Italy Puts Number Of Death In Libya At 1,000

Italy Puts Number Of Death In Libya At 1,000

Italy's Foreign Minister, Franco Frattini has said that Muammar Gaddafi's attempts to crush a revolt against his four-decade rule have killed as many as 1,000 people and split Libya.

Speaking on Wednesday on the use of violence on protesters in Libya, Frattini said he understood the eastern region of Cyrenaica, where much of Libya's oil is located, was no longer under Gaddafi's control after violent attempts to crush protest there and elsewhere in the country.

Frattini said he could not be sure how many had been killed, noting that “the estimates of about 1,000 are credible."

Estimated number of deaths

Human Rights Watch had estimated 233 had been killed, with 62 killed in Tripoli in the past two days, while the opposition groups had put the figure far much higher.

In the eastern city of Benghazi, cradle of the revolt against Gaddafi, people let off firecrackers and honked their horns to mark the end of days of bloodshed there.

Evacuations of citizens

As countries with strong business ties to Africa's third largest oil producer scrambled to evacuate their citizens, and residents of the capital lay low for fear of pro-Gaddafi gunmen, France became the first state to call for sanctions.

"I would like the suspension of economic, commercial and financial relations with Libya until further notice," President Nicolas Sarkozy said.

But in the latest sign of international division over how to deal with Gaddafi, the prime minister of Qatar said he did not want to isolate Libya, where several senior officials have declared their backing for protests that began about a week ago.

Oil drilling affected

A British oil worker, James Coyle said he was stranded with 300 other people at a camp in the east of Libya, where he said local people had looted oil installations.

"We are living every day in fear of our lives as the local people are armed," "They've looted ... the German camp next door, they've taken all their vehicles, all our vehicles ... everything. So we are here desperate for the British government to come and get us," James Coyle told newsmen.

UN condemns violence on protesters

The UN Security Council has condemned Libya's use of force against civilians demonstrating against the government of Col Muammar Gaddafi.  

A statement read to reporters on Wednesday in New York, by the Council's President for the month of March, Maria Viotti of Brazil, expressed “deep regret at the death of hundreds of civilians since the violent uprising began in the North African country a week ago.  

“The members of the Security Council call on the Government of Libya to meet its responsibility to protect its population, to act with restraint, to respect human rights and international humanitarian law, and to allow immediate access for international human rights monitors and humanitarian agencies.''  

The Council also called on the Libyan government to address the demands of the population through national dialogue and respect the freedom of “peaceful assembly and of expression, including the press.''  

Gaddafi vows to die a martyr

On Tuesday, Gaddafi declared on state television; "I shall remain here defiant, and die a martyr", refusing to bow to calls to step down from some of his own ministers, soldiers and protesters.

Popular protests in Libya's neighbours Egypt and Tunisia have toppled entrenched leaders, but Gaddafi, who has ruled the mainly desert country with a mixture of populism and tight control since taking power in a military coup in 1969, said he would not be forced out.

REUTERS/NAN/Williams