NATO increases pressure on Qadhafi with more air strikes

According to a number of sources, NATO's planes have launched a series of heavy air raids on Tripoli, which has seen three people dead and many injured in an attack on army barracks.

The strikes followed an announcement by France that it along with the UK would deploy attack helicopters to fortify the air strike campaign. Heavy explosions hit Libya's capital, as one strike was quickly followed by another.

NATO has said it bombed a transport depot near Colonel Mu'ammar Qadhafi's, Bab Al-Aziziya, compound which had been used by his forces in attacks on civilians. The use of attack helicopters marks a significant move to up the campaign in Libya, in order to step-up the pressure on Qadhafi after weeks of deadlock.

France's Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said France was sending NATO 12 French Tiger and Gazelle helicopters for the attack campaign against Qadhafi and his troops. The UK's Apache attack helicopters would deploy from HMS Ocean, the Royal Navy's largest warship.

Speaking about the most recent strike, a spokesman for Libya's government, Moussa Ibrahim, said three civilians were killed and 150 people wounded. He was quoted by Reuters as saying: “This is another night of bombing and killing by NATO.”

Sources: BBC News, Aljazeera, The Daily Telegraph, Reuters

For more news and expert analysis about Libya, please see Libya Focus and Libya Politics & Security.

Libya's Oil Minister Shukri Ghanem flees the country

Libya's Oil Minister Shukri Ghanem has fled the country and flew to Tunisia before making way to the island of Djerba. Libyan rebel leaders have confirmed that Ghanem has defected and was making his way to an undisclosed European location.

A spokesman for the Libyan regime, Moussa Ibrahim, said Ghanem was in Tunisia on official business but noted that the government was unable to reach him. Ibrahim added: “If he did [defect], this is his business…It's not a big deal for us."

A Tunisian official told AFP that Ghanem did indeed stay in the neighbouring country, but added that the former oil minister had "not tried to contact the Tunisian authorities".

A spokesman for Tunisia's rebel Transitional National Council, Jumaa El Gamaty, said: "Mr Shukri Ghanem has defected. I think as we speak he's in [a] transitory European country."

The news of Ghanem's “defection” comes just days after, the International Criminal Court's (ICC) Chief Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo has said he was seeking the arrest of Libyan Leader Colonel Mu'ammar Qadhafi, his son Saif Al-Islam and the country's Intelligence Chief Abdullah Al-Sanussi.

Moreno-Ocampo said all three individuals were largely responsible for the "widespread and systematic attacks" on civilians. It will be up to the ICC judges to issue warrants for their arrests.

Sources: BBC News, AFP, San Francisco Chronicle, Reuters

For more news and expert analysis about Libya, please see Libya Focus and Libya Politics & Security.

Libya says Qadhafi must remain in power

The Libyan government has conceded to political reform, but made it clear that Colonel Mu'ammar Qadhafi must remain in power. A government spokesman, Moussa Ibrahim, said Qadhafi was a "unifying figure" figure in Libya, and defended his forces, saying they only targeted armed rebels not civilians.

Speaking to State TV, Qadhafi's son Saif Al-Islam Qadhafi said Libya's Foreign Minister Musa Kusa had not defected from the regime by fleeing to the UK. Saif alleged that Kusa had travelled to Britain for health reasons, and was being coerced into making allegations against Libya. He also denied allegations that Kusa knew incriminating details about the Lockerbie bombing, saying there no more “secrets”.

The situation in Libya has reached a stalemate, with the rebel fighters in a continuous tussle over the eastern oil hub of Brega. Nearly two months since the revolt against Qadhafi began, the country remains effectively split between the rebel forces in the east and government loyalists in Tripoli and the west.

Speaking about the situation in Libya, Ibrahim said Qadhafi was "a safety valve for the country to remain together" adding, "many Libyans, many Libyans want him to lead the process forward because they are scared if he is not there for any reason we will have what happened in Iraq, we will have what happened in Somalia, we will have what happened in Afghanistan."

The spokesman also announced that the country was open to political reform such "elections, referenda" but noted that "the leader has to lead this forward".

Sources: BBC News, Aljazeera, The Daily Telegraph, Xinhua

For more news and expert analysis about Libya, please see Libya Focus and Libya Politics & Security.