The US took a step closer to providing financial assistance to the Libyan rebels, as Sen. John Kerry announced he is drafting legislation to free up some of the $34 billion in the Tripoli regime’s assets frozen by the White House.
Amnesty International accused Qaddafi forces of war crimes in Misrata, days after International Criminal Court prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo said he will pursue arrest warrants against members of the Tripoli regime.
Moroccan authorities announced the arrest of three suspects in last week’s bombing of a Marrakesh cafe—but failed to link them to arrests earlier this year of a supposed al-Qaeda cell in occupied Western Sahara.
At a meeting in Rome, the international Contact Group on Libya agreed to establish a fund that the rebels can access, ostensibly to provide services in their areas of control.
Qaddafi forces resumed shelling of the rebel-held Libyan port of Misrata, as the besieged dictator went on TV both to offer a ceasefire and warn NATO against a ground invasion: “Either freedom or death. No surrender.”
A deadly Marrakesh bomb blast attributed to al-Qaeda came days after thousands of Moroccans marched nationwide to demand sweeping reforms before a new constitution is unveiled in June by King Mohammed VI.
After pulling back from besieged Misrata, Moammar Qaddafi’s forces have reportedly been pouring into Libya’s western Nafusah Mountain, surrounding and shelling villages of the Berber minority.
Forces loyal to Moammar Qaddafi reportedly retreated from the besieged western city of Misrata—as the US military confirmed the first strike by a Predator drone aircraft in Libya.
The US is sending $25 million in nonlethal aid to Libyan rebels to cover “vehicles, fuel trucks and fuel bladders, ambulances, medical equipment, protective vests, binoculars, and non-secure radios.”
A Tunisian court dropped charges against a police officer who incited protests in several Arab countries when she allegedly slapped a local fruit vendor who later set himself on fire in front of a governor’s office.
Foreign workers are desperately trying to flee the besieged Libyan city of Misrata—but they may be fleeing attacks by the rebels as well as Qaddafi’s forces. Qatar now acknowledges it is arming the rebel forces.
The Moroccan media are making much of a report in Italy’s Corriere della Sera that Western Sahara guerillas are fighting for Qaddafi—as well as claims from the Tripoli regime that they are fighting against Qaddafi!
