Friday, 03 June 2011
A destroyed tank belonging to forces loyal to Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi is seen near a damaged hospital building in the west Libyan city of Misrata. (File Photo)
A Russian envoy has set out to arrange mediation with Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi, even as explosions rattled the Libyan capital overnight into Friday.
A US official said Colonel Qaddafi was increasingly isolated.
Four explosions were first heard at 11:35 p.m. local time (2135 GMT) on Thursday from the center of Tripoli, followed by others about 15 minutes later.
Then at 1:45 a.m. (2345 GMT) on Friday, four powerful blasts shook the district where Mr. Qaddafi’s residence is located not far from the city center. Most observers believe it’s unlikely that
An army barracks in the same sector had been the target of several raids last week.
A US official said Colonel Qaddafi was increasingly isolated.
Four explosions were first heard at 11:35 p.m. local time (2135 GMT) on Thursday from the center of Tripoli, followed by others about 15 minutes later.
Then at 1:45 a.m. (2345 GMT) on Friday, four powerful blasts shook the district where Mr. Qaddafi’s residence is located not far from the city center. Most observers believe it’s unlikely that
An army barracks in the same sector had been the target of several raids last week.
Earlier this week, government spokesman Mussa Ibrahim said NATO air raids on Libya had killed 718 civilians and wounded 4,067 since they were unleashed on March 19 and up to May 26.
In Washington, Admiral Mike Mullen, the outgoing Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, pointed to “some signs, certainly in the last few days, that Mr. Qaddafi is becoming more and more isolated.”
He noted the defection of oil minister Shukri Ghanem, who had been a key figure in the regime, along with a group of “young generals” who had also parted with Mr. Qaddafi.
Admiral Mullen welcomed NATO’s extension of its UN-mandated mission to protect civilians through military action until late September.
“I think from my perspective, and I've engaged with the commanders on this, that we're going to be okay until September,” he said.
Earlier, NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen told reporters Colonel Qaddafi’s departure was only a question of time.
“The question is not if Qaddafi will go but when,” Mr. Rasmussen said. “It could take some time yet but it could also happen tomorrow.”
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said Moscow would be sending an envoy to Tripoli and the rebel capital of Benghazi to mediate, the Italian news agency ANSA reported, quoting diplomats.
President Medvedev stressed the importance of a negotiated settlement at talks with Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi in Rome.
“We would like as much as possible for the problem to be resolved through negotiations and not by military means,” Mr. Medvedev told reporters.
Russia has enjoyed close ties with Mr. Qaddafi’s regime, supplying it with arms over the decades. Russia abstained from the UN Security Council vote in March 2011 that gave the go-ahead for international military action in Libya.
But it has increasingly distanced itself from the regime and at a G8 summit in France last week, Mr. Medvedev pledged to ramp up diplomatic efforts to end the conflict.
A commission of inquiry set up by the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva accused Mr. Qaddafi’s regime of carrying out systematic attacks on the population, charging it committed both crimes against humanity and war crimes.
The commission said it “reached the conclusion that crimes against humanity and war crimes have been committed by the government forces of Libya.”
The investigative body noted it had received “fewer reports” of abuses by opposition forces but said it “did find some acts which would constitute war crimes.”
In Benghazi, vice president of the rebel National Transitional Council Abdelhafiz Ghoga admitted that rebels had committed “violations, twice” as rebels feared terrorist acts by pro-Qaddafi forces in the rebel bastion.
“We feared a fifth column was operating in the city,” he said, adding that rebel forces “are trying to treat prisoners according to the Geneva Convention.”
The Geneva Conventions comprise four treaties and three additional protocols that set the standards in international law for humanitarian treatment of the victims of war. The singular term Geneva Convention refers to the agreements of 1949, negotiated in the aftermath of World War II, updating the terms of the first three treaties and adding a fourth treaty. The language is extensive, with articles defining the basic rights of those captured during a military conflict, establishing protections for the wounded, and addressing protections for civilians in and around a war zone. The treaties of 1949 have been ratified, in whole or with reservations, by 194 countries.
Mr. Ghoga also announced that rebel forces had detained three suspects in a car bombing that rocked Benghazi on Wednesday but caused no casualties.
“We captured three of the culprits behind the car bomb attack, we are looking for the others,” Mr. Ghoga said.
Libya’s rebel council earlier blamed Colonel Qaddafi’s forces for the “terrorist attack” that hit the Tibesti hotel, where rebel leaders, journalists and diplomats stay.
Off the Tunisian coast, up to 270 migrants were missing after a ship packed with refugees fleeing Libya and headed for Italy capsized, authorities said. Bodies of 150 refugees were recovered on Friday.
Army and coastguard teams lifted 570 people off the overcrowded vessel after it ran aground and capsized near Tunisia’s Kerkennah islands on Wednesday.
But between 200 and 270 were still missing after they tried to scramble aboard a flotilla of rescue boats, the official TAP news agency said.
In Washington, Admiral Mike Mullen, the outgoing Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, pointed to “some signs, certainly in the last few days, that Mr. Qaddafi is becoming more and more isolated.”
He noted the defection of oil minister Shukri Ghanem, who had been a key figure in the regime, along with a group of “young generals” who had also parted with Mr. Qaddafi.
Admiral Mullen welcomed NATO’s extension of its UN-mandated mission to protect civilians through military action until late September.
“I think from my perspective, and I've engaged with the commanders on this, that we're going to be okay until September,” he said.
Earlier, NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen told reporters Colonel Qaddafi’s departure was only a question of time.
“The question is not if Qaddafi will go but when,” Mr. Rasmussen said. “It could take some time yet but it could also happen tomorrow.”
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said Moscow would be sending an envoy to Tripoli and the rebel capital of Benghazi to mediate, the Italian news agency ANSA reported, quoting diplomats.
President Medvedev stressed the importance of a negotiated settlement at talks with Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi in Rome.
“We would like as much as possible for the problem to be resolved through negotiations and not by military means,” Mr. Medvedev told reporters.
Russia has enjoyed close ties with Mr. Qaddafi’s regime, supplying it with arms over the decades. Russia abstained from the UN Security Council vote in March 2011 that gave the go-ahead for international military action in Libya.
But it has increasingly distanced itself from the regime and at a G8 summit in France last week, Mr. Medvedev pledged to ramp up diplomatic efforts to end the conflict.
A commission of inquiry set up by the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva accused Mr. Qaddafi’s regime of carrying out systematic attacks on the population, charging it committed both crimes against humanity and war crimes.
The commission said it “reached the conclusion that crimes against humanity and war crimes have been committed by the government forces of Libya.”
The investigative body noted it had received “fewer reports” of abuses by opposition forces but said it “did find some acts which would constitute war crimes.”
In Benghazi, vice president of the rebel National Transitional Council Abdelhafiz Ghoga admitted that rebels had committed “violations, twice” as rebels feared terrorist acts by pro-Qaddafi forces in the rebel bastion.
“We feared a fifth column was operating in the city,” he said, adding that rebel forces “are trying to treat prisoners according to the Geneva Convention.”
The Geneva Conventions comprise four treaties and three additional protocols that set the standards in international law for humanitarian treatment of the victims of war. The singular term Geneva Convention refers to the agreements of 1949, negotiated in the aftermath of World War II, updating the terms of the first three treaties and adding a fourth treaty. The language is extensive, with articles defining the basic rights of those captured during a military conflict, establishing protections for the wounded, and addressing protections for civilians in and around a war zone. The treaties of 1949 have been ratified, in whole or with reservations, by 194 countries.
Mr. Ghoga also announced that rebel forces had detained three suspects in a car bombing that rocked Benghazi on Wednesday but caused no casualties.
“We captured three of the culprits behind the car bomb attack, we are looking for the others,” Mr. Ghoga said.
Libya’s rebel council earlier blamed Colonel Qaddafi’s forces for the “terrorist attack” that hit the Tibesti hotel, where rebel leaders, journalists and diplomats stay.
Off the Tunisian coast, up to 270 migrants were missing after a ship packed with refugees fleeing Libya and headed for Italy capsized, authorities said. Bodies of 150 refugees were recovered on Friday.
Army and coastguard teams lifted 570 people off the overcrowded vessel after it ran aground and capsized near Tunisia’s Kerkennah islands on Wednesday.
But between 200 and 270 were still missing after they tried to scramble aboard a flotilla of rescue boats, the official TAP news agency said.
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