was the "low operational readiness" of the Pakistani military's helicopter fleet -- a vital tool in effective counterinsurgency strategy. The report noted this situation had been exacerbated by Pakistan's reluctance to accept U.S. maintenance teams to work on the helicopters.

On a more encouraging note, the report said U.S.-Pakistan military cooperation had survived the outcry caused by a deadly shooting incident involving a CIA contractor.

"In spite of strains on the relationship stemming from the detention of U.S. official Raymond Davis, bilateral military cooperation continues on a positive trajectory," it said.

A Pakistani court acquitted Davis of murder charges last month after a deal that involved the payment of compensation, or "blood money," to the families of two men that he shot and killed. Davis said the men he shot were trying to rob him.

On Afghanistan, the report was sharply critical of a financial crisis involving Afghanistan's Kabulbank that it said could undermine international donor confidence in the country.

"The Afghan government's inability - thus far -- to respond adequately and prosecute those responsible for the KabulBank financial crisis has given donors great concern," it said.

The Afghan government has agreed to break up Afghanistan's biggest private lender after a multimillion-dollar fraud scandal, in the face of the threatened loss of support from the International Monetary Fund and billions of dollars of aid.

(Additional reporting by Phil Stewart; editing by Christopher Wilson)

    U.S. doubts Pakistan's plan to defeat Taliban: report, R, 5.4.2011,
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/04/05/us-pakistan-report-idUSTRE73488R20110405

Well-connected Washington firm aids Libyan rebels

WASHINGTON | Tue Apr 5, 2011
6:08pm EDT
Reuters
By Mark Hosenball

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Harbour Group, a small but well-connected Washington public relations firm, is helping Libya's most prominent rebel organization to raise its profile among journalists and politicians in the U.S. capital.

Richard Mintz, a Harbour Group principal, said his company was not getting paid for its work for the Washington office of Libya's transitional national council that is headed by Ali Aujali, who resigned in February as Tripoli's ambassador to United States.

"We are volunteering our time," Mintz told Reuters.

The Harbour Group, whose three principals are veterans of Democratic and Republican politics, arranged a well-attended talk by Aujali on Monday at the Center for American Progress, a liberal think-tank close to President Barack Obama.

On Tuesday, The Harbour Group was preparing to submit a letter to the Justice Department to formally report its representation of the council's Washington office.

Work for the rebel group will include screening media calls and helping to improve the council's website. The Harbour Group's association with the council began about a week ago.

The council, the most publicized organization claiming to represent rebels fighting the North African country's long-time leader Muammar Gaddafi, has published a manifesto entitled "A Vision of a Democratic Libya."

The council's website says France formally recognized it as Libya's legitimate government on March 10.

The Harbour Group says on its website it is a "boutique public relations firm" that specializes in "smart strategic thinking and flawless execution."

Reports filed by The Harbour Group with the Justice Department show it has represented entities connected with the United Arab Emirates, for which it billed the government of Abu Dhabi more than $500,000 between April and September 2009.

A biography of Mintz on the firm's website says he served as staff director for Hillary Clinton during her husband Bill's 1992 presidential campaign and then as chief of public affairs for the Transportation Department during the Clinton administration.

Another principal, Richard Marcus, helped "devise media relations strategies" for the last three Democratic presidential conventions, it says.

The third principal, John Buckley, is a member of a famous clan of conservative Republicans and worked as a spokesman for the presidential campaigns of Ronald Reagan, Jack Kemp and Bob Dole.

 

(Editing by John O'Callaghan and Paul Simao)

    Well-connected Washington firm aids Libyan rebels, R, 5.4.2011,
    http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/04/05/us-libya-usa-lobbyists-idUSTRE7347SC20110405

Al Qaeda bolstering presence in Libya, Algeria says

ALGIERS | Tue Apr 5, 2011
5:52pm EDT
Reuters

ALGIERS (Reuters) - Algeria is concerned by a noticeably increased al Qaeda presence in neighboring Libya and worried militant groups could lay their hands on weapons circulating in the country, a senior official said on Tuesday.

Abdelkader Messahel, Algerian Deputy Foreign Minister said he was worried "particularly through the increasingly noticeable presence of AQIM (al Qaeda's north African wing) in Libya and the increasingly noticeable circulation of weapons which can be exploited by terrorist groups."

Addressing a news conference after meeting Britain's Foreign Office minister Alistair Burt, Messahel said a prolonged conflict in Libya risked destabilizing the Sahel region.

"Everybody has noticed, and we are not the only ones, that there are a lot of weapons circulating in Libya and this situation, if it persists, will aggravate the situation in the Sahel," he said.

Human Rights Watch said on Tuesday eastern Libya was littered with massive amounts of unexploded ordnance, abandoned and unsecured weapons and munitions and recently laid landmines from the fighting, posing a great threat to civilians.

It said that as the government lost control of eastern Libya, rebels and civilians had gained access to massive military weapon and munitions depots, abandoned by government forces. Among these depots are the 60-bunker Hight Razma facility on the eastern outskirts of Benghazi and a 35-bunker facility on the eastern outskirts of Ajdabiyah.

Both storage facilities are packed with weapons and munitions and readily accessible to civilians, it said, adding its researchers had visited the Ajdabiyah site in March and found no guards defending the facility.

It called on the transitional authority in eastern Libya to safeguard munitions depots in areas under its control, adding it should also secure, monitor and clear areas contaminated by unexploded ordnance and abandoned munitions.

"When ordinary civilians, even children, can walk into a weapons depot and remove anti-tank missiles, landmines, and surface-to-air missiles capable of shooting down a civilian aircraft, you have a real problem," Peter Bouckaert, emergencies director at Human Rights Watch, said in a statement.

"The rebel authorities should take urgent action to secure the arms depots under their control," added Bouckaert, who has just completed two weeks of research in eastern Libya.

Messahel stressed Algeria's opposition to foreign military intervention in Libya, which it has said goes beyond the United Nations resolution allowing foreign states to intervene to protect civilians.

"From our point of view, anything which continues for a long time, like violence, like war, will delay a return to stability in this brotherly nation (Libya) and there will certainly be repercussions for the stability and security of the region," he said. "So we, as a neighboring country, want to see a quick return to a solution which is of the Libyans, by the Libyans and for Libya."

(Reporting by Christian Lowe; Writing by Richard Lough; Editing by Louise Ireland)

    Al Qaeda bolstering presence in Libya, Algeria says, R, 5.4.2011,
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/04/05/us-algeria-militants-idUSTRE7345TJ20110405

Rebel mosque demolished in restive Libyan city

ZAWIYAH, Libya | Tue Apr 5, 2011
3:38pm EDT
Reuters
By Maria Golovnina

ZAWIYAH, Libya (Reuters) - Government forces have razed a mosque formerly used by rebels as a command center in a western Libyan city, stepping up efforts to eradicate symbols of resistance against leader Muammar Gaddafi.

Rebel forces held Zawiyah for several weeks after an anti-Gaddafi uprising erupted in Libya in mid-February but were defeated on March 10 after a series of fierce battles.

The coastal town about 50 km (30 miles) west of Tripoli is now firmly under state control, with Gaddafi flags flapping in the sea breeze and streets patrolled by state militiamen. But the mosque's demolition has distressed some locals.

"People are upset," said Mohammad, a shop owner. "How can you remove a mosque in a central square just like that? It's a Muslim country."

The white stone building with a towering minaret -- also used by rebels as a field hospital -- was knocked down a week ago and bulldozed into a flat patch of sandy land.

A nearby makeshift graveyard in the central square where rebels buried their dead has also been flattened.

When Reuters correspondents visited Zawiyah on March 5, the cemetery contained about 20 graves. The mosque, a rallying point where rebel fighters came to pray, plan and rest, was also then intact, blaring anti-Gaddafi messages through a loudspeaker.

"The government demolished it because there was a lot of filth inside," said Abulqassim Omar, a local resident.

The government took reporters to Zawiyah on Tuesday to show the city was under its control. A few dozen Gaddafi supporters waved flags and shouted slogans in the central square.

Official minders confirmed the mosque had been demolished by the government but there was no official comment.

The city is now a world apart. Under rebel control, ordinary civilians were openly anti-Gaddafi and opposition flags flew from many buildings. Rebels interviewed by Reuters said they wanted to oust Gaddafi and call free and fair elections.

Almost everyone interviewed on Tuesday echoed the official line, partly because government minders kept a close eye on contacts between local residents and visiting journalists.

One man, standing outside his shop, chose a moment when they were not looking to paint a darker picture of life in the city.

"Don't you see how tightly controlled we are now. Government spies have us surrounded in this city and we are scared to talk," he said. "Those were revolutionaries and civilians that they killed, they were not gangs or al-Qaeda."

Describing scenes of fighting, he added: "The armed forces would use tanks and spray the buildings with the bullets without a clear target, they would spray the buildings. ... But we can't talk, all of Zawiyah is gone, either escaped or arrested."

All around, ruined facades were decorated with Gaddafi portraits. With houses gutted and walls pockmarked with bullet holes, the city was subdued and most shops were boarded up.

Graffiti saying "Get out dictator" was still seen through the green paint used to cover it. Fences were plastered with statements from the Green Book -- Gaddafi's political manifesto.

Some were visibly upset. An old man stopped in the central square, shaking his head as he looked at a crowd of Gaddafi supporters dancing near a place where the mosque used to stand.

"It will never be the same," he said. "Why are they so happy? I don't know."

(Editing by Louise Ireland)

    Rebel mosque demolished in restive Libyan city, R, 5.4.2011,
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/04/05/us-libya-zawiyah-idUSTRE73462Y20110405

Rebels flee east Libya oil town under rocket fire

NEAR BREGA, Libya | Tue Apr 5, 2011
1:35pm EDT
By Alexander Dziadosz

NEAR BREGA, Libya (Reuters) - Muammar Gaddafi's forces pushed rebels back toward their stronghold of Benghazi on Tuesday with sustained rocket and mortar fire, in the sixth day of fighting for the oil port of Brega.

Sustained bombardments of rockets and mortars pushed the insurgent caravan of pick-up trucks and cars about half way toward the town of Ajdabiya, gateway to Benghazi.

It was the biggest rebel retreat in several days of inconclusive battles, but as night fell the artillery fell silent and there was no sign that Gaddafi's better-armed forces would push on to Ajdabiyah.

The exact position of the frontline was difficult to ascertain in a war of rapid movements in both directions across the open desert. Rebels waiting in their pick-ups about 30 km west of Ajdabiyah on the Mediterranean coast road said there was fighting 10 km west of them, about 40 km east from Brega.

Others said there was still fighting in Brega itself.

The insurgents say Western air strikes have become less effective since NATO took control from a coalition of France, Britain and the United States on March 31.

"Since the day NATO took over the air strikes, we have been falling back," said Ziad el Khafiefy, 20, a rebel fighter.

"Gaddafi's troops are hitting us with (Russian-made) Grad missiles," said Mabrouk el Majbary, 35. "Something is wrong... When the U.S. gave leadership to NATO, the bombings stopped. I don't know why."

NATO denied air power had become less effective.

The retreat began when rockets landed near a group of rebels waiting in pickups with mounted machineguns at Brega's eastern gate on Tuesday morning.

Nearby, the remains of two government trucks mounted with heavy machineguns lay smoldering, their burning tires giving off a cloud of acrid smoke. Rebels said the trucks were hit by a Western air strike.

ROCKET FUSILLADE

The sustained burst of rocket and mortar fire appeared to give the Gaddafi forces the upper hand after days in which lightly-armed rebels pulled back but better-trained soldiers held their ground.

Kamal el-Maghraby, a rebel who returned from Britain to fight, expressed frustration at the superior weapons on Gaddafi's side. "It's not balanced," he said, gesturing toward the rebels' Kalashnikov assault rifles. "These people cannot fight with those weapons."

The rebels had shown better organization than in past weeks, keeping territory for longer and forcing untrained volunteers to stay back as experienced forces attack Gaddafi's front line. But government troops seemed to mount a sustained assault on Tuesday.

(Writing by Barry Moody; Editing by Matthew Jones)

    Rebels flee east Libya oil town under rocket fire, R, 5.4.2011
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/04/05/us-libya-east-idUSTRE73424J20110405

Libyan state TV glosses over anti-Gaddafi revolt

BERLIN | Tue Apr 5, 2011
2:34pm EDT
By Joseph Nasr

BERLIN (Reuters) - You can watch the weather forecast and business news daily on state-run Libyan television, but you won't find any spot news on the war between forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi and rebels seeking his overthrow.

On al-Jamahiriya, the main mouthpiece of Gaddafi's government, there are no live reports from the front and no mention of "opposition forces."

Instead there are plenty of denunciations of the West and its Middle Eastern allies for the "crusader war with Arab backing" and a "Western conspiracy" to seize Libya's oil.

The rebels, who have won some degree of international recognition, are "terrorist gangs." A commentator frequently tells viewers that they make up at most five percent of Libya's population.

Libyans abroad who support the rebels say they cannot take al-Jamahiriya seriously.

"It's a big joke and it is making people sick," Mossa, a Libyan who lives in Britain, told Reuters in a Facebook message. He declined to give his full name or any other personal details for fear of reprisals against family members still in Libya.

News bulletins in Arabic, English and French begin with the same line on supporters at Gaddafi's fortified compound in Tripoli: "Libyan men, women and children continue to flock to Bab al-Aziziyah to express their support for the brother leader."

A live feed from the compound always follows, showing supporters dancing to upbeat Arabic music. Some wave green flags while others brandish posters of Gaddafi or banners expressing willingness to die to protect him.

The pictures are reminiscent of Egyptian state television during protests that led to the resignation of President Hosni Mubarak in February. While protests raged in Cairo, Nile TV showed videos of a tranquil Egyptian capital.

It all changed the day after Mubarak stepped down: state media celebrated the end of his 30-year reign.

"Libyans I know rarely watch al-Jamahirya. When they do, they get angry," 37-year-old Libyan Ayman Naas, who lives in Germany, said by telephone. "They watch al-Jazeera or Western channels."

 

TSUNAMI LINK

Al-Jamahiriya runs a daily program called "Hope of the Nation," whose goal, it says, is to expose conspiracies and uncover traitors seeking to undermine Gaddafi's rule. It says that it does so "in a professional, transparent and honest way."

Regular guest Yusuf Shakir, described as a former dissident, takes aim at everyone from French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Qatar-based al-Jazeera television to countries that froze Gaddafi's assets and rebel leaders.

In one episode, Shakir said it was no coincidence that an earthquake and tsunami struck Japan last month "merely hours" after Tokyo froze Gaddafi's assets, suggesting that the disaster was a divine punishment.

Japan froze the assets of Gaddafi and other Libyans on March 7 in line with a U.N. Security Council resolution. The earthquake and devastating Tsunami occurred four days later.

"People who run al-Jamahiriya or work for it have their heads buried in the sand. I don't think they believe what they say," said Naas from Germany, who like many Libyans abroad watch Libyan television via satellite.

For most of the day the channel plays videos showing Libyan soldiers as well as naval and air force units in training, against a background of upbeat songs praising Gaddafi.

"I am sure that when Gaddafi goes, al-Jamahiriya will apologize to the Libyan people," said Naas.

(Editing by David Stamp)

    Libyan state TV glosses over anti-Gaddafi revolt, R, 5.4.2011,
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/04/05/us-libya-television-idUSTRE73468920110405

Oil tanker in rebel-held Libya, buyer a mystery

LONDON | Tue Apr 5, 2011
11:23am EDT
By Jonathan Saul

LONDON (Reuters) - A tanker arrived at an east Libyan port on Tuesday to load the first crude cargo since unrest shut down exports in early March with mystery surrounding the potential buyer of oil from the rebel held territory.

AIS live ship tracking data on Reuters showed the Liberian-registered tanker Equator, which can carry up to 1 million barrels of oil, had arrived at Marsa el Hariga port.

"It appears to be in ballast with no cargo," a shipping source said, referring to the depth of a vessel in the water which gives an indication of whether it is loaded.

An official with the vessel's Greek operators, Dynacom Tankers Management Ltd, declined to give details on the tanker.

"There is nothing I can tell you right now on this issue," he told Reuters.

The expected shipment will be the first in weeks since an uprising against Muammar Gaddafi halted exports, although it was unclear who had hired the vessel or its ultimate destination.

Trade sources said the buyer would likely keep a low profile given sanctions still in place against Libya and heavy fighting.

The rebel-led government said it had concluded a deal with Qatar to market crude oil and had discussed plans with a U.N. envoy to exempt its oil exports from sanctions that have been imposed on Gaddafi entities.

Italian oil and gas group Eni has contacted rebels in Benghazi about energy cooperation, moving to protect its role as Libya's top foreign oil operator.

"A sustainable source of income from oil exports will send a strong signal that the opposition is there to stay and only can grow as it tries to bring more and more crude exports onstream," said IHS Energy senior analyst Samuel Ciszuk.

"(Eni's) official inception of ties with the rebels indicates that the company at least is starting to hedge its bets."

Before the unrest, Libya was producing around 1.6 million barrels per day (bpd) of oil and exporting some 1.3 million bpd. Since its exports halted, Brent crude futures have risen to around $120 a barrel from around $100 before.

"We are assuming that most, if not all, of the Libyan volumes will be offline for the balance of the year but that the region will see no new physical supply outages," CIBC World Markets said in a report last week.

TANKER DIVERTED

Shipping sources said last week Libyan oil shipments were at a standstill, with no one attempting to hire tankers due to violence and the impact of sanctions on Gaddafi.

NATO has also been enforcing a U.N. arms embargo in international waters aimed at stopping the "flow of arms and mercenaries" to Gaddafi. Ship officials said the move may add disruptions for Libya bound vessels.

A Libyan-owned ship carrying a cargo of imported petrol docked at a government-controlled port on Tuesday despite the cordon.

Jakob Larsen, maritime security officer with BIMCO, the world's largest private shipowners' association, said a tanker had been diverted last month by coalition naval units.

"The current wording of the U.N. Security Council resolution leaves considerable room for interpretation as to which cargoes are regarded as contraband and can therefore not be discharged legally in Libya," he said.

"For charters and shipowners, this uncertainty introduces an undesirable element of commercial risk for cargoes meant for Libya."

Larsen said there was currently no guidance for merchant vessels entering rebel areas as the U.N. resolution did not distinguish between pro-Gaddafi and rebel forces.

"If a ship would be going into rebel controlled territory then it potentially could be subject to enforcement," he said.

(Additional reporting by Renee Maltezou in Athens)

(Editing by William Hardy and Anthony Barker)

    Oil tanker in rebel-held Libya, buyer a mystery, R, 5.4.2011,
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/04/05/us-libya-oil-loading-idUSTRE73423W20110405

Photos Found in Libya Show Abuses Under Qaddafi

April 5, 2011
The New York Times
By DAVID D. KIRKPATRICK and C. J. CHIVERS

ZAWIYAH, Libya — In the second-floor office of a burned-out police station here, the photographs strewn across the floor spun out the stories of the unlucky prisoners who fell into the custody of the brutal government of Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi.

Some depicted corpses bearing the marks of torture. One showed scars down the back of a man dressed only in his underwear, another a naked man face down under a sheet with his hands bound. The faces of the dead bore expressions of horror. Other pictures showed puddles of blood, a table of jars, bottles and powders and, in one, a long saw.

In a labyrinthine basement, workers were clearing out burned books and files. One room contained a two-liter bottle of gin. Gesturing into another room that was kept dark, a worker mimicked a gun with his hands and murmured “Qaddafi,” suggesting it was an execution chamber.

Journalists discovered the photographs and records on an official trip to this devastated city, where Qaddafi forces battled rebels for nearly a week to retake control. They were the latest reminder of the long record of arbitrary violence against civilians that now overshadows the government’s efforts to broker an end to the international airstrikes and domestic rebellion threatening Colonel Qaddafi’s four decades in power.

As Colonel Qaddafi’s son, Seif al-Islam, promised in a television interview to usher in a new era of constitutional democracy in which his father would be a mere figurehead “like the queen of England,” the prosecutor for the International Criminal Court escalated international pressure on the government by declaring that it had deliberately ordered the killing of civilians in a bid to hold back the democratic revolution sweeping the region.

“We have evidence that after the Tunisia and Egypt conflicts, people in the regime were planning how to control demonstrations in Libya,” the prosecutor, Luis Moreno-Ocampo, told Reuters. “The shootings of civilians was a predetermined plan.”

In the rebel-held city of Misrata in western Libya and on the eastern front with the rebels around the oil town of Brega, Qaddafi forces continued to hammer rebels with rockets, artillery and mortars, as rebel leaders expressed exasperation at the limits of NATO’s support.

In Brussels, Brig. Gen. Mark van Uhm of NATO said Tuesday that Western airstrikes had destroyed about 30 percent of Colonel Qaddafi’s military power.

But Gen. Abdul Fattah Younes, the head of the rebel army, lashed out at his Western allies during a news conference in Benghazi, accusing NATO of tardiness and indecision. “What is NATO doing?” he asked. “Civilians are dying every day. They use the excuse of collateral damage.”

He charged that NATO was enforcing the United Nations-sanctioned no-fly zone too equally, barring the rebels from providing cover for their troops with the few warplanes he said they had repaired. “They said, ‘No, don’t use your planes,’ ” he said.

General Younes also charged that Qaddafi forces had attacked oil installations in southeastern Libya, “to deprive the Libyan people from their right of selling the oil.” He said the damage was “not significant.”

Nor was there was any sign Tuesday of the air power that two weeks ago sent the loyalist forces reeling toward the Qaddafi stronghold of Surt.

Instead, they hammered rebels once again along the coastal road around the strategic oil town of Brega, more than 100 miles to the east.

On Tuesday the Qaddafi forces reversed some minor rebel gains with rocket attacks and pushed vehicle patrols northeast from their positions. They forced the rebels to withdraw nearly to Ajdabiya, to be safely out of the superior range of the loyalist forces’ weapons.

Resting on dunes and knolls, soldiers peered down the road toward Brega nervously. They said that it appeared that the Qaddafi forces, less pressured now by airstrikes, had managed to resupply their forward troops, and were emboldened and dangerous.

The rebels had pulled back so quickly under fire that their casualties on Tuesday were light, said Dr. Habib Multadi, who was organizing the evacuation of wounded from the front. But as cargo trucks moved more ammunition forward at dusk, their force seemed stuck.

In the rebel capital, Benghazi, a military spokesman said he was not ashamed to admit that the rebel forces needed help.

“To your people I would like to say, ‘Don’t leave us,’ ” the spokesman, Col. Ahmed Omar Bani, said in an interview. “We need support. We need your support.”

In Misrata, the last major rebel-held city in western Libya, rebels said they were losing ground to a constricting siege by Qaddafi forces. “The Qaddafi forces are expanding their territorial gains every day,” said Mohamed, a rebel spokesman whose name was withheld to protect his family.

The Qaddafi forces had shelled the port so heavily, he said, that the local authorities closed and evacuated it, sending a ship from Benghazi back into deeper waters.

Rebels said the Qaddafi forces appeared to adopt new tactics in response to the Western airstrikes, using mortars far more than tanks, either to present smaller targets or because the tanks were wiped out. “They are changing the technique and they are shelling by mortar now everywhere so instead of no-fly zone we have no safe zone,” said Aiman, a doctor whose last name was withheld for similar reasons, in an Internet message.

Writing from the hospital, he said three people were killed Tuesday — including a 10-year-old child and a member of the hospital staff — and a total of seven by the end of the day on Monday.

In an interview with the BBC that was broadcast on Tuesday, Colonel Qaddafi’s son Seif al-Islam dismissed the rebels as a relatively small number of people — “escaped criminals” and “terrorists” — who had somehow dominated or tricked the millions living in eastern Libya.

He argued that the West could never succeed in forcing his father from power, because of his father’s resistance and because “the Libyan people will never allow it.”

He said his father had nothing to fear from the International Criminal Court. “My father didn’t kill anybody,” he said. “He didn’t say, ‘Go and kill civilians.’ “

He insisted that the only critics of his father were a few politicians in foreign capitals. In Libya, he said, “Nobody is talking about my father.”

And, apparently elaborating on his reported proposals to end the conflict, Mr. Qaddafi suggested that if foreign interference ended, he and his father were ready to move the country toward democratic elections of a new government and prime minister under a new constitution, with his father in a figurehead role.

“We talked about it 10 years ago,” he said.

Asked why Libya had not taken any steps toward constitutional democracy yet, Mr. Qaddafi insisted: “It will happen. We are very serious about that.”


David D. Kirkpatrick reported from Zawiyah, and C. J. Chivers from Brega, Libya. Moises Saman contributed reporting from Zawiyah, and Kareem Fahim from Benghazi, Libya.

    Photos Found in Libya Show Abuses Under Qaddafi, R, 5.4.2011,
    http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/06/world/africa/06libya.html

Gaddafi planned civilian killings, Hague court says

BENGHAZI, Libya | Tue Apr 5, 2011
9:06am EDT
Reuters
By Angus MacSwan

BENGHAZI, Libya (Reuters) - The International Criminal Court has evidence Muammar Gaddafi's government planned to put down protests by killing civilians before the uprising in Libya broke out, the ICC's prosecutor said on Tuesday.

The peaceful protests that erupted on February 15 descended into civil war as Gaddafi's forces first fired on demonstrators, then violently put down the uprisings that followed in the west, leaving the east and the third city of Misrata in rebel hands.

NATO-led air power is now holding the balance in Libya, preventing Gaddafi's forces overrunning the seven-week old revolt, but unable for now to hand the rebels outright victory.

The United Nations Security Council, which on March 17 sanctioned air strikes on Libyan government forces to prevent them killing civilians, in February referred Libya to the ICC, the world's first permanent war crimes court.

Court prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo is to report back to the U.N. on May 4, and is then expected to request arrest warrants.

"We have evidence that after the Tunisia and Egypt conflicts, people in the (Gaddafi) regime were planning how to control demonstrations in Libya," Moreno-Ocampo told Reuters in an interview.

"The shootings of civilians was a pre-determined plan," he said, adding the plan started to be developed in January.

DEFECTOR SOUGHT

The court prosecutor wants to speak to former Libyan Foreign Minister Moussa Koussa who defected to Britain last week, saying he did so because of attacks on civilians by Gaddafi's forces.

Koussa's defection would be taken into consideration in the investigation into Gaddafi, his sons and aides, Moreno-Ocampo said, hinting others inside the government might follow suit.

"The fact that Moussa Koussa defected is interesting because that is one option you have. If you have no power to stop the crimes then you can defect to show you are not responsible," he said.

Fighting on the frontline in the eastern oil terminal town of Brega has become bogged down with Gaddafi's advantage in tanks and artillery canceled out by NATO-led air strikes which effectively back the rebels.

Diplomatic efforts to end the conflict have similarly failed to make any progress with the government side offering concessions, but insisting Gaddafi stay in power and the rebels adamant that Libya's leader for the past 41 years leave.

After a series of rapid rebel advances followed by headlong retreats, the insurgents have held their ground for six days now in Brega, putting their best trained forces in to battle for the town and keeping the disorganized volunteers away.

A familiar pattern has set in, with lightly armed volunteers pulling back under rocket fire and better-trained rebel soldiers, most of them from army units that defected from Gaddafi or came out of retirement, tending to hold their ground.

As two government trucks mounted with heavy machine guns lay smoldering from an allied air strike, machinegun fire was heard in the west of the sparsely populated desert settlement then rockets landed near a group of rebels waiting with machine gun mounted pick-up trucks at the town's eastern gate.

Rockets zipped back toward Brega from a rebel position near the entrance to its eastern residential zone, but as more government ordinance rained down, scores of rebels leapt into their pick-ups and sped off once again into the desert.

"It's back and forth," said a rebel officer who did not give his name. "The clashes are continuing between the industrial area, the company and the residential area."

REBEL OIL

The rebels appear to be set for a boost with the arrival of a tanker in one of their ports which can carry 1 million barrels of crude, worth more than $100 million, which would be their first shipment since the fighting broke out.

That will help the rebel leadership to pay salaries and bolster its image as a potential government.

Rebel leaders say Qatar has agreed to market oil from east Libyan fields after the Gulf state recognized the revolutionary council in Benghazi as Libya's legitimate government.

In the capital Tripoli, angered by fuel shortages and long queues for basic goods caused by sanctions and air strikes, some residents began openly predicting Gaddafi's imminent downfall.

The government offered concessions. Spokesman Mussa Ibrahim said Libya was ready for a "political solution" with world powers and offered a "constitution, election, anything. But the leader has to lead this forward."

Libyan Deputy Foreign Minister Abdelati Obeidi ended a trip to Greece, Turkey and Malta to set out the government position.

Turkey is expecting an envoy to visit from the opposition in the coming days and is listening to both sides.

"Both sides have a rigid stance," a Turkish Foreign Ministry official said after Obeidi's visit. "One side, the opposition, is insisting that Gaddafi should go. The other side is saying Gaddafi should stay. So there is no breakthrough yet."

(Additional reporting by Alexander Dziadosz in Brega, Aaron Gray-Block in The Hague and Ibon Villelabeitia in Cairo; Writing by Jon Hemming; Editing by Giles Elgood)

    Gaddafi planned civilian killings, Hague court says, R, 5.4.2011,
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/04/05/us-libya-idUSTRE7270JP20110405

Strikes destroy 30 percent of Libya military power: NATO

BRUSSELS | Tue Apr 5, 2011
8:55am EDT
Reuters

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Western air strikes have so far destroyed nearly a third of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi's military power, a NATO official said on Tuesday.

"The assessment is that we have taken out 30 percent of the military capacity of Gaddafi," Brigadier General Mark van Uhm, a senior NATO staff officer, told a news briefing.

(Reporting by Justyna Pawlak; editing by Rex Merrifield)

    Strikes destroy 30 percent of Libya military power: NATO?, R, 5.4.2011,
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/04/05/us-libya-nato-idUSTRE73431K20110405

Yemen toll rises as U.S. seen pressing Saleh to go

SANAA | Tue Apr 5, 2011
1:12am EDT
Reuters
By Mohamed Sudam and Mohammed Ghobari

SANAA (Reuters) - Police and armed men in civilian clothes opened fire on anti-government demonstrators in the Yemeni cities of Taiz and Hudaida on Monday, witnesses said, as a drive to oust President Ali Abdullah Saleh gathered pace.

The attempt to suppress mounting protests inspired by uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia came amid signs that the United States is seeking an end to Saleh's 32-year rule, long seen as a rampart against Yemen-based al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.

In Taiz, south of the capital Sanaa, police shot at protesters trying to storm the provincial government building, killing at least 15 and wounding 30, hospital doctors said.

"The regime has surprised us with this extent of killing. I don't think the people will do anything other than come out with bare chests to drain the government of all its ammunition," parliamentarian Mohammed Muqbil al-Hamiri told Al Jazeera TV.

The television showed a row of men, apparent tear gas victims, lying motionless and being tended by medics on the carpeted floor of a makeshift hospital in Taiz.

In the Red Sea port of Hudaida, police and armed men in civilian clothes attacked a march toward a presidential palace. Three people were hit by bullets, around 30 were stabbed with knifes, and 270 were hurt from inhaling tear gas, doctors said.

Later on Monday, doctors said at least six demonstrators were shot dead and several wounded during evening rallies, and that the toll was likely to rise.

In Washington, the U.S. State Department called the latest violence in Yemen "appalling."

Yemen's opposition coalition appealed in a statement to the United Nations, human rights groups and other international bodies "to intervene quickly to stop President Saleh and his entourage from shedding more blood."

As opposition forces stepped up their actions, Saleh again appeared defiant.

"Just as you gave us your confidence, we will respond to that. We will be steadfast like the mountains," he told hundreds of tribesman who chanted their rejection of concessions. "We will stay loyal to you, just as you have been loyal to constitutional legitimacy."

Saleh has said he will not run for re-election in 2013 and could step down following new presidential and parliamentary elections within a year. On Sunday, he called on the opposition to end protests to help ease talks.

An opposition proposal would see the army and security forces restructured by a vice-president acting as temporary president ahead of political reforms and elections. The ruling party says Saleh should remain in office to oversee changes.

Gulf Arab states have invited Yemeni government and opposition representatives to talks in Saudi Arabia, Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammad al-Salem al-Sabah said, in a bid to end the crisis, but a date is yet to be set.

Gulf Arab countries have taken a wait-and-see approach, resisting efforts by Sanaa to entice them into mediation.

"On Yemen, there are some ideas that will be addressed to the Yemeni sides. I don't want to use the word mediation because now we are in a stage of feeling the pulse," UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed al-Nahayan said on Monday.

There were signs of mounting U.S. pressure on Saleh to go. The New York Times said on Monday Washington had "quietly shifted positions" and "concluded that he is unlikely to bring about the required reforms and must be eased out of office."

 

U.S. ROLE

Analysts and diplomats predicted more behind-the-scenes pressure on Saleh from Western countries to end the crisis.

"The next step is putting aid to Yemen on the table and saying that there are going to be serious consequences if Saleh continues to use violence against his own people," said Shadi Hamid, an analyst at the Brookings Doha Center in Qatar.

The Obama administration has not so publicly urged Saleh to step aside. Such calls were key in bringing an end to the rule of Tunisia's Zine al-Abidine bin Ali and Egypt's Hosni Mubarak.

Sources close to the talks have said Washington gave Saleh an ultimatum last week to agree on a deal negotiated by the U.S. ambassador in Sanaa to ensure a peaceful exit and transition of power, otherwise it would publicly call on him to step down.

Opposition sources say talks have stalled because Saleh is maneuvering to ensure he and his family do not face prosecution over corruption accusations raised by the opposition.

A diplomat in Sanaa said the focus for now was still on talks and public calls to stand down -- which have only so far come from France -- were premature.

"It depends on developments in the coming days. This is one of the options that all capitals have if they want," he said.

"At the moment, diplomatic parties are working behind the scenes to encourage an agreement on political transition between Yemeni parties. Other options are being kept at the moment in the drawer," the diplomat said.

If Washington were to call on Saleh to go, "I'm not sure if he (Saleh) would immediately cave in," he added.

 

TRANSITION STALLED

Thousands of protesters have camped out around Sanaa University since early February, but in the past two weeks Saleh has begun mobilizing his own supporters on the streets.

Saleh's apparent stalling prompted new protests, including a 2 a.m. march on a presidential palace in Hudaida.

"They suddenly gathered around the province's administrative building and headed to the presidential palace, but police stopped them by firing gunshots in the air and using teargas. I saw a lot of plainclothes police attack them too," a witness in Hudaida told Reuters by phone.

In several southern cities, the opposition ordered a strike on Monday that shut schools, shops and many state offices.

Life in some areas of the port city of Aden, seat of a separatist movement by southerners who say the 1994 unification of South Yemen with Saleh's north has left them marginalized, also came to a halt in the civil disobedience campaign.

On Sunday, a soldier was killed and seven people wounded in an attack by gunmen on a checkpoint in Lahej, also in the south.

One of Washington's fears has been that Yemen could fragment along tribal and regional lines -- a specter Saleh has raised in speeches -- allowing al Qaeda to stage more attacks abroad.

The deaths of 52 protesters on March 18, apparently at the hands of government snipers, have been a turning point in the conflict. They led to a string of defections from Saleh's camp among diplomats, tribal leaders and key generals.

 

(Additional reporting by Andrew Hammond and Erika Solomon in Dubai, Stanley Carvalho and Amena Bakr in Abu Dahabi; Writing by Andrew Hammond and Firouz Sedarat; Editing by Nick Macfie and Matthew Jones)

    Yemen toll rises as U.S. seen pressing Saleh to go, R, 5.4.2011,
    http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/04/05/us-yemen-idUSTRE7310ON20110405