France expels 14 Libyan diplomats

France on Friday expelled 14 Libyan diplomats loyal to the government of Muammar Qadhafi as Amnesty International said Libyan forces could be guilty of war crimes in the besieged city of Misrata. France, the United States, Britain and others are trying to go beyond a Nato bombing campaign against troops loyal to Qadhafi to find other ways of helping an uprising that prised eastern Libya from his control but then stalled.
The bombing and imposition of a no-fly zone, both intended to protect civilians, have not prevented scores being killed in government attacks on remaining pockets of rebellion in western Libya, notably the besieged cities of Misrata and Zintan. Amnesty International said indiscriminate attacks on Misrata, including the use of snipers, cluster bombs and artillery in civilian areas, might amount to war crimes.
"The scale of the relentless attacks that we have seen by al Qadhafi forces to intimidate the residents of Misrata for more than two months is truly horrifying," said Donatella Rovera, Amnesty International's senior adviser in Libya. The International Organisation for Migration evacuated 1,100 people from Misrata by ship on Wednesday under government shelling that killed five people.
In Geneva, IOM spokeswoman Jemini Pandya spoke of "a life and death operation where every single minute counted". She told reporters the IOM was now acutely worried about tens of thousands of destitute Chadians. A French diplomatic source said the decision to expel the 14 Libyan diplomats had been taken some time ago, "but there was a process to follow".
The rebel Transitional National Council has said it needs up to $3 billion to keep going in the coming months, and the UN World Food Programme said on Thursday that Libya's food supplies could run out in six to eight weeks, particularly in the east. At Thursday's Libya Contact Group meeting in Rome, Kuwait pledged $180 million and Qatar promised $400-500 million to the rebels. A US official said the administration was considering unblocking more than $150 million for humanitarian purposes.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Washington would try to change the law to unlock some of the $30 billion of Libyan state funds frozen in the United States to help the rebels. On Friday Russia warned the group not to try to eclipse the authority of the UN Security Council, which has imposed sanctions on Libya and authorised the use of force specifically to protect civilians.
Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the group was trying to "take on the leading role in determining the policy of the international community in relation to Libya", and that the international community should be concerned with stopping the fighting, not taking sides.