US fully recognises Libyan rebels

15 July 2011 Last updated at 20:23 GMT The decision could open up a huge funding stream for the rebels The United States has recognised the Libyan opposition as the country's "legitimate governing authority".

The move means billions of dollars of Libyan assets frozen in US banks could be released to the rebels.

The decision was announced by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton at a diplomatic meeting in Istanbul.

Western and Arab members of the Libya Contact Group are drawing up a plan to end hostilities, which will be presented to Col Muammar Gaddafi.

"The United States views the Gaddafi regime as no longer having any legitimate authority in Libya," Mrs Clinton said.

"And so I am announcing today that, until an interim authority is in place, the United States will recognise the TNC [Transitional National Council] as the legitimate governing authority for Libya, and we will deal with it on that basis."

Continue reading the main story Kim Ghattas BBC News, Washington

This move means the US and other countries will be able to unblock some $30bn in frozen assets to assist the Libyan opposition.

It's a financial boost for the TNC but also adds to their credibility.

Because the US only recognises states and not governments, the wording - calling the TNC the "legitimate governing authority" - was chosen carefully.

It may sound like semantics but the wording had legal implications. There were also concerns about recognising unelected representatives without a clear road map for a transition to democracy.

She added: "The TNC has offered important assurances today, including the promise to pursue a process of democratic reform that is inclusive both geographically and politically."

The TNC said it "expressed its gratitude and respect to the people of the United States", which it called "the protector and promoter of democracy and freedom across the world".

In Istanbul, other foreign ministers said the whole contact group - including more than 30 Western and Arab countries - agreed to recognise the rebels.

Many of them have already individually recognised the TNC.

Italy's Foreign Minister Franco Frattini said the decision left Col Gaddafi "no other option" but to leave power.

However, Col Gaddafi swiftly rejected the move.

Addressing a televised rally in the town of Zlitan, he said: "Trample on those recognitions, trample them under your feet... They are worthless."

Entrenched in Tripoli

Mr Frattini said the UN special envoy to Libya, Abdul Elah al-Khatib, would take the contact group's ceasefire proposals to the Libyan leadership, and negotiate on their behalf.

A statement released by the group said Col Gaddafi "must leave power according to defined steps to be publicly announced," and called for "the formation of an interim government to ensure a smooth and peaceful transition of power".

Reports that rebels have cut an oil pipeline have given leaders pause for thought

The meeting was also expected to explore measures to increase the pressure on the Libyan regime, such as constraining government broadcasting. It was also to look at a report on the TNC's plans for progress to democracy.

Representatives of the Benghazi-based TNC were at the meeting, but invitations to China and Russia were both declined.

The conflict in Libya appears to be in a protracted stalemate. Rebels are holding eastern Libya and pockets in the west.

Col Gaddafi remains entrenched in the capital Tripoli, despite a Nato bombing campaign of more than 6,000 sorties against regime forces.

International sanctions have also been imposed and international arrest warrants issued against leading figures in the Libyan regime.

In Tripoli, Col Gaddafi's government has been holding crisis talks over the supply of fuel to the country.

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Philippine rebels deny kidnapping

13 July 2011 Last updated at 07:11 GMT The army says there have so far been no ransom demands A Philippines rebel group has denied kidnapping two Americans and a Filipino from a holiday resort on Tuesday.

The separatist Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) told local media that its members were helping the authorities search for the abductees.

Police had earlier said rogue fighters from the group might have been responsible for the kidnapping.

The authorities now believe the more violent Islamist group Abu Sayyaf may have carried out the abduction.

Abu Sayyaf, which is believed to have about 400 fighters in its ranks, has carried out kidnappings of foreigners in the past - usually for ransom.

Its members have fought alongside MILF, but MILF has a ceasefire agreement with the government and has sought to distance itself from Abu Sayyaf.

MILF spokesman Von Al Haq said his group was helping government troops to find the abductees.

"Our ceasefire committee members are working with government counterparts and will share the information we will get from the field," he said in a statement quoted by the Philippines Star newspaper.

On Tuesday a gang of gunmen snatched 41-year-old Gerfa Yeatts Lunsmann, her son Kevin, 14, and nephew Romnick Jakaria, 19, from a resort on the island of Tictabon.

Ms Lunsmann, who was born in the Philippines but is now based in Virginia, was reportedly on holiday visiting relatives.

Philippines government officials said they had not yet heard anything from the armed gang.

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Libyan rebels 'abused civilians'

13 July 2011 Last updated at 13:20 GMT Territory north of the Nafusa Mountains is currently an active sector of the front line The campaign group Human Rights Watch has accused rebels in Libya of looting, arson and the abuse of civilians.

Observers from the New York-based group say they have witnessed some incidents themselves, and have interviewed witnesses to others in territory recently seized by rebels.

A rebel spokesman talking to reporters in Brussels has denied the allegations.

Accusations of abuse by both sides have circulated since the rebellion against Col Muammar Gaddafi began in February.

The latest allegations focus on four towns seized by rebels in the west of the country in the last month: al-Awaniya, Rayayinah, Zawiyat al-Bagul and al-Qawalish.

"The rebel conduct was disturbing," said Fred Abrahams, a special adviser to Human Rights Watch (HRW).

"We documented fairly widespread looting of homes and shops, the burning of some homes of suspected Gaddafi supporters and - most disturbingly - the vandalisation of three medical clinics [and] local small hospitals, including the theft of some of the medical equipment."

He said the Libyan government had committed more serious crimes, but that did not excuse the behaviour of the rebels.

"Our aim is to hold all combatants, all militaries - whether they're organised and states and governments or rebels groups - to the same standards, and it's very much also a warning shot across the bow, because of these other areas they are approaching. We're deeply worried about how they might behave and treat civilians in those areas."

A senior rebel leader has refuted the Human Rights Watch claims.

"This is not the case in the liberated areas," rebel spokesman Mahmud Jibril told reporters in Brussels.

In the latest news from this sector of the front line, the BBC's World Affairs Editor, John Simpson, reports that a counter-attack is underway by forces loyal to Colonel Muammar Gaddafi.

When pro-Gaddafi forces probed rebel positions at al-Qawalish, the rebels took to their vehicles and fled.

The rebels' early gains came in the East of Libya. Then their struggle against the army became deadlocked, despite a bombing campaign by Nato warplanes against pro-Gaddafi forces.

In recent weeks attention shifted to the west of the country, when opposition fighters based in the Nafusa Mountains (or Jebel Nafusa) seized territory bringing them to within 90km (55 miles) of Tripoli.

It is these gains the latest counter-attack aims to reverse.

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Libya rebels advance on key town

7 July 2011 Last updated at 17:48 GMT Rebels say they want to control the main north-south road to Tripoli Libyan rebels have advanced against government forces on a strategically important road south of Tripoli.

They have moved between 10-15km (6-16 miles) in the last 24 hours towards the government-held town of Gharian, a BBC correspondent says.

The town controls access to one of the main roads leading from the desert northwards towards the capital.

Earlier, rebels in Misrata said progress towards Tripoli was being hampered by a lack of ammunition.

They also said support from Nato was inadequate.

Moving carefully

The new front line has brought the rebels closer to Gharian, an important garrison for Col Muammar Gaddafi's forces, the BBC's Mark Doyle in Libya reports.

This is the most significant confirmed advance the rebels have made in this part of Libya in the past few weeks, our correspondent says.

He adds that empty ammunition boxes and spent bullets litter the ground, along with army uniforms discarded by the government troops. Fires caused by the clashes are still smouldering.

If the rebels can take Gharian, they will control the main north-south road to Tripoli.

But rebel fighters say the town is heavily defended, and they are moving forward carefully to avoid civilian casualties.

Our correspondent adds that the rebels are obviously also moving slowly because Col Gaddafi's forces are resisting them each step of the way.

Misrata stalemate

On Wednesday, officials in the rebel-held city of Misrata said 17 of their fighters were killed and more than 60 wounded.

A rebel spokesman said Nato air cover was patchy, with deadly consequences.

Misrata has been the scene of heavy fighting for many weeks

"When the aircraft is flying in the sky... it means Gaddafi's forces cannot use rocket launchers on the ground, they are afraid [of] aircraft... observing them and... striking them," Fatti Bashada told the BBC's Gabriel Gatehouse, near Misrata.

Mr Bashada said that despite repeated requests to keep patrolling the skies, Nato aircraft have, in recent days, disappeared half-way through a battle.

"When there's no flight, it means they are free to use any weapons against us," he said, adding that rockets fired by Col Gaddafi's fighters were killing an increasing number of rebels.

Rebel forces and soldiers loyal to Col Muammar Gaddafi have been locked in a stalemate to the west of Misrata for more than six weeks.

Libya is under an international arms embargo and fresh supplies from the rebel stronghold of Benghazi in the east of the country have been slow in coming.

Rebels have said that, until this changes, their progress towards Tripoli will be both slow and painful.

UN Security Council resolution 1970 imposed an arms embargo on Libya but US and UK officials have argued that a subsequent resolution, 1973, could nonetheless allow weapons to be supplied to rebels fighting to topple the Libyan leader.

Rebels hold much of Libya's east, plus Misrata and several towns in the Nafusa mountains near the Tunisian border.

Those in the mountains have been boosted by deliveries of arms dropped by French aircraft last month.

Russia has condemned France for supplying weapons to the rebels and, along with China, has said that the Nato campaign has gone beyond the remit of resolution 1973.

Nato and several Arab states mandated to defend civilians have been carrying out air strikes against military targets linked to Col Gaddafi for more than three months.

Pressure has been growing to find an end to the conflict. The rebels insist Col Gaddafi must step down.

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Libya rebels back AU talks offer

2 July 2011 Last updated at 23:03 GMT The International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Gaddafi last month Libyan rebel leaders have welcomed an African Union offer to open talks with the government in Tripoli without the direct involvement of Muammar Gaddafi.

The Transitional National Council said it was the first time the AU had recognised the people's aspirations for democracy and human rights in Libya.

The talks offer was agreed at an AU summit in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea.

The AU also told members not to execute an arrest warrant for Col Gaddafi from the International Criminal Court (ICC).

The warrant "seriously complicates the efforts aimed at finding a negotiated political settlement to the crisis in Libya, which will also address, in a mutually reinforcing way, issues related to impunity and reconciliation," delegates said in a statement.

The chairman of the AU Commission, Jean Ping, said they were not against the ICC, but felt that the court was "discriminatory" and targeted only officials from the African continent.

A total of 31 states in Africa are signatories to the ICC, representing nearly a third of the nations where the mandate applies.

Libyan government spokesman Moussa Ibrahim welcomed the decision.

"The ICC is a European Guantanamo Bay. It's only against the African leaders. It never deals with the crimes committed by the United States of America... and by the European powers," he told reporters in Tripoli.

Col Gaddafi, along with his son Saif al-Islam and intelligence chief Abdullah al-Sanussi, has been accused of crimes against humanity. The ICC said it had grounds to believe they ordered attacks on civilians.

Ceasefire call

The offer of talks without Col Gaddafi's involvement followed intense debates between African leaders at the summit over two days.

The AU also called for an immediate ceasefire and the lifting of the UN no-fly zone which paved the way for Nato's military intervention.

It said both parties should formally request the deployment of a UN peacekeeping mission in Libya to monitor the implementation of a cessation of hostilities.

Rebel representatives at the summit said they would need a number of guarantees from the AU before they could agree to a ceasefire.

TNC representative Mansour Saif al-Nasr told reporters that the rebels were prepared to end hostilities if Col Gaddafi stepped down.

"If we see that Gaddafi withdraws, we are ready to stop and negotiate with our brothers who are around Gaddafi," he said.

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Libya rebels 'face health crisis'

28 June 2011 Last updated at 04:51 GMT By Bridget Kendall BBC News, Benghazi Hospital staff say they have to share out what drugs are left among the sick children A medical crisis is looming in eastern Libya with hospitals in Benghazi running short of supplies, the rebels' health minister says.

Stocks of drugs and other items such as surgical gloves are said to be running out.

Dr Nagi Barakat told the BBC that most emergency aid donated from abroad went straight to the front line.

He said that if a new offensive broke out, hospitals would face a major crisis.

On the cancer ward of Benghazi's children's hospital, most patients are not getting the right dosage. There aren't enough drugs to go round.

Dr Amina Bayou says she and her colleagues juggle supplies to give everyone a little.

"We try to divide the drugs between this patient and that patient. It's not good," she said.

"We are treating more than 200 children. We ask parents to go to Egypt to buy medicines and when they bring them back, we divide them up like parcelling out food."

In one room, a two-year-old called Bubaker lies listlessly. His leukaemia is advanced and he is not responding to treatment, says Dr Bayou, because the dose isn't strong enough.

Next door, six-year-old Melak is doing better. She too has leukaemia and is recovering from a severe lung infection. Doctors found anti-fungal drugs to treat her after a desperate search - the last medicine of its kind in all Benghazi. Without it, she would now be dead.

It is not just cancer drugs that are running out in Benghazi's hospitals.

Shelves are rapidly being cleared of what medical supplies are left, rebel officials say

Dr Barakat, a Libyan doctor who returned from London to take up the post of health minister in the rebels' interim government, says the situation is critical.

The list of 150 items needed urgently include surgical gloves and gauze as well as a whole array of drugs needed for cardiac patients and, critically, in the intensive care units.

At the Hawari General Hospital, director Dr Ezzedin Benomran is at his wits' end.

He reckons that more than 20 patients have died since February because of the lack of medical supplies.

Stocks of the narcotics needed for anaesthetic procedures are so low that the hospital has had to close nine of its 12 operating theatres.

The surgeons only operate on emergency cases - four a day - and many of those are patients with serious gunshot wounds, transferred to Benghazi from the front line in Misrata.

Cash shortage

Dr Barakat says here is little left over for women who need caesarean sections, or casualties from car accidents or other domestic accidents.

In any case, he adds, the amounts donated by foreign governments and NGOs cannot meet the demands of all the hospitals in a large city like Benghazi, which services the entire population of eastern Libya.

Medical stocks were already low in February. Now they have been run down in some cases almost to zero, he says.

Critically wounded fighters are among those requiring scant hospital resources

"We have only 2-3 weeks' supply of cancer drugs," said Dr Barakat. "They used to be allocated to us from a central point in Tripoli. We have no access to that now."

The rebel leadership says it would willingly pay for new supplies if only it had the money, but its stock of cash has also run out.

A week ago rebel leaders appealed to the outside world to help unlock funds and loans to sort out the cash flow problem and avoid a social and medical crisis in the city.

A week on - according to senior sources in the leadership - there is still no sign of any cash being made available.

Dr Barakat says this is only one of his worries.

So far the hospitals are just about keeping afloat, despite the shortages. But if there were to be any new pressure on the system, he fears it could break it.

"If Tripoli falls tomorrow, we will have major crisis," he said.

"If there are new mass casualties on the front line here in the east because of an assault on Brega and Ras Lanuf there will be too.

"I am worried because any time the army moves forward and there are mass casualties, I am sure we will not be able to cope."

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Libya PM claims talks with rebels

18 June 2011 Last updated at 02:16 GMT The BBC's Andrew Harding followed a student in the UK joining the rebels

Libya's prime minister has said his government has been in talks with the rebels fighters, despite denials from the rebels themselves.

Al-Baghdadi al-Mahmudi called for new negotiations between the government and rebel leaders to resolve the conflict.

He also accused Nato of crimes against humanity in its attacks on Libya.

Earlier, Libyan rebels said that 10 civilians had been killed and 40 wounded in a rocket attack by Col Gaddafi's forces on Misrata.

"Our doors are open to all and we are in contact with all the parties," Mr Mahmudi said, according to Agence France-Presse.

He said meetings had taken place in Egypt, France, Norway and Tunisia, and that he could "name the persons" who attended from the rebels' side.

'No negotiation'

But Mahmoud Jibril, the head of international affairs in the rebel National Transitional Council, said earlier on Friday that there had been "no negotiation" between the council and the regime.

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This is the first time they [Nato] are facing an armed nation of millions... They will be defeated”

End Quote Col Muammar Gaddafi Speaking in Naples after meeting Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini, he said that were negotiations to take place, the TNC would "announce it out of commitment to our friends all over the world".

He added: "We pursue every means possible, whether political, whether military, to liberate our country and establish democratic government based on a constitution and equal rights."

The prime minister's comments came as Nato planes carried out further raids on the capital, Tripoli, attacks which Mr al-Mahmudi said constituted war crimes.

He called for "an urgent meeting" of the United Nations to examine "these crimes committed by Nato against Libyan civilians".

On Friday, Libyan government forces bombarded the western rebel-held city of Misrata and territory held by rebel fighters between Dafniya and Zlitan.

'They ruined it'

These are the next towns on the road to Tripoli from Misrata, as they continued trying to advance westwards after weeks of being besieged by Col Gaddafi's forces.

Ambulances ferried wounded rebel fighters from the front line west of Misrata

The rebels returned fire from the front line, about 32km (20 miles) from Misrata, with their own artillery and rocket launchers.

A rebel commander, Mohammed Ali, said they were aiming at tanks and munitions stores in Naima, near Zlitan.

"We had a strategy to finish everything today but some of the fighters think it's a game," he told the Reuters news agency. "They shot when they weren't supposed to shoot and they have ruined it."

Nato military spokesman Wing Cdr Mike Bracken told reporters that there were "some positive signs that civilians are unifying against the Gaddafi regime" in the area.

What started as a peaceful uprising against Col Gaddafi's 41-year-rule four months ago has grown into a civil war, with the rebels now holding a third of the country in the east and pockets in the west, including Misrata.

Tripoli remains firmly under the control of the government, despite Nato launching more daytime air strikes.

Following fresh air raids on Friday, Libyan state TV broadcast an audio message from Col Gaddafi, in which he shouted: "We are in our country and we are determined to stay and defend it. We are staying, we are staying. Let them even use nuclear bombs."

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US moves closer to Libya rebels

24 May 2011 Last updated at 11:46 GMT The EU has already established ties with the rebels US Assistant Secretary of State Jeffrey Feltman has said Libya's rebels have accepted an invitation to open a representative office in Washington.

Mr Feltman is the most senior US diplomat to visit the rebels in their de facto capital Benghazi.

The US has insisted that Libyan leader Col Muammar Gaddafi step down, but has not given the rebels full recognition.

The visit came as Nato planes launched a series of air attacks on Libya's capital, Tripoli, the heaviest so far.

Libyan officials say three people were killed and dozens injured in an attack on the barracks of the popular guard.

Nato says it bombed a vehicle depot next to Col Gaddafi's Bab al-Aziziya compound which had been used by his forces in attacks on civilians. However, the Libyan government described it as a reserve military base and said the casualties were civilians.

On Monday, France announced it and the UK would also deploy attack helicopters to escalate strike power.

Nato is enforcing a UN resolution to protect Libyan civilians, following the uprising against Col Gaddafi's rule.

'Assets release'

Mr Feltman said the US was not negotiating with Col Gaddafi, and that the rebel Transitional National Council (TNC) was the legitimate representative of the Libyan people.

The BBC's Andrew North says a large plume of smoke rose from near Col Gaddafi's compound

"I delivered a formal invitation to the council for the opening of a representation in Washington," Mr Feltman said at a news conference. "We are happy they accepted it."

"We have no office in Tripoli now. And we asked the Gaddafi people to close their embassy in Washington. Our officials see members of the council, the council sees us," he added.

"There is an ongoing diplomatic, political relationship and dialogue with members of the council who are considered by our fellows credible and legitimate representatives of the Libyan people."

But Mr Feltman said there was no point in formally recognising the council as "its job is to go out of business" - it plans to wind itself up in the event of the country being reunited and Col Gaddafi overthrown.

He said the US had already contributed $53.5m (?33.1m) in humanitarian aid and $25m in non-lethal military supplies.

Mr Feltman also expected the US Congress to release frozen Libyan government assets to be used for purely humanitarian purposes, he added.

European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton opened an office in Benghazi on Sunday. Germany has also announced the establishment a liaison office there.

AFP news agency reported that the rebels would shortly nominate someone to represent them in Paris.

Only a handful of countries, including France and Italy, have recognised the TNC as Libya's legitimate government.

Deployment 'soon' UK Apache attack helicopters would deploy from HMS Ocean

On Monday, French Defence Minister Gerard Longuet confirmed media reports France was deploying attack helicopters to Nato's Libya mission.

French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said 12 Tiger- and Gazelle-type helicopters were being despatched to Libya.

He also said Britain would send helicopters. But in Parliament on Tuesday UK Armed Forces Minister Nick Harvey said "no decision" had been taken to send attack helicopters although it was being considered.

Nato jets have been targeting Col Gaddafi's military infrastructure, but have been unable to stop the fighting.

Rebels control much of Libya's east, while Col Gaddafi's forces control most of the west of the country.

The rebellion against his rule began in February, spurred on by uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt that saw the presidents of those countries overthrown.

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