Libya death toll mounts, officials warn of chemical weapons' use

Feb 25, 2011, 5:16 GMT

Cairo/Tripoli - A former Libyan minister warned that strongman Moamer Gaddafi may resort to using biological and chemical weapons as he lost control of ever larger parts of the country, a news report said.

Former justice minister Mustafa Abdel Galil told the broadcaster Al Jazeera that Gaddafi had those weapons and would not hesitate to use them against civilians.

'At the end when he's really pressured, he can do anything. I think Gaddafi will burn everything left behind him,' he warned late Thursday.

The regime is known to still possess substantial quantities of mustard gas. Gaddafi agreed in 2003 to dismantle Libya's nuclear and chemical weapons programme, and has destroyed about 50 per cent of its chemical weapons, but due to delays is still believed to have stockpiled 9.5 tons of mustard gas.

In a speech Thursday, Gaddafi blamed terrorist network al-Qaeda for 10 days of anti-government protests threatening to unravel his 41-year-long grip on the country.

His comments were made as several northern cities were captured by the opposition, and dozens of Libyan diplomats and security members defected to side with the protesters.

Estimates by international groups and diplomats of the number of people killed by Gaddafi's security forces range from 600 to 2,000.

Troops loyal to Gaddafi shot peaceful protesters in the town of al-Zawiya Thursday evening, killing at least 100 Al Jazeera reported, quoting witnesses.

'They were trying to kill the people, not terrify them,' the witness said.

At least 390 people were killed in clashes between protesters and forces loyal to the Libyan regime in the city of Benghazi alone, said Nuri al-Obeidi, a security chief who switched sides and joined the protesters, who meanwhile control Libya's second-largest city.

Some 1,300 people were injured in Benghazi, he added.

Al-Obeidi said 90 people had been freed from a prison camp found in the base of an army unit led by Chamies al-Gaddafi, one of the sons of the Libyan leader. Among them were deserters who had refused to fire on protesters.

'The city is safe now,' al-Obeidi said. 'The youth is protecting the water and power supply.'

In the city of Torbuk, protests continued late Thursday with demonstrators demanding an end to Gaddafi's rule. According to the local hospital four civilians had been killed and 27 injured since the anti-government forces took over the city.

Rebels killed at least 200 mercenaries in the north-eastern city of Al-Baidha, a local policeman said, claiming that the regime had offered the foreigners 12,000 dollars for every protester they killed. dpa abc fi im se

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