LIBYA: Rebels take control of another Gadhafi stronghold.
Facing little resistance, revolutionary fighters captured the airport and other locations in a southern desert city that is considered one of the last remaining strongholds of Moammar Gadhafi’s forces. The capture of Sabha would be a major victory for Libya’s new rulers.
A push to capture Gadhafi’s hometown of Sirte and the mountain enclave of Bani Walid has stalled as well-armed forces loyal to the fugitive leader fight back fiercely with rockets and other heavy weaponry.
SYRIA: Death toll in unrest climbs as deadly raids continue.
Syrian forces killed five people in raids on anti-government protesters determined to bring down the autocratic regime.
The U.N. human-rights office says Syrian security forces have killed at least 100 people during the past week. U.N. Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights Kang Kyung-Wha says the latest figures bring the death toll during months of unrest in Syria to more than 2,700 people, including at least 100 children.
EGYPT: Islamist group blocked from forming political party.
Egypt on Monday barred formation of a new political party by an Islamist group that was once involved in a bloody insurgency. The Political Parties’ Affairs Committee rejects the request by al-Gamaa al-Islamiyya because its proposed party is based on “religious grounds in violation of the law.”
Also, it advocates a strict interpretation and implementation of Islamic law, under which thieves can be punished by cutting off their hands and murderers can face beheading. Al-Gamaa al-Islamiyya, once Egypt’s largest militant group, waged an insurrection against the government in the 1990s but has since renounced violence.
Denver Post wire services
