LIBYA: Gadhafi foes capture almost all of ex-leader’s stronghold.
Revolutionary forces have captured almost all of Bani Walid, one of Moammar Gadhafi’s last remaining strongholds but still face pockets of resistance, officials said Monday.
Fierce resistance in Bani Walid and Gadhafi’s hometown of Sirte has prevented Libya’s new leaders from declaring full victory and setting a timeline for elections.
In a step toward normalcy, the transitional leadership council confirmed that it has signed an agreement with NATO that partially lifts the no-fly zone imposed in March over the country, allowing resumption of some flights without seeking NATO approval.
YEMEN: Battles kill 18, stir fears of civil war.
Fighting between troops loyal to Yemen’s embattled leader and rival forces killed at least 18 people Monday, including eight supporters of a powerful tribal chief who defected to the opposition in March.
The predawn fighting, the worst in weeks in the capital, Sana, has revived fears of civil war in the strategically located nation on the southern corner of the Arabian Peninsula. A civil war would hurt efforts by Washington and Saudi Arabia to fight Yemen’s dangerous al-Qaeda branch.
SYRIA: U.N. chief calls for dialogue, halt to killings.
Syria’s leaders must stop “continuing to kill their own people,” launch “inclusive dialogue” and undertake “decisive” political reforms “before it is too late,” U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon said Monday in Bern, Switzerland.
Meanwhile, an opposition group seeking to oust President Bashar Assad said that at least 23 more people had been killed in the country, including 19 in Homs, a center of the anti-regime protest movement. The group accused the government of detaining doctors who treat demonstrators shot and beaten by government forces.
UNITED STATES: Alleged spy’s lawyer claims link to Kucinich trip.
The lawyer for a Virginia man accused of acting as a Syrian spy said Monday that his client’s recent travel to that country was part of a fact-finding mission led by U.S. Rep. Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio. Kucinich denies knowing the man.
A judge held a detention hearing Monday for Mohamad Soueid, 47, of Leesburg, after he was arrested last week and accused of spying on Syrian expatriates in the U.S. on behalf of the regime of President Bashar Assad.
Denver Post wire services
