Gadhafi forces 'in control' of oil hub

A Libyan mourner fires shots in the air at a cemetery on August 12 during the funeral of five rebels killed in the battle for the control of the oil-rich town of Brega.Fighting was reported in coastal city of al-ZawiyaRebels say they captured the town of al-Qawalish to the southA government spokesman calls the rebel efforts "weak""Tripoli is safe," spokesman says

Tripoli, Libya (CNN) -- Rebels claimed Saturday that they were gaining traction in a series of offensives in several parts of Libya controlled by ruler Moammar Gadhafi.

Heavy gunfire was heard in al-Zawiya, located about 33 miles west of Tripoli, where rebels had arrived. Rebels had entered the center of the city and managed to cut off the road to Tripoli, they said. More than 20 injured and several casualties were reported.

While the Gadhafi forces tried to defend the capital from the west, rebels announced that they had cut off an important military supply route to the south.

Sixty miles to Tripoli's south, rebels said they captured the town of al-Qawalish and pushed the Gadhafi forces to the south, toward nearby Garyan, cutting them off from the road to Tripoli. The soldiers left behind heavy artillery and ammunition, rebel field commander Adel al-Zintani told CNN.

"We captured many anti-aircraft artillery vehicles, two full fuel tankers and 106 anti-tank piercing artillery and shells," he said. Seven people were injured in the clashes, he said.

Finally, in the opposition-held port of Misrata, missile attacks by Gadhafi forces ended after rebels captured the nearby town of Tawargha, National Transitional Council spokesman Guma El-Gamaty told CNN. That city was being used by Gadhafi forces to launch missiles indiscriminately into Misrata, he said.

Rebels also took a crucial bridge that links Tawargha to Sirte, Gadhafi's hometown and loyal stronghold, he said.

A government spokesman on Saturday downplayed the rebel claims.

"Small groups of armed gangs, 50 here, 50 there, some attacked south of al-Zawiya, some attacked north of Garyan, and Tawargha, but they have very weak influence on the ground," government spokesman Musa Ibrahim told reporters. "The people's armed forces are dealing with them, they do not represent a real threat. Tripoli is safe."

Earlier, the country's deputy foreign minister Khaled Kaim said government fighters had pushed the rebels away from Tawargha and back to Misrata.

Five months into the Libyan war, the rebels have won international support in their effort to oust Gadhafi.

They have been aided by NATO airstrikes that began in March after the U.N. Security Council approved a resolution that ordered civilians be protected.

This week, the government accused NATO of killing 85 civilians, including 33 children, in airstrikes Monday near the embattled city of Zlitan.

NATO has said there is no evidence that the strikes killed civilians, though journalists, including CNN reporters, taken by Gadhafi's government to the site of the strikes, reported seeing bodies of women and children.

It was impossible for CNN to confirm the extent of the casualties and if they were all civilian.

Kaim on Friday criticized the United Nations for what he claimed was an organizational silence over claims that NATO has violated the mandate of the Security Council by killing civilians and conducting a naval blockade.

The comments follow a statement a day earlier by a spokesperson for Ban Ki-moon, who said the U.N. secretary-general "is deeply concerned by reports of the unacceptably large number of civilian casualties as a result of the conflict in Libya."

Ban urged "all Libyan parties" to engage with his special envoy, Abdel-Elah Al-Khatib, "and respond concretely and positively to the ideas presented to them, in order to end the bloodshed in the country," the spokesperson said.

Kaim said Ban's statement fell short without a mention of NATO.

The changing nature of who controls what was underscored Thursday by events in Washington, where the Libyan Embassy officially reopened under the control of the Transitional National Council.

"This is a message that Gadhafi can no more rule Libya," said Ali Aujali, who was accredited Thursday as head of the Libyan mission.

The State Department had ordered the embassy closed in March and expelled diplomats loyal to Gadhafi. Aujali had resigned his post as the regime's ambassador to the United States in February, and has since represented the opposition in Washington.

The United States on July 15 recognized the rebel movement based in Benghazi as Libya's rightful government.

CNN's Salma Abdelaziz, Jomana Karadsheh, Yasmin Amer and Kareem Khadder contributed to this report.

CNN

Libya's Gadhafi threatens to take war to Europe

Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi says NATO should "withdraw and run away."NEW: U.S. is taking the threats seriously, State Department spokesman saysGadhafi says the battle may one day be taken to EuropeHis recorded message was aired at a Tripoli rallyState Department spokesman says Gadhafi is "given to overblown rhetoric"

Tripoli, Libya (CNN) -- Moammar Gadhafi, rallying his supporters in war-torn Libya, threatened Friday to take the fighting to Europe, according to an audio message aired by state TV.

"You are mistaken, you are involved in a battle that you don't know what you are going to face, so withdraw, and run away," Gadhafi told a pro-government gathering in Tripoli. "Our people is able in one day to move the battle to the Mediterranean, and able to move the battle to Europe."

Gadhafi referred to NATO, which began bombing military targets in Libya after the U.N. Security Council approved a resolution in March authorizing force by whatever means necessary, with the exception of a ground invasion, to protect civilians.

Libya rebels claim talks with France over weapons supply

He vowed vengeance for the bombings, saying the Libyan military could be "like locusts, like bees" in Europe. Homes and offices could be potential targets, he said.

In Washington, State Department spokesman Mark Toner said the United States was taking seriously the Libyan leader's remarks. "Certainly this is an individual who's obviously capable of carrying out these kinds of threats," he told reporters. "It's what makes him so dangerous. But he's also someone who's given to overblown rhetoric."

He said the United States would continue to support NATO's mission of increasing pressure on Gadhafi to step aside.

Gadhafi's daughter: 'My father is a symbol, a guide'

The French government, meanwhile, is in talks with Libyan rebels about supplying them with weapons and ammunition, a Libyan opposition military spokesman in Misrata said late Thursday.

The French government has not confirmed the claim, which follows an acknowledgment earlier this week that its military has previously dropped light weaponry to rebels elsewhere.

CNN's David McKenzie contributed to this story

CNN

Gadhafi training women for Libya war

Women in Libya are training to defend Moammar Gadhafi's regimeWomen training with weapons is not an uncommon sight in LibyaMasoud: "I liked training and defending my country"

Tripoli, Libya (CNN) -- Embattled Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi is calling for fresh volunteers in a months-long war with rebels attempting to bring about an end to his 42-year rule -- and women of all ages are answering, CNN has learned.

Women from in and around Gadhafi's stronghold of Tripoli have been traveling south to a training facility in Bani Walid to practice with weapons, a common sight in a country where young girls receive military training in schools.

As NATO's airstrikes crossed the 100-day mark and rebels continue to fight to oust Gadhafi, he is tapping everything and everyone in his arsenal to hold on to power.

At the training facility in Bani Walid, women are training to "defend Moammar and the country," said Sgt. Faraj Ramadan, a woman who is training other women to properly handle weapons.

"They train to use it, assemble it and take it apart, and to shoot," she told CNN recently. "They were trained and got excellent scores."

At a recent graduation at the facility, 40-year-old Fatima Masoud said she liked the training. She said she left her textile job every day at 4 p.m. to train.

"I liked training and defending my country, and now I'm am training women from all ages to use weapons," she said.

It is unclear how many have answered Gadhafi's call or how many had graduated from the program at Bani Walid.

But women are fighting alongside government forces.

A woman, who did not want to identified, fresh from the frontlines, attended the graduation. She was still wearing a cannula in her wrist.

"Do not underestimate any woman in Libya, whether old or young," the woman said. "The woman is still able to perform more than you think."

Gadhafi's government claims it has handed out more than a million weapons to civilians since the uprising began. CNN cannot independently verify the claim.

CNN

Court issues arrest warrant for Libyan leader Gadhafi

(CNN) -- The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants Monday for Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi and two of his relatives.

ICC Judge Sanji Mmasenono Monageng read aloud the decision to issue warrants for Gadhafi, his son Saif al-Islam Gadhafi and brother-in-law Abdullah al-Sanussi.

Saif Al-Islam Gadhafi is a close adviser to his father. His arrest warrant came two days after his 39th birthday. Al-Sanussi serves as Gadhafi's head of intelligence.

The warrants are "for crimes against humanity," including murder and persecution, "allegedly committed across Libya" from Feb. 15 through "at least" Feb. 28, "through the state apparatus and security forces," the court said in a news release.

In Misrata, a critical city for Libyan rebels in which fighting has raged, a crowd cheered Monday following the news from the court.

The announcement at The Hague came as fighting inside Libya inched closer to the capital. A rebel fighter, Hassan al-Jiwali, told CNN the rebels were 80 kilometers (50 miles) from Tripoli on Monday.

Libya is not a signatory to the Rome Statute that established the international court's authority, and the court does not have the power to enter Libya and arrest the leaders. Many of those cheering in Misrata saw the news as a sign that the world recognizes the conduct rebels say Gadhafi's regime has been engaged in.

The three-judge Pre-Trial Chamber I at The Hague found "reasonable grounds to believe that the three suspects committed the alleged crimes and that their arrests appear necessary in order to ensure their appearances before the court," the written announcement said. The court also believes the warrants are needed to ensure that the three "do not continue to obstruct and endanger the court's investigations; and to prevent them from using their powers to continue the commission of crimes within the jurisdiction of the court."

The U.N. Security Council referred the matter to the ICC through a resolution Feb. 26, following widespread complaints about Gadhafi's efforts to crush a rebellion. The resolution said that while "states not party to the Rome Statute have no obligations under the statute, the Security Council urged all states and concerned regional and other international organisations to cooperate fully with the court and the prosecutor."

Gadhafi has made clear he would not recognize the court's authority.

Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo has said he has evidence linking Gadhafi, Saif al-Islam Gadhafi and Abdullah al-Sanussi to crimes against humanity, including "widespread and systematic" attacks on civilians, in their attempt to put down the months-long revolt.

Libyan government spokesman Musa Ibrahim has previously denied the allegations and criticized what he said were incoherent conclusions of the prosecutor's office.

The United Nations issued a statement Monday about the arrest warrants, noting that "hundreds of people are confirmed to have been killed since opposition forces rose up against the regime of Mr. Gadhafi in February as part of a wider pro-democracy movement across North Africa and the Middle East."

The European Union said it "fully supports" the court and underscores that the court's Libya investigation "is an independent judicial process which must be fully respected."

Not everyone was cheering the news. Michael Rubin, an analyst with the conservative American Enterprise Institute, said the court's move could damage efforts to get Gadhafi to end his 42-year reign, because he would not seek refuge in a country that is a signatory to the Rome Statute.

"The ICC's arrest warrant symbolizes the dirty underside of international law," Rubin said. "While the ICC makes itself feel good and diplomats can chatter about their commitment to international law, the fact of the matter is their action takes off the table any possibility that Gadhafi could flee to a retirement haven outside Libya. In effect, the ICC arrest warrant tells Gadhafi to fight to the death."

This is not the first time that the International Criminal Court has issued an arrest warrant for a country's leader in the midst of a conflict. The court issued a warrant for Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir in 2007, while conflict simmered in that country's western Darfur region.

Moreno-Ocampo told CNN shortly after filing his request with the court that he had evidence that revealed Saif al-Islam Gadhafi organized the recruitment of mercenaries to defend the regime and al-Sanussi participated in attacks on demonstrators.

Authorities believe Moammar Gadhafi ordered attacks on unarmed civilians, he told CNN, and al-Sanussi is "his right-hand man, the executioner."

Moreno-Ocampo began investigating claims against Moammar Gadhafi on February 15, when demonstrations against the leader's regime accelerated. Since then, war has erupted in Libya as Moammar Gadhafi has tried to keep his grip on power.

The probe took investigators to 11 countries and included the review of 1,200 documents and interviews with about 50 witnesses. A report issued in early May found the alleged crimes against humanity include the alleged commission of rape by supporters of Gadhafi's government, as well as the deportation or forcible transfer of citizens during the civil war in the country.

Moreno-Ocampo has scheduled a news conference Tuesday to discuss the court's decision.

The issue of Libyan casualties led the U.N. Security Council to adopt a resolution in March authorizing force by whatever means necessary, with the exception of a ground invasion, to protect civilians. NATO began bombing military targets a short time later.

A rebel military leader, Hajj Osama al-Jiwali, told CNN Monday that rebels want "more airstrikes and hits of Ghadafi strategic locations for the wake of time and for the the rebuilding of Libya." He called on the United Nations to be "at the forefront" of efforts in Libya.

Al-Jiwali said rebel fighters on Sunday fought "a very fierce battle against the Gadhafi forces in Beir al-Ghanam, where four rebel fighters died and eight were injured, and more than 30 of the Gadhafi forces have been killed." The battle was still ongoing Monday, but not as fierce, he said.

CNN could not independently confirm the reports.

"The rebel forces are in high sprits and determined to continue to Tripoli to get rid of Gadhafi and his collaborators. They are in high spirits and the victory is closer than ever, " al-Jiwali added.

NATO warplanes struck a rocket launcher system mounted on a government truck near the town of B'ir al Ghanam.

Three explosions could be heard in the Libyan capital late Monday morning.

"They appear closer than those heard in the past few days and week," said CNN producer Raja Razek, who is in Tripoli.

The International Criminal Court action comes a day after the African Union announced Gadhafi will not be part of its next attempt to map out a peace deal in Libya.

It was unclear who would represent the Libyan government in negotiations, or when negotiations would occur. Journalists were not allowed to ask questions at a news conference following Sunday's meeting of the African Union's special committee on Libya in Pretoria, South Africa.

Members of the committee have met with Gadhafi and opposition leaders over the past three months. Another African Union-led attempt to broker peace between Gadhafi and the rebels fell through in April.

The committee repeated calls Sunday for a cease-fire between the Libyan government and rebels.

"Only a political solution will make it possible to sustainably settle the current conflict," the statement said.

It also urged NATO to temporarily suspend its bombing campaign to allow the delivery of humanitarian aid.

CNN's Nkepile Mabuse, Yousuf Basil and Ingrid Formanek contributed to this report.

CNN

Libyan leader Gadhafi says NATO will not win (AP)

By ADAM SCHRECK and HADEEL AL-SHALCHI, Associated Press Adam Schreck And Hadeel Al-shalchi, Associated Press – 15 mins ago

TRIPOLI, Libya – Provoked by renewed daylight NATO bombing of his capital, Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi raged against the alliance Friday, screaming his message and daring Western forces to keep it up.

Gadhafi spoke in a telephone call that was piped through loudspeakers to a few thousand people demonstrating in Tripoli's Green Square, at the end of a day when NATO intensified bombing runs across the capital. State television carried the Gadhafi message live, then repeated it a few minutes later.

"NATO will be defeated," he yelled in a hoarse, agitated voice. "They will pull out in defeat."

The sound of automatic weapons being fired defiantly into the air echoed through the square for hours as carloads of pro-Gadhafi supporters — many with children in tow — crammed the streets leading to the plaza. Although there was a large presence of police and soldiers in the square, many of those popping off rounds wore civilian clothes.

Protesters and foreign journalists in the capital said it was one of the biggest such demonstrations since airstrikes began.

"Everyone in Libya wants Col. Gadhafi, not some traitors," Rajab Hamman, a 51-year-old engineer from Tripoli, said in the square as another demonstrator shot a magazine load of automatic rifle fire into the air a few steps away. "These are the real, true Libyans," he said of the crowd.

East of Tripoli, meanwhile, Gadhafi's forces exchanged intense shelling with rebels who are slowly breaking the government siege on their western stronghold, the port city of Misrata.

Doctors at the Hikma hospital in Misrata said nine rebel fighters and a woman living near the battle were killed and 30 others were wounded. Government casualties were not known.

Barrages of artillery and Grad missiles were landing on rebel lines as they continued trying to advance out of Misrata, 125 miles (200 kilometers), east of the capital. The heaviest shelling rained down between the towns of Dafniya and Zlitan, west of the Mediterranean port. Rebels were holding their own with return fire from their front about 20 miles (32 kilometers) west of the port.

For weeks rebels had been bottled up in Misrata, one of a handful of toeholds they hold in western Libya. The eastern third of the country is under rebel control from their de facto capital, Benghazi. As NATO warplanes began stepping up attacks on Libyan government forces, bases and ammunition depots in recent days, the rebels in Misrata used the distraction to start their push out of the city toward Tripoli. Fighting has been intense along that front, with the rebels only able to advance about 20 miles (32 kilometers).

NATO attacked the Libyan capital at midday Friday, pounding a target in the south of the city and sending a thick cloud of black smoke rising high into the air.

A series of explosions rumbled across other parts of the city as fighter jets could by heard flying overhead. Fire engines raced through the streets, sirens blaring.

It wasn't clear what was hit or whether there were casualties. Friday is the main day of rest in Libya, with many people off work.

NATO has been ramping up the pressure on Gadhafi's regime. Though most airstrikes happen under cover of darkness, daytime raids have grown more frequent.

Friday's raids followed a barrage that struck multiple targets late Thursday night.

In his outburst, Gadhafi made a spitting sound and labeled as cowards the rebels fighting to oust him and those politicians and soldiers who had defected from Gadhafi's cause. He called the rebels "sons of dogs," a particularly cutting epithet in the Arab world.

And he said the people of Benghazi, the rebel capital, were existing on money from the "donkeys of Qatar, and the donkeys of the Gulf." The rebels are receiving support from Arab nations in the Persian Gulf.

As the new NATO airstrikes Friday blasted the capital, alliance Wing Commander Mike Bracken said Gadhafi's future at the helm of Libya was what he called a "political decision." Bracken spoke by video conference to reporters in Brussels, NATO headquarters.

A coalition including France, Britain and the United States launched the first strikes against Gadhafi's forces under a United Nations resolution to protect civilians on March 19. NATO assumed control of the air campaign over Libya on March 31. It's joined by a number of Arab allies.

In Brussels, NATO spokeswoman Oana Lungescu said there were no indications Gadhafi would stop attacking the opposition.

"It is hard to imagine the end to attacks on civilians while the pro-Gadhafi regime is still in power," Lungescu said in Brussels. "It is unfortunately still the case that pro-Gadhafi forces continue to show shocking determination to harm the Libyan people."

What started as a peaceful uprising inside Libya against Gadhafi has grown into a civil war, with rebels now holding a third of the country in the east and pockets in the west.

Libya's rebels mark Feb. 17 — four months ago Friday — as the start of their revolution against Gadhafi's more than four-decade rule

It was on that date that protesters emboldened by Arab uprisings in neighboring Tunisia and Egypt took to the streets in a number of Libyan cities. At least 20 people were reported killed in a crackdown by state security forces.

Fighting between government forces and the rebels had reached a stalemate until last week when NATO launched the heaviest bombardment of Gadhafi forces since the alliance took control of the skies over Libya.

___

Al-Shalchi reported from Dafniya, Libya. Associated Press writer Don Melvin contributed to this report from Brussels.

Yahoo! News

Rebels, Gadhafi forces clash at Zawiya

Misrata, Libya (CNN) -- Government forces clashed with rebels in the Libyan city of Zawiya Saturday, said a rebel spokesman, one day after heavy fighting took place in the western city of Misrata.

There were no immediate reports of casualties in Zawiya, spokesman Ahmed al-Hawaary told CNN. He said fighting began early in the morning. Rebels surrounded a group of forces loyal to Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi in the western part of the city, he said, adding that government forces control the eastern areas of Zawiya and the roads leading to Tripoli.

Zawiya is about 31 miles (50 kilometers) west of the capital city.

Rebels remain in control of some neighborhoods in Zawiya's city center and the west, al-Hawaary said.

The spokesman reported that NATO bombarded positions of forces loyal to Gadhafi in Zawiya, damaging equipment. It was not clear if anyone was injured or killed in those attacks, he said.

NATO intervened in March in the monthslong civil war under a U.N. mandate to protect civilians as Gadhafi tried to crush the revolt against him.

CNN could not independently confirm al-Hawaary's account of the clashes, which came one day after heavy fighting in Misrata.

Misrata has borne the brunt of the fighting in Libya for the past two months. More than 1,000 people are believed to have been killed there since early February, including 707 residents.

Fighting began there Friday at dawn and continued past midnight, leaving at least 31 people dead and more than 160 injured as rebels thwarted efforts by government forces to enter the city from the west and south.

The casualties were the heaviest in a month, said Dr. Khaled Abu Falgha with the city's Hekmah Hospital.

Relative calm returned Saturday, though rebels stepped up security at various checkpoints in the city and its outskirts. Many told CNN they feared forces loyal to Gadhafi could try to infiltrate their ranks.

Misrata is about 130 miles (209 kilometers) east of Tripoli.

The Misrata rebels' media committee released a statement Saturday claiming that Gadhafi forces fired rockets on the Dafniya area, damaging farmhouses and crops. No immediate casualties were reported.

The rebels also said a number of government forces were captured and that some 300 of Gadhafi's soldiers were killed in clashes in Zlitan on Friday.

CNN could not independently confirm those claims.

CNN

Gadhafi forces kill 22 rebels in Misrata shelling (AP)

By MAGGIE MICHAEL and DIAA HADID, Associated Press Maggie Michael And Diaa Hadid, Associated Press – 1 hr 6 mins ago

TRIPOLI, Libya – Libyan government forces pounded the outskirts of the rebel-held city of Misrata on Friday, killing at least 22 people, a hospital physician said.

The doctor at Hikma Hospital, who would only give his first name, Ayman, said Moammar Gadhafi's forces used tanks, artillery and incendiary rockets in the bombardment of Dafniya, about 18 miles (30 kilometers) west of Misrata. He said at least 61 people were wounded in the attacks which began about 10 a.m. local time.

Gadhafi forces had renewed their shelling near Misrata on Wednesday. The city is one of the few footholds rebels have in western Libya and controls the country's largest port.

The doctor said residents had reported no sign of NATO aircraft in the Misrata region. There also were no reports NATO strikes in Tripoli, the capital. NATO had been pounding Tripoli and environs in recent days, stepping up backing for the four-month-old rebel uprising that seeks to oust Gadhafi from power after four decades.

Rebels have taken control of swaths of eastern Libya, although fighting has since come to a stalemate even with NATO support. Misrata remained one of the most important rebel footholds in the Gadhafi controlled west.

Government forces are surrounding Misrata on all sides but the north, where the city has access to the Mediterranean Sea for supplies and food through Libya's major port. Rebels have beaten back several government attempts to retake the city.

The Gadhafi forces are pushing back on rebel forces trying to break out of Misrata to the west toward Tripoli, where Gadhafi is increasingly cornered under NATO bombardment in the capital.

A rebel fighter in Misrata who identifies himself only as Abdel-Salem said Gadhafi's sons, Khamis and al-Moatassem, and top aid Abdullah al-Senoussi are in command of the operation in Zlitan, about nine miles (15 kilometers) from Dafinya. They are dug in trying to stop the rebel advance out of Misrata.

"The situation is very bad there. Gadhafi sent huge forces to Zlitan to fortify the city because he knows that if Zlitan falls in the hands of the rebels, the way to Tripoli will be wide open," Abdel-Salam said. "Now the ball is in the court of NATO, but we have not seen any NATO planes flying over despite the fierce battle."

According to Abdel-Salam, a bulk of Zlitan residents are Ghadafi loyalists.

U.S. Sen. Carl Levin spoke of the degredation of Gadhafi's forces Friday after a classified briefing by senior Pentagon officials in Washington. The chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee said Gadhafi's military and political standing had been weakened by NATO air attacks.

Levin said administration officials offered no predictions on how long the war would last or when Gadhafi might go. He said NATO helicopters, likely British and French, have been taking out tanks without collateral damage.

Turkey's prime minister said in a TV interview broadcast Friday that his country has offered Gadhafi guarantees if he were to leave Libya but has recieved no response. He did not detail what sort of guarantees.

"He has no other option but to leave Libya, with the condition that he is given certain guarantees. That's the picture," Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in the interview with the NTV channel.

"We have given him these guarantees; we said we will help you leave for wherever you would like."

In Norway, meanwhile, military officials said on Friday the country would scale down its fighter jet contribution the NATO force flying above Libya from six to four planes and withdraw completely from the NATO-led operation by Aug. 1.

The Dutch government, however, has continue its forces' role in the NATO campaign through the end of the three month extension the alliance announced last week. It also plans to contribute a handful of new staff.

U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates has urged NATO allies, including the Netherlands, to do more in Libya to share the burden with France and Britain, which are carrying out most of the air strikes.

The Dutch government still will not allow its six F-16 fighter jets involved in the mission to carry out airstrikes. Instead they will continue to enforce the no-fly-zone above Libya.

In addition, the government announced it will send experts in psychological operations and legal affairs to join the mission.

___

Michael reported from Cairo.

Yahoo! News

NATO official: Gadhafi a legitimate target

NATO has been ramping up pressure on the regime of Libyan leader Col. Moammar Gadhafi.U.N. resolution applies to Gadhafi in his capacity as head of military, official saysNATO last weekend employed helicopters against Gadhafi's military assetsBombing began March 31 under a U.N. mandate to protect civilians during the fightingThe resolution said forces could use "all necessary measures" to protect civiliansWatch "AC360" from 10 p.m. to midnight ET. Join the live chat now.

(CNN) -- A U.N. resolution justifies the targeting of Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi, a senior NATO military official with operational knowledge of the Libya mission told CNN Thursday.

Asked by CNN whether Gadhafi was being targeted, the NATO official declined to give a direct answer. The resolution applies to Gadhafi because, as head of the military, he is part of the control and command structure and therefore a legitimate target, the official said.

NATO has been ramping up pressure on the regime, employing helicopters last weekend for the first time against Gadhafi's forces. Explosions are heard often in Tripoli, evidence of allied air strikes.

NATO began bombing Libya on March 31, under a U.N. mandate to protect civilians who have been targeted by Gadhafi's military.

Resolution 1973 said allied forces could use "all necessary measures" to protect civilians.

NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said Wednesday it is time to start planning for what to do in Libya after Gadhafi's departure "because Gadhafi's reign of terror is coming to an end."

In statement broadcast on state media, Gadhafi vowed a day before that "we will not surrender," even as NATO airstrikes bombarded his compound in Tripoli.

NATO recently announced its decision to extend its mission in Libya by 90 days.

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CNN

Gadhafi strikes Libya rebels, NATO pounds Tripoli (AP)

By DIAA HADID and MIKE CORDER, Associated Press Diaa Hadid And Mike Corder, Associated Press – 6 mins ago

TRIPOLI, Libya – Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi, increasingly cornered under a stunning upturn in NATO airstrikes, lashed back with renewed shelling of the western city of Misrata Wednesday, killing 10 rebel fighters.

The international alliance said it remained determined to keep pounding Gadhafi forces from the air, but would play no military role in the transition to democratic rule in oil-rich North African country once the erratic leader's 42-year rule was ended.

In Brussels, NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said Gadhafi's days in power were clearly numbered, making it imperative for the international community, the United Nations in particular, to gear up to help Libyans establish a new form of government.

"For Gadhafi, it is no longer a question of if he goes but when he goes," Fogh Rasmussen said at a meeting of the defense ministers from the 28 members of the North Atlantic military alliance.

"We do not see a lead role for NATO in Libya once this crisis is over," he said. "We see the United Nations playing a lead role in the post-Gadhafi, post-conflict scenario."

The alliance said it was acting in the skies over Libya purely in accordance with the U.N. mandate to protect the Libyan people from Gadhafi. The resolution did not include any involvement in post-conflict peacekeeping.

French Defense Minister Gerard Longuet said: "NATO has a military vocation and rebuilding Libya is a civilian issue. So really simply, in order to rebuild Libya, if the Libyan people ask for it, because it is first of all an issue for the Libyan people, it is the job for civilian international institutions — and not military — to bring a response"

The Libyan rebels, too, have made it clear they have no appetite to see alliance ground forces in the country once the conflict is finished.

But they remain grateful for NATO intervention and applaud the stepped-up alliance bombing campaign, a record 66 strike sorties over Tripoli and environs on Tuesday.

"We've always felt that relentless, continuous strikes would hasten the departure of (Gadhafi) or at least the circle around him, said rebel spokesman Jalal el-Gallal in Benghazi, the de facto rebel capital. "We're very glad that (NATO) is carrying out the actions, and it is a matter of time."

The cracks in the alliance also showed again Wednesday.

U.S. officials said Defense Secretary Robert Gates pointedly prodded five allied nations to share more of the burden of the NATO-led air campaign against Libya. None committed to do more.

The officials said Gates used his final NATO meeting before retirement to press Germany and Poland to join the military intervention, and Spain, Turkey and the Netherlands to contribute to strike missions against ground targets.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the private meeting of the alliance's defense ministers.

Wednesday's shelling on the outskirts of Misrata represented escalation in the more than 4-month-old uprising, which has spiraled into a civil war that has divided Libyan into zones controlled by Moammar Gadhafi and others by rebels.

Dr. Khalid Abufalgha of Misrata's central Hikma hospital said government forces tried to enter the city from three sides — the east, south and west — but rebel fighters kept them out. Gadhafi's forces then shelled the city from afar, killing 10 and injuring 24, he said.

All the dead were fighters manning rebel checkpoints outside the city, he said. Most were killed in the village of Tawargha, southeast of Misrata.

The daily death toll is the highest in Libya's third largest city since rebel fighters pushed government forces to the outskirts weeks ago. Misrata remains under siege, able to get food and other supplies only through its seaport.

Misrata is the only large rebel-held city in western Libya. The rebels also control a swath of eastern Libya around Benghazi and other towns in the western Nafusa mountain range.

NATO airstrikes thundered down on the Libyan capital on Wednesday, at least four during the day after five before dawn. Another strike hit Tripoli late in the evening.

It was not immediately clear what was targeted. However, NATO strikes appear to be repeatedly pounding the same set of targets: the sprawling Gadhafi compound in central Tripoli, a series of government buildings and radar installations and military bases on the outskirts of the capital.

Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, said NATO remained determined to see the end of Gadhafi's rule. During a visit to Cairo, he reminded reporters of NATO's decision over the weekend to extend the Libyan mission for 90 days, into late September.

"I think it's very clear that NATO is very committed to this mission and committed to providing the kind of protection for the Libyan people that it has when it took the mission on and to focusing on a way to see Gadhafi out the door," he said.

He added that President Barack Obama "has been very clear and remains very clear that this will not involve boots on the ground from the United States perspective."

The pummeling NATO strikes of Tuesday and Wednesday made good on alliance warnings in recent days that attacks would be increasing the scope and intensity. British and French attack helicopters struck for the first time inside Libya over the weekend.

Wing Commander Mike Bracken at NATO's Libya operations headquarters in Naples told The Associated Press there has been "increased tempo over recent days over Tripoli" as the alliance seeks to further weaken Gadhafi's military.

But he stressed that "Gadhafi as an individual has not been a target and won't be a target."

Some 6,850 people, nearly all of them Libyans, have streamed across the border from Libya to Tunisia since Monday to flee the NATO raids as well as fighting between the rebels and government forces, according to the Tunisian Defense Ministry.

In Benghazi, Spanish Foreign Minister Trinidad Jimenez became the latest European official to visit and bolster the opposition forces.

___

Corder contributed from Brussels. Associated Press Writers Hadeel Al-Shalchi in Benghazi, Libya, and Ben Hubbard and Steven R. Hurst in Cairo contributed reporting.

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Gadhafi loyalists launch new push against Misrata

(CNN) -- Forces loyal to embattled Libyan strongman Moammar Gadhafi launched a new attack on the rebel-held city of Misrata on Wednesday, with anti-government forces reporting intense shelling from three sides of the city.

Thousands of government troops attacked around 6 a.m. (11 p.m. Tuesday ET), with 13 rebels reported dead by evening. Mohamed Mokhtar, a rebel fighter wounded in Wednesday's fighting, accused government troops of infiltrating rebel lines in cars bearing rebel flags.

Dr. Khaled Abu Falgha, a spokesman for Misrata's Hekma hospital, said it was the bloodiest day in a week in the besieged city. More than 1,000 people are believed to have been killed since the fighting began there in February, including 686 registered residents of the city, he said.

Rebel fighters returning from the front lines reported that their defenses were holding up under the onslaught, however.

The assault followed a day of intense bombardment of Libya's capital by the NATO alliance, which intervened in the conflict in March under a U.N. mandate to protect civilians as Gadhafi tried to crush the revolt against him. Libya's government said 60 missiles struck the capital city, killing at least 31 people, including a number of civilians, and wounding dozens more.

NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen reiterated Wednesday that the alliance is doing all it can to avoid civilian casualties. But he told reporters from allied headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, that NATO could continue the airstrikes "for as long as it takes to bring this crisis to an early conclusion."

Rasmussen said NATO bombing has saved lives in Libya, and that the alliance has the resources to extend its military mission for another 90 days past the end of June.

It is time to start planning for what to do after Gadhafi's departure "because Gadhafi's reign of terror is coming to an end," he said.

Pressed by reporters on why airstrikes would be able to dislodge Gadhafi when "the history of the last 30 years" shows that air attacks alone do not win wars, Rasmussen offered no clear answer, saying only, "We have no intentions to put troops on the ground."

For his part, even as NATO airstrikes bombarded his Tripoli compound, Gadhafi vowed Tuesday that "we will not surrender."

"I am now speaking as planes and bombs fall around me," Gadhafi said in a live audio broadcast on state television. "But my soul is in God's hand. We will not think about death or life. We will think about the call of duty."

The Gadhafi compound was under "intensive continuous bombardment," according to state TV, which reported buildings and infrastructure were destroyed. But government spokesman Musa Ibrahim said the allied campaign "is failing miserably."

"No one has the right to shape Libya's future except for Libyans," he said.

Ibrahim said Tuesday's morning blasts hit the popular guard compound and the revolution compound, which are military barracks near Gadhafi's Bab al-Aziziya compound. The spokesman said attacks Tuesday and Wednesday hit state television buildings, killing two people and wounding 16.

NATO disputed the account.

"We did not target or hit the Libyan broadcast facilities. What we did target was the military intelligence headquarters in downtown Tripoli," the alliance said. "The story coming from Libyan officials that we targeted and hit the state broadcaster's building is bogus."

CNN's Amir Ahmed, Richard Allen Greene, Raja Razek, Dan Rivers and Jonathan Wald contributed to this report.

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Russia: Gadhafi to step down

NEW: Libyan rebels rebuff French regarding a post-Gadhafi governmentRussian President Medvedev says Libya's Gadhafi needs to step asideRussia has strongly criticized the NATO-led campaign in LibyaWestern leaders and Libya's prime minister have asked Medvedev to mediate

Tripoli, Libya (CNN) -- Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has joined American and other European leaders in calling for Moammar Gadhafi to step down from power, a shift that appears to indicate a closing diplomatic window for the longtime Libyan strongman.

Moscow has been a strong critic of the NATO-led mission in Libya, arguing that the scope of the organization's air campaign against Gadhafi's forces far exceeds the civilian protection mandate approved by the U.N. Security Council.

Medvedev's call for Gadhafi to step aside came at the end of the Group of Eight summit in Deauville, France, on Friday. The G8 includes the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Canada, Japan, Germany, Italy and Russia.

The G8 leaders also issued a written statement Friday expressing support for the democratic uprisings in the Middle East and North Africa.

The summit leaders agree that "the regime of Gadhafi has lost its legitimacy and he must leave," Medvedev said, according to Russia's state-run RIA Novosti news agency. "This was decided unanimously."

His statement came on the heels of a request from the other G8 leaders to have the Russian leader mediate a settlement.

Earlier, Gadhafi's government also called for a Russian mediation, a sign that the Libyan leader may be searching for a way to bring about an end to the months-long war.

Libya: What you need to know

Libyan Prime Minister Al-Baghdadi Ali al-Mahmudi asked for help in achieving a cease-fire and starting talks without preconditions, according to a statement posted late Thursday by the Russian Foreign Ministry.

During that conversation, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Libya would have to comply with the Security Council mandate and stop any action that would cause harm to civilians, the statement said.

Libya is widely believed to have sought Russia's assistance because Moscow has consistently been a staunch critic of the NATO-led bombing campaign since that effort began in March.

On Wednesday, the Russian Foreign Ministry called NATO's recent bombing of certain Tripoli targets a "flagrant deviation" from U.N. Security Council resolution 1973.

That resolution authorizes all means necessary, short of occupying forces, to enforce a no-fly zone and protect Libyan civilians from attacks by forces loyal to Gadhafi.

Russia, a permanent member of the Security Council, abstained from the vote on the resolution.

U.S. President Barack Obama, who had an extended private meeting with Medvedev while in France, insisted Friday that "the U.N. mandate of civilian protection cannot be accomplished when Gadhafi remains in Libya directing his forces in acts of aggression against the Libyan people."

"We are joined in resolve to finish the job," he declared.

A spokesman for Libya's transitional government said Gadhafi must leave before the opposition could consider negotiations or a cease-fire.

"There is no more room for him in or near Libya," said Jalal el-Gallal, a spokesman for the National Transitional Council.

NATO member Spain said Thursday that Libya had sent a message to Madrid and other European capitals, listing "a series of proposals that could lead to a cease-fire," but the allies have rebuffed earlier Libyan proposals for an end to the fighting.

While Gadhafi has been unable to come to terms with NATO demands, there may also be a growing rift between the NATO allies and the Libyan rebels over the nature of a post-Gadhafi regime.

Gadhafi's purported wife rips NATO

French President Nicolas Sarkozy indicated Thursday that any future Libyan government may include senior members of Gadhafi's regime so long as those individuals do not have "blood on their hands."

El-Gallal responded to Sarkozy by declaring Friday that it "is only up to the Libyan people" to decide "who will remain" in government and who will not.

Intense fighting, meanwhile, continued on the ground in Libya, with at least 10 people killed and over 40 injured during clashes that occurred Friday in Dafniya, outside the hotly contested coastal city of Misrata.

NATO warplanes bombed the Tripoli area late Thursday, with a tribal site near the capital the target of the latest attacks, a Libyan official said.

Five explosions, most large enough to shake buildings some distance away, struck Tripoli shortly before midnight. The Libyan official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the target was the tribal compound at Bab Al-Azizya, about 2 kilometers (1.3 miles) from the center of Tripoli.

CNN could not independently confirm the report.

The site is a former military base now used to welcome tribal visitors to Tripoli, offering them guest houses during their stay, the official said. It has been used as a center for people volunteering to support Libyan authorities since the revolt against Gadhafi erupted in February.

CNN's Maxim Tkachenko, Amir Ahmed, Ben Wedeman and Alan Silverleib contributed to this report.

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Obama, Cameron: No letup on Gadhafi

London (CNN) -- American and British leadership of the world remains "essential to the cause of human dignity," President Barack Obama said Wednesday, making a sweeping case for values including freedom and the free market in a speech to a joint session of the British Parliament.

"We must act, and lead, with confidence in our ideals, and an abiding faith in the character of our people," Obama said, even while adding they will "proceed with humility, and the knowledge that we cannot dictate outcomes abroad."

He argued that "the longing for freedom and human dignity" is "universal, and it beats in every heart."

And he linked this year's uprisings against regimes across the Middle East to the fall of Communism in Europe, of white minority rule in South Africa, and of dictatorships in Latin America and Southeast Asia, saying they reflect "a longing for the same freedoms that we take for granted at home."

Obama to Middle East: We'll show you the money

He also contended that the rise of China, India and Brazil was linked to their acceptance of free markets on the British and American models.

Their ascendance does not mean that Western leadership is in decline, he insisted, saying: "The time for our leadership is now."

His aides billed the address as the centerpiece of his six-day trip to Europe this week.

British lawmakers greeted him with a standing ovation, and applauded his description of himself as the son of a Kenyan cook in the British army who had become president of the United States.

The speech caps a two-day trip to Britain that mixed pomp with politics.

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Queen Elizabeth II hosted a state dinner for Obama Tuesday night, where he wore a white tie and tails, while a day later he and David Cameron rolled up shirtsleeves and served burgers and sausages to military service members and their families in the garden of 10 Downing Street.

The president and prime minister turned up the heat on Moammar Gadhafi in a joint appearance Wednesday, with the president saying that "ultimately" the Libyan leader will go.

The United Nations-endorsed mission to protect Libya's people from their leader means making sure Gadhafi "doesn't have capacity to send in a bunch of thugs to murder innocent civilians and threaten them," Obama said.

"I do think we have made enormous progress in Libya. We have saved lives. Gadhafi and his regime need to understand there will not be a letup in the pressure we are applying," Obama said.

But both he and Cameron said it will take time to reach a solution in Libya, which Gadhafi has ruled for 42 years. The nation seems to be grinding into a stalemated civil war.

"We may have to be more patient than people would like," Obama said.

Cameron refused to answer a journalist's question about whether the United Kingdom would send attack helicopters to bolster the military mission in Libya, but said: "We should be turning up the heat in Libya," and vowed to look at "all the options" for doing so.

Obama and Cameron were speaking on a wide range of topics at a news conference in a sunlit garden in London.

Before their meeting with journalists, the two leaders discussed policy in Afghanistan and Pakistan and the Israel-Palestinian conflict, among other issues.

Obama said America's relationship with Britain is "the strongest it has ever been" and said the two nations are committed to working together on global economic recovery and fighting the war on terror.

Cameron said the U.S. killing of al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden was "a strike right at the heart of international terrorism" and that Britain and the United States must work closely with Pakistan in the future.

"We can defeat al Qaeda," Cameron said.

Obama is in the middle of a six-day, four-nation trip to Europe that began in Ireland and will continue with stops in France and Poland.

On Tuesday the president and first lady toured Buckingham Palace and visited Westminster Abbey, where crowds that had gathered along the roads outside cheered their arrival.

Cameron talked up the two countries' closeness the night before the Obama visit officially began, calling the relationship "essential" and saying there is an "incredible alignment of views" between 10 Downing Street and the White House.

On a less formal note, Obama also joined Cameron in playing table tennis against two students during a visit to a local school. No details on the final score were made public, but the students won handily.

CNN's Richard Allen Greene contributed to this report.

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South Africa's Zuma to meet Gadhafi

South African President Jacob Zuma was also part of an African Union delegation that visited Libya last month.NEW: It is Zuma's second trip to LibyaHe will meet Gadhafi in "his capacity as a member of the African Union" panelThe meeting comes amid a diplomatic spat over the fate of a South African photojournalistAnton Hammerl, who has been missing in Libya since April, is believed dead

Johannesburg (CNN) -- President Jacob Zuma will visit Tripoli next week for talks with embattled Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi, according to a statement on the South African leader's website.

Zuma will meet Gadhafi Monday in "his capacity as a member of the African Union high level panel for the resolution of the conflict in Libya," the statement said.

The African Union panel to Libya includes Uganda, Mauritania and South Africa.

It is the second trip for Zuma, who was part of an African Union delegation that visited the nation last month.

That visit included talks on a cease-fire, which appear to have failed.

The visit is part of an international effort to end a months-long standoff as forces loyal to Gadhafi battle rebels demanding his ouster.

A coalition of nations under NATO have struck military targets in the nation as part of a U.N. mandate to protect civilians.

The airstrikes started in March after the United Nations Security Council authorized "all necessary measures" to protect civilians from government forces eager to crush the uprising.

Zuma's visit comes amid a diplomatic spat between the two nations over the fate of South African photojournalist Anton Hammerl, who has been missing in Libya since April and is believed dead.

South Africa says it got assurances from Libya that the journalist was alive. But a Libyan government spokesman said his whereabouts are unknown.

"We never had him with us at any stage," spokesman Musa Ibrahim said.

As the clashes and airstrikes rage on, the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court has requested arrest warrants for Gadhafi and two relatives, linking them to "widespread and systematic" attacks on civilians as they struggle to retain power in Libya.

Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo has said the court in The Hague will also investigate allegations of institutionalized rape in the war-torn country.

Gadhafi welcomes the court's investigation, a government official said, adding that prosecutors "have not been to Libya to do an investigation" amid the allegations.

CNN's Nkepile Mabuse contributed to this report.

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Demonstrators cheer Gadhafi in Tripoli

State television reports counter-revolutionary demonstrations in the rebel capital BenghaziCNN journalists in Benghazi see no evidence of thatHundreds of Libyans honk horns and dance in the streets of TripoliMoammar Gadhafi has been fighting to keep control of his country

Tripoli, Libya (CNN) -- Crowds of Libyans took to the streets of Tripoli in the early hours of Thursday, honking horns and dancing in the streets in support of the country's leader Moammar Gadhafi.

More than 100 people outside the headquarters of state television chanted "God, Moammar and Libya only" and other pro-Gadhafi and anti-rebel slogans.

The demonstrations were apparently a response to state TV reports that parts of the rebel capital Benghazi were "rejecting the colonialists and their followers," as the government describes NATO and the rebels.

But CNN journalists in Benghazi saw no indications of counter-revolutionary uprisings or protests there. And the National Transitional Council denied the government's claims that pro-Gadhafi forces had seized control of the city.

A group of journalists, including a CNN team, were taken by government minders to see the celebrations in Tripoli.

Among the predominantly young male crowds, there were a number of families -- including fathers carrying children on their shoulders.

One woman, who brought her 10 year-old-daughter, carried a portrait of the Libyan leader and said they were out celebrating their country being united again.

Many then drove off towards Tripoli's Green Square singing and honking their horns, waving Libya's green flag and portraits of Gadhafi.

But residents in Benghazi said they had not seen or heard of pro-Gadhafi rallies there.

Two months ago, Gadhafi loyalists in Tripoli erupted in similar cheer when state media incorrectly reported that Tobruk and Benghazi had falled to government troops.

Gadhafi has been fighting to keep control of his country in the face of an uprising that has led to a number of key cities falling into rebel hands.

The chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court this week requested a warrant for Gadhafi's arrest on charges of crimes against humanity.

CNN's Ben Wedeman contributed to this report.

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Another Gadhafi regime official defects (AP)

By DIAA HADID and BOUAZZA BEN BOUAZZA, Associated Press Diaa Hadid And Bouazza Ben Bouazza, Associated Press – 11 mins ago

TRIPOLI, Libya – Forces loyal to Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi shelled villages and towns to try to take control of the high ground in a western mountain range as NATO widened its campaign of bombings and leafletting to persuade government troops to stop fighting.

Libyan rebels said on Wednesday that Gadhafi's forces were shelling communities in the western mountains. BelJassem, a citizen-turned-fighter from a village near Yafrin, said Gadhafi forces were using Grad missiles and rocket launchers in their nearly monthlong siege, leaving residents trapped and cut off from food and medical supplies.

"We dig trenches and hide in there at night," says BelJassem, who gave only his first name for fear of reprisals.

Yafrin, which is 75 miles (120 kilometers) southwest of Tripoli, is one of the biggest cities in the Nafusa mountain range, home to the ethnic Berber minority.

Medghamas Abu-Zakhar, a rebel based in Yafrin, said Gadhafi forces were shelling villages toward the top of the Nafusa range in an attempt to capture the high ground.

Yafrin is home to some 250,000 Berbers, said Fathi Abu-Zakhar, who is among the city's residents who fled the fighting. He said that two of his sons stayed behind.

"They are living under siege," he said in a telephone interview. "No food and no medicine can get in. Even the injured have no way to get treatment since the only hospital has been shut down."

Farther to the West, Libyan shelling forced the closure late Tuesday of the so-called Wazen passage, which is the route people fleeing Libya use to get to neighboring Tunisia.

Jaber Naluti, a volunteer who has been trying to assist people in the area, said Gadhafi forces shelled the route, killing seven Libyan rebels. Some of the shells fell on the Tunisian side of the border.

Naluti said the shelling forced Tunisian authorities to close the passage. Tunisian jet fighters flew over the area but didn't fire. The passage appeared to be functioning normally on Wednesday.

Gadhafi, who has ruled Libya for more than 40 years, has been using his military and militias to try to put down an uprising that began in February. The protests are aimed at ousting him from power.

The reports from Yafrin came a day after NATO said it would step up psychological warfare operations to try to persuade troops loyal to Gadhafi to abandon the fight.

Wing Cmdr. Mike Bracken, speaking in Naples, Italy, said NATO planes have been dropping leaflets and broadcasting messages to Libyan forces urging them "to return to their barracks and homes."

Bracken said the messages also have advised pro-regime troops "to move away from any military equipment" that could be targeted by NATO's strike aircraft.

He did not provide further details on the psychological operations. But the U.S. has been using a specially modified Air Force C-130 transport to broadcast messages to Libyan forces in AM, FM, high-frequency radio, TV and military communications bands.

NATO is operating under a U.N. Security Council mandate to maintain a no-fly zone and to take other actions to protect civilians from attack by Gadhafi's forces. In recent days, NATO attacks have concentrated on military and logistics hubs in Tripoli.

There was no formal reaction from the government to reports that Shukri Ghanem, the Libyan oil minister and head of the National Oil Co., defected earlier this week and left the country for Tunis. The defection was confirmed by Abdel Moneim al-Houni, a former Libyan Arab League representative who was among the first wave of Libyan diplomats to defect.

Others who have defected include Foreign Minister Moussa Koussa, one of Gadhafi's earliest supporters; Interior Minister Abdel-Fatah Younes; Justice Minister Mustafa Abdul-Jalil, and Ali Abdessalam Treki, a former U.N. General Assembly president. A number of ambassadors and other diplomats also have resigned.

The defections suggest Gadhafi's political structure is fraying, but it's unclear whether there is enough internal strife to seriously undermine his ability to fight rebel forces as NATO airstrikes pound Libyan military targets. Gadhafi appears to retain the backing of his core of military commanders.

Still, support for Gadhafi seems to be waning in the capital, Tripoli. Pro-regime demonstrations are sparsely attended, even when heavily advertised in advance.

And rebel forces have reported some gains in recent days. In Misrata, the main battleground in western Libya, opposition fighters claim they have driven back government troops from key access points and tried to push pro-Gadhafi gunners out of rocket range for the city.

The International Committee of the Red Cross said Tuesday that fighting in Misrata and other cities is denying medical aid to civilians and causing casualties among health personnel. It cited reports by the Libyan Red Crescent that three of its ambulances were hit over the past four days. A nurse was killed and a patient and three volunteers were wounded, it said.

Also Tuesday, the U.N. refugee agency said Libyan authorities appeared to be encouraging African migrants to board unseaworthy boats bound for Europe.

Melissa Fleming, a spokeswoman for the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, told reporters in Geneva that the Libyan conflict has opened up a route for migrants that was closed for two years because of an agreement between Libya and Italy.

Already some 14,000 people — mostly from sub-Saharan Africa — have used Libya as a springboard to reach Europe, and thousands more are poised to make the treacherous sea journey in the coming weeks as weather conditions in the Mediterranean improve.

"The authorities (in Libya) are not discouraging, at all, in fact there may be signs that they are encouraging these boat journeys," she said.

Some are migrants fleeing the fighting in Libya, but others appear to be crossing into Libya from elsewhere in Africa because it is easier to get onto smugglers' boats there.

___

Associated Press reporters Maggie Michael contributed to this report from Cairo, Egypt, and Michelle Faul from Benghazi, Libya.

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ICC requests arrest warrant for Gadhafi

The Hague, Netherlands (CNN) -- The chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court on Monday requested arrest warrants for Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi, his son and his brother-in-law, saying there is evidence Gadhafi has committed crimes against humanity in his efforts to maintain hold over the country in a months-long battle.

Luis Moreno-Ocampo said his office "gathered direct evidence about orders issued by Moammar Gadhafi himself, direct evidence of Saif al-Islam (Gadhafi) organizing the recruitment of mercenaries and direct evidence of the participation of (Abdullah) al-Sanussi in the attacks against demonstrators." Al-Sanussi, the brother-in-law, is Gadhafi's head of intelligence and chief enforcer.

"The evidence shows that civilians were attacked in their homes; demonstrations were repressed using live ammunition; heavy artillery was used against participants in funeral processions, and snipers placed to kill those leaving the mosques after the prayers," Moreno-Ocampo said.

"The evidence shows that persecution is still ongoing in the areas under Gadhafi control," he said. "Gadhafi's forces prepare lists with names of alleged dissidents. They are being arrested, put into prisons in Tripoli, tortured and made to disappear."

Authorities believe Gadhafi "personally ordered" attacks on unarmed civilians, he said, and al-Sanussi is "his right-hand man, the executioner."

Gadhafi has "absolute authority" in Libya, Moreno-Ocampo told reporters. "... It's a crime to challenge Gadhafi's authority and he used his authority to commit the crimes."

Gadhafi and his inner circle plotted to suppress any challenge to his authority, the statement said.

It was the first time the International Criminal Court has taken action while a conflict was ongoing. It is the culmination of an investigation that began February 15, when demonstrations against Gadhafi's regime accelerated. Since then, war has erupted in Libya as the strongman has tried to stay firm on his grip on power.

"Gadhafi ruled Libya through fear," Moreno-Ocampo said Monday, "and I think Libyans are losing that fear."

Libyan Deputy Foreign Minister Khalid Kaim on Sunday dismissed a possible ICC action, saying that because Libya is not a signatory of the Rome Statute -- which established the ICC -- the government will "just ignore it."

The investigation took investigators to 11 countries and included the review of 1,200 documents and interviews with about 50 witnesses.

Moreno-Ocampo has to present all his evidence to a panel of judges before the court in The Hague can decide whether to issue arrest warrants. The panel can reject his request, accept it or ask for more evidence, he said.

A report issued earlier this month by Moreno-Ocampo said the alleged crimes against humanity include the alleged commission of rape by Gadhafi's government, as well as the deportation or forcible transfer of citizens during the civil war in the country.

"It is indeed a characteristic of the situation in Libya that massive crimes are reportedly committed upon instruction of a few persons who control the organizations that execute the orders," the report said. "Arresting those who ordered the commission of crimes, should the judges decide to issue warrants, will contribute to the protection of citizens in Libya."

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Gadhafi 'facing possible ICC arrest'

Moammar Gadhafi may face an arrest warrant for alleged crimes against humanity.NEW: Protesters call for Gadhafi's arrestThe U.N. envoy to Libya is expected in Tripoli SundayThe International Criminal Court will discuss crimes against humanity probe A source close to the case says Moammar Gadhafi is among 3 individuals named

Tripoli, Libya (CNN) -- Moammar Gadhafi is among three Libyans facing arrest warrants from the International Criminal Court for alleged crimes against humanity, an official with direct knowledge of the case told CNN Saturday.

The court's Chief Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo, who said in early March that he planned to investigate the embattled Libyan leader, will announce Monday that he's seeking the arrest warrants.

This was the first time the court investigated allegations as a conflict unfolded. The allegations include security forces killing unarmed protesters, forced displacement, illegal detentions and airstrikes on civilians.

Investigators looked at the most serious accusations in Libya since February 15, Moreno-Ocampo said, when demonstrations against Gadhafi ramped up. Since then, war has erupted in Libya as the strongman has tried to stay firm on his grip on power.

Moreno-Campo has to present all his evidence to a panel of judges before the court in The Hague, Netherlands, can decide whether to issue arrest warrants, which can take time.

In the rebel stronghold of Benghazi, hundreds of protesters marched in the streets Saturday demanding justice be meted out against Gadhafi, his family and senior officials for alleged crimes they committed against humanity.

"We want to pressure the International Criminal Court (ICC) to arrest Gadhafi," Najla Hakim, an event organizer with Libya's February 17th Youth group, told CNN.

"We want Gadhafi to be arrested and then possibly executed," said Noha Salem, a protester who marched along Amr ibn Alas street near the old section of Benghazi.

"All Libyans have been affected by those crimes, even little kids," she added. "He has been committing atrocities since 1969, not just since the start of this revolution."

Saturday's march started in the historic Omar al-Mokhtar square in Libya's second biggest city. Protesters chanted "Gadhafi, you have to go!" and "Libyans, lift your heads up high with pride."

The International Criminal Court's actions come after speculation this week about whether the combative Gadhafi had been injured in NATO airtstrikes on his compound. However, the embattled leader's voice was heard on Libyan state-run television Friday in an attempt to assure his people that he is alive and in a place where "you cannot kill me."

The audio message was broadcast several times over the course of the day and expressed gratitude to people around the world who were concerned for his safety.

"Tell the crusader cowards that I live in a place you cannot reach me," Gadhafi said.

Meanwhile, United Nations envoy for Libya Abdul Ilah al-Khatib was expected to visit Tripoli on Sunday to negotiate a ceasefire between Gadhafi's forces and rebel fighters.

It's unclear whether or how the International Criminal Court's actions would affect any negotiations.

A spokesman for the Transitional National Council declined to comment on the ICC action, noting that it has not yet been officially announced.

As the war rages with little evidence of a decisive victory for either side, rebel leaders have been trying to drum up international support, dispatching top leaders of the Transitional National Council to Europe and Washington.

Mahmoud Jibril, the top representative of the council, met with French President Nicholas Sarkozy and Foreign Minister Francois Fillon in Paris Saturday. France has been the strongest backer for the Libyan rebels and the NATO air campaign.

Jibril had tried to secure formal recognition for the interim council from the White House in meetings in Washington on Friday, but fell short of getting one. However, National Security Adviser Tom Donilon said the U.S. views the group "as a legitimate and credible interlocutor of the Libyan people," according to a White House statement released after the Friday meeting.

NATO continued airstrikes Saturday. A Libyan government official said NATO jets struck a military site in al-Aziziya, west of Tripoli.

CNN's Chuck Hadad, Jomana Karadsheh and Amir Ahmed contributed to this report.

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U.S. to use frozen Gadhafi assets for Libyans

ROME (AP) — Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton says the Obama administration is moving to releasesome of the more than $30 billion it has frozen in Libyan assets to support opponents of Moammar Gadhafi.

A rebel fighter stands guard at a check point in the town of Al-Mekheili on Tuesday.

Speaking Thursday at an international meeting on Libya, Clinton said the administration would ask Congress for legislation that would allow it to tap portions of the money to help the Libyan people. The administration has already authorized up to $25 million in non-lethal military assistance to the opposition and has pledged $53 million in humanitarian aid.

Clinton said it was important to isolate Gadhafi and his regime, including by imposing travel bans on top officials, suspending Libyan embassies and sending envoys to work with the opposition's Transitional National Council.

Clinton said that ousting Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi is the best way to protect Libya's civilians.

"We have made it abundantly clear that the best way to protect civilians is for Gadhafi to cease his ruthless, brutal attack on civilians from the west to the east, to withdraw from the cities that he is sieging and attacking and to leave power," Clinton said. "This is the outcome we are seeking."

Clinton spoke after holding bilateral talks with Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini ahead of a diplomatic meeting on Libya.

The meeting of the Libyan Contact Group at the Italian Foreign Ministry on Thursday is expected to seek ways to give financial support to the rebels, who have indicated they need $1.5 billion in the coming months.

The meeting of 22-nations involved in NATO's Libya campaign also includes the NATO chief, the Arab League, the leader of Libya's opposition council, and the leader of Libya's opposition council, Mustafa Abdel-Jalil, who used to be Gadhafi's justice minister.

Clinton said the meeting will seek "the most effective ways to delivery financial assistance" and other support to the rebels.

"Everyone is always impatient. We expect things to be done immediately in our very fast world," Clinton said.

Clinton said she would be formally presenting the United States' pledge to provide $25 million in surplus, nonlethal goods and commodities to support and protect the rebels.

A Libyan rebel spokesman, Mahmoud Shamam, put the estimated amount of money needed by the rebels in coming months at $1.5 billion. This would only be used for medical and food supplies, running hospitals and electricity, Shamam said in Rome.

The rebels also want to press their case for better weapons and equipment, Shamam suggested, saying Wednesday in Rome that they are "hungry for basic arms."

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Clinton: Bombing of Gadhafi won't let up

Hillary Clinton in Rome: "As long as Gadhafi continues to attack his citizens, we will continue to strike his forces."NEW: Rebels claim they have retaken southern cityThe U.S. considers seizing Gadhafi funds to help Libya's peopleThe International Organization for Migration suspends ships after Misrata is shelledLibya's leader must stop attacking civilians, the secretary of state demands

Rome (CNN) -- U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, meeting with allies, kept up pressure on Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi Thursday, demanding that he "cease attacks and the threat of attacks" against rebels who oppose his rule.

Gadhafi must withdraw all forces from rebel cities they have entered, restore services to those cities, and allow humanitarian aid in, Clinton insisted.

U.S. and NATO bombing of his forces will continue until he meets the terms, she said.

"As long as Gadhafi continues to attack his citizens, we will continue to strike his forces," she said.

"It is time for the violence to end. It is time for Gadhafi to go. It is time for a democratic transition to begin," she said.

The United States is also looking into ways to help the rebels financially, including seizing Gadhafi assets and using them to aid Libya's people, and helping the Transitional National Council to sell oil, Clinton said.

Clinton was speaking in Rome, where international powers held their second high-level meeting on the Libyan crisis.

European Union High Representative Catherine Ashton said the meeting "underlined the international community's unity and determination to bring the Libyan crisis to a quick and satisfactory conclusion. With the humanitarian situation deteriorating, time is of the essence. Gadhafi must end his attacks against his own people and respect human rights."

Also Thursday, the International Organization for Migration said it was suspending its passenger ships between the two rebel towns of Benghazi and Misrata after Gadhafi forces shelled the port in Misrata Wednesday, killing at least five people.

IOM media director Jean Philippe Chauzy said operations would be suspended until the organization puts in place a "better evacuation plan."

The IOM never again wants to experience what happened on Wednesday, he said.

No one was injured on the IOM-chartered boat in Misrata at the time of the shelling, the agency said.

Medecins Sans Frontieres, the international medical humanitarian group (known as Doctors Without Borders in English), said a 22-member team is delivering surgical and medical care to the wounded at two hospitals and a clinic. The organization has donated more than 25 tons of medicine and medical equipment, it said in a statement Thursday.

Rebels, meanwhile, told CNN that they have taken the southern city of al-Koufra, with Gadhafi forces gone except for a small group on its western edge. The two sides have exchanged control over al-Koufra over the past two months. CNN could not independently verify the claim.

Meanwhile, British Foreign Secretary William Hague ordered two Libyan diplomats to leave the country for "actions contrary to the interests of the UK," the Foreign Office announced Thursday.

He gave them a week to get out, starting Wednesday, the Foreign Office statement said.

The British Ministry of Defence and NATO said Thursday their forces had been engaging Gadhafi's troops over the past several days, destroying ammunition dumps, surface-to-air batteries, and other targets.

As for the Rome meeting, Hague said the international community is "resolved to continue to take action" on Libya, and "more countries took part and reiterated that Gadhafi should go." Participants also agreed to help the Transitional National Council with short term financial support with the establishment of the Temporary Financial Mechanism, which was suggested in the first meeting in Doha, Qatar, according to a statement released at the conclusion of the talks.

The diplomatic and military moves came soon after the chief prosecutor for the International Criminal Court said in a report there are "reasonable grounds to believe that crimes against humanity have been committed and continue being committed in Libya."

The report highlighted the alleged commission of rape by Gadhafi's government, as well as the deportation or forcible transfer of citizens during the civil war that continues to rage in that country.

It also noted war crimes, including intentionally directing attacks against civilians not participating in the fighting. ICC Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo issued a statement saying he will soon request arrest warrants against three individuals who are "most responsible for the crimes committed." The individuals were not named.

It is not clear if he plans to file charges against anyone on the rebel side, though the report mentioned "alleged war crimes as well as other crimes against humanity" appear to have been committed by "different parties."

He warned when he opened the probe two months ago that the rebels are subject to international law just as Gadhafi's forces are.

This is the first time the International Criminal Court has begun investigating possible crimes against humanity as they were occurring in wartime, Moreno-Ocampo said.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, on a visit to Bulgaria, said, "I fully support the principle that whoever and whenever there is violation of human rights and international humanitarian law, those people should be accountable and go to justice."

NATO began bombing Libya on March 19, after the U.N. Security Council approved a resolution authorizing any means necessary, short of invasion, to protect civilians demanding the end of Gadhafi's nearly 42-year rule.

CNN's Elise Labott, Amir Ahmed, Carol Jordan, Mitra Mobasherat and Atika Shubert contributed to this report.

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Gadhafi forces shell port

MISRATA, Libya (AP) — A medical official says Libyan ruler Moammar Gadhafi's forces have bombarded an area near the port of Misrata while an international aid ship sent to evacuate fleeing migrant workers was docked.

Internally displaced Libyan children play inside a compound of a refugee camp in the eastern rebel stronghold of Benghazi on Tuesday.

Mahdi Bensasi of the Libyan Red Crescent says Wednesday's strike killed four migrants ? a women, a man and two children who were in a migrant camp nearby.

The ferry, chartered by the International Organization for Migration to evacuate nearly 1,000 migrant workers, had spent three nights outside Misrata waiting to come in. Last week, Gadhafi's forces were caught mining the harbor entrance. Two other rocket attacks struck the port earlier this week.

French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe also said it's not the aim of the international bombing campaign in Libya to kill Gadhafi. He spoke after a NATO air strike over the weekend destroyed most of Gadhafi's family compound, prompting Libyan accusations that the alliance is trying to assassinate Gadhafi.

Libyan officials said Gadhafi was in the targeted building and survived unharmed, while one of his sons and three grandchildren were killed. The Libyan leader has not made a public appearance since then, but CIA director Leon Panetta told NBC on Tuesday that he believes Gadhafi is still alive.

The international community stepped into the fighting in Libya in mid-March, a month after Gadhafi tried to crush an uprising against him. The rebels now control much of the east, while Gadhafi holds most of the west of the country.

NATO bombing raids have largely blocked Gadhafi's troops from advancing eastward, and the heaviest battles are being fought in the west where rebels are holding positions in the coastal city of Misrata and in the Nafusa mountain range on the border.

Regime loyalists fired about 40 Grad rockets at the town of Zintan in the mountainous region home to Libya's ethnic Berber community, late Tuesday and early Wednesday, said Khaled Aburaqiqa, a spokesman for the community.

No one was hurt by the shelling, but six people from Zintan were killed in fighting on Monday and Tuesday, he said, adding that nearly 100 people have been killed in Zintan, a town of about 45,000, since it rose up against Gadhafi at the start of the revolt.

Supplies reach Zintan only intermittently, depending on when rebel fighters are able to push Gadhafi's forces back long enough to allow shipments to come in, Aburaqiqa said. So far, however, people are not going hungry and are surviving on stables, but there is a shortage of medical supplies, including surgical equipment.

Last month, rebel fighters in the area scored a breakthrough when they managed to take control of the Dhuheiba crossing between Libya and Tunisia. The crossing serves as a key supply route, but the road from the crossing to the Nafusa mountain area has repeatedly been shelled by Gadhafi's forces, including on Wednesday, the spokesman said.

In the other main area of resistance in western Libya, the port city of Misrata, an aid ship was guided into the harbor by a tug boat Wednesday to avoid hitting possible sea mines.

The Red Star One had waited off Misrata for several days, for fear of mines, said Jumbe Omari Jumbe, a spokesman for the International Organization for Migration. The ship is meant to deliver basic supplies and evacuate some 1,000 migrants and wounded civilians from the city. Two seriously ill civilians died earlier this week while IOM was waiting for permission from NATO and Libyan authorities to dock the ship in Misrata, Jumbe said.

Misrata has been under siege by land for more than two months, and Libya's deputy foreign minister, Khaled Kaim, confirmed late Tuesday the regime is trying to cut off its access to the sea as well ? its final lifeline.

"There was an announcement from the Libyan government, the Ministry of Transportation, that Misrata port is closed and that any foreign ship or vessel would be targeted by the Libyan armed forces," Kaim said when asked about attempts by the regime on Friday to lay anti-ship mines along the access route to Misrata's port.

Two of the mines were destroyed, but a third floated away, and NATO vessels have been searching for it. The attempted mining has disrupted the delivery of desperately needed supplies to Misrata, a city of 300,000.

The fighting in Libya has largely been locked in a stalemate. NATO commanders have said they have made good progress in eroding the Gadhafi's military capabilities, but leading French and Italian politicians said this week that the international involvement should not be open-ended.

Juppe, the French foreign minister, said military intervention must end as quickly as possible. The international mission's goal "is not to kill Gadhafi, that is clear, our goal is to take away his means of continuing his repression against the civilian population."

Juppe spoke on France 24 TV Wednesday on the eve of an international conference in Rome for countries involved in the Libya campaign, aimed in part at drumming up financial support for the rebels.

On Tuesday, Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini said Italy would seek an end date for NATO's Libya operations, as Premier Silvio Berlusconi sought to placate a key government partner opposed to Italian participation in bombing missions.

Government officials quickly offered reassurances that Italy was fully committed to its role in the NATO operation. They suggested Frattini's comments reflected a reality that allies eventually need to discuss mission sustainability.

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