Kadhafi loses swathes of east to insurrection

TOBRUK: Moamer Kadhafi's regime has lost vast swathes of Libya's east to an insurrection, it emerged Wednesday as pressure mounted on the strongman to step down amid growing evidence of a "bloodbath."

And as condemnation of the brutal crackdown grew and foreigners fled the oil-rich country, Kadhafi appeared to be increasingly isolated after reports that hundreds of civilians were killed in the backlash by his forces.

Opponents of Kadhafi appeared firmly in control of Libya's coastal east, from the Egyptian border through to the cities of Tobruk and Benghazi, with government soldiers switching sides to join the uprising.

An AFP news team travelling into Libya saw rebels -- many of them armed -- all along the highway that hugs the Mediterranean coast.

Soldiers in the east were declaring their support for the uprising, the residents said, but the regime asserted it was still in control via a text message sent on the Libyan national mobile telephone network.

"God give victory to our leader and the people," the message said, promising a credit in cellphone time if it was forwarded to other mobile telephone users.

Further west, streets of the capital Tripoli were mainly empty, barring a few dozen Kadhafi backers, despite his nationally televised call a day before for a show of popular support.

Only Green Square -- a Kadhafi stronghold since the revolt against his four decades of iron-fisted rule began on February 15 -- pulsed with activity as pro-regime supporters began arriving.

Drivers honked their horns and men and children poured out of minibuses as some Kadhafi supporters perched on the roofs of vehicles and two or three police cars patrolled the area.

Urging a prompt end to the "horrible bloodbath," Italy's foreign minister Franco Frattini said the eastern province of "Cyrenaica is no longer under the control of the Libyan government and there are outbreaks of violence across the country."

Rome feared an immigrant exodus of "biblical proportions" if Kadhafi is ousted, predicting up to 300,000 Libyans could try to flee their country, Frattini told the daily Corriere della Sera.

Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi of Italy, the north African nation's top trading partner, on Tuesday phoned Kadhafi to urge the strongman to end the suppression by his forces of the uprising.

News of the call came after Kadhafi delivered a rambling speech on television, declaring he would die a martyr in Libya, and threatening to purge opponents "house by house" and "inch by inch."

Proclaiming the support of the people, Kadhafi ordered the army and police to crush the revolt against his rule.

"The Libyan people are with me," he said, calling on them to demonstrate from Wednesday. "Capture the rats," he said of anti-regime demonstrators. "Go out of your homes and storm them" wherever they are.

His government said 300 people, including 111 soldiers, had been killed in the protests, which erupted after the rulers of neighbouring Tunisia and Egypt were ousted in similar uprisings.

China, India, South Korea, France and the United States, among other countries, scrambled to evacuate their citizens from the turbulent nation, as the international community condemned the crackdown.

The UN Security Council "condemned the violence and use of force against civilians, deplored the repression against peaceful demonstrators and expressed deep regret at the deaths of hundreds of civilians."

UN chief Ban Ki-moon called for international efforts to ensure a "prompt and peaceful transition" as he cut short a trip over the Libyan crisis and returned to New York on Wednesday.

The UN Human Rights Council said meanwhile it would hold a special session on Friday to discuss the crisis following a request by European Union.

The announcement came a day after Navi Pillay, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, said, "widespread and systematic attacks against the civilian population may amount to crimes against humanity."

Britain's The Financial Times reported Wednesday that the strongman's family was feuding over the vast business empire his regime has built up since coming to power in 1969.

Another British daily, The Times, said it had footage of severely wounded and dead protesters in a hospital in the eastern city of Benghazi proving heavy weapons were being used to crush the revolt.

Army, police and militias have killed unarmed demonstrators indiscriminately, even to the point where air force planes strafed civilians, according to widespread reports.

In response, Peru suspended diplomatic ties with the country over the crackdown, becoming the first nation to take such a measure, Spain said Kadhafi had "lost all legitimacy to continue to lead his country," as EU President Herman Van Rompuy insisting the crimes could "not to remain without consequences."

But the 68-year-old Kadhafi, a former army colonel, is yet to show any signs of relenting.

Despite this, numerous high level Libyan officials, including ministers, diplomats and military officers, have abandoned the regime and announced their support for the rebellion.

One of the latest to resign in protest was Salaheddin M. El Bishari, the Libyan ambassador to Indonesia, Singapore and Brunei, Indonesia's foreign ministry said Wednesday.

And in another sign of Kadhafi's slipping support, Libya's embassy in Vienna on Wednesday condemned "the excessive use of violence" against peaceful demonstrators and urged the world to take "concrete measures" to protect them.

The turmoil in Libya, Africa's fourth largest oil producer, has sent crude prices soaring with Brent North Sea crude costing $108.57 per barrel at one stage, the highest level since September 2008.

In Asian trading on Wednesday, Brent stood at $106.47 a barrel.

French energy giant Total said meanwhile it was "starting to suspend" part of its oil production in Libya.

President Nicolas Sarkozy of France called Wednesday for the European Union to adopt "swift and concrete sanctions" and suspend economic and financial relations with the north African country.

Meanwhile, all Libyan ports and terminals were temporarily closed because of the deadly unrest, the CMA CGM shipping group said in a statement on its website.