Libya’s envoy to India resigns in protest
By IANSMonday, February 21, 2011
NEW DELHI -Libya’s ambassador to India Ali al-Essawi has resigned to protest his government’s crackdown on demonstrators calling for the ouster of long-time Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, the BBC reported.
The BBC, on its Arabic service website, said the Libyan envoy also accused his government of deploying foreign mercenaries against the protesters.
When contacted, the Libyan embassy in New Delhi declined to comment.
Meanwhile, a senior Libyan diplomat in China resigned Monday and called on his country’s army to intervene in the political unrest, Al-Jazeera said.
The diplomat, Hussein Sadiq al Musrati, resigned on air while talking to Al-Jazeera Arabic.
Musrati called on the Libyan army to intervene, and called all diplomatic staff to resign, Al-Jazeera said in a posting on its blog.
He claimed that a gunfight had taken place between Gaddafi’s sons and also claimed that Gaddafi may have left Libya. Al-Jazeera said it had no confirmation of these claims.
Intense protests are taking place against Gaddafi, who has ruled Libya uninterruptedly for the past 41 years.
Benghazi city has witnessed bloodshed.
Over 200 people had been killed over the past two days, a doctor in Benghazi city told Al-Jazeera television, after protests turned violent Friday.
