BENGHAZI, Libya — A car exploded Wednesday in front of a hotel where foreign diplomats and journalists stay while visiting Benghazi, a rare attack in the Libyan rebels’ de facto capital.
Jalal el-Gallal, a rebel spokesman, said the blast in the parking lot of the Tibesti Hotel in central Benghazi caused no injuries or deaths. “It’s a cowardly act,” he said, adding that rebels assume it was carried out by supporters of Libyan ruler Moammar Khadafy.
The regime, which has suffered a series of diplomatic setbacks in recent weeks, suffered another blow Wednesday when Khadafy’s oil minister appeared in Rome and confirmed he had defected.
Today, at least three NATO strikes hit targets in the Libyan capital of Tripoli. It was not immediately clear what was targeted.
In Brussels, NATO and its partners decided to extend their mission for another 90 days, the military alliance’s top official said Wednesday.
“This decision sends a clear message to the Khadafy regime: We are determined to continue our operation to protect the people of Libya,” said NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen.
In Geneva, a report by the U.N. Human Rights Council charged that Khadafy’s forces have committed war crimes. The 92-page report also found that rebel forces committed “some acts which would constitute war crimes.” The Associated Press
