BBC news 2011-03-06 加文本

BBC news 2011-03-06

BBC News with David Austin.

Residents of the rebel-held city of Zawiya close to the Libyan capital Tripoli say it’s now quiet after a day of intense fighting with forces loyal to Colonel Gaddafi. Residents told the BBC that government tanks which had been shelling buildings in the centre of the city withdrew suddenly for reasons that are unclear. The BBC’s Wyre Davies in Tripoli has been monitoring events in Zawiya.

We know from people phoning into the BBC today from the, from inside the actual town itself that there has been heavy clashes between government forces and anti-government soldiers. So, I think the situation there is fluid. It’s quite clear that the government has made a concerted effort to launch a very big attack against the town because it is trying to consolidate its power here in western Libya, an area where of course it is dominant including the capital Tripoli.

Rebel forces in eastern Libya are pushing further along the Mediterranean coast toward Sirte, a heavily fortified stronghold of Colonel Gaddafi’s supporters. The rebel fighters have now captured Bin Jawad, a small settlement about 150 kilometres from Sirte. One resident of Sirte, Dr Sunita Singh, told the BBC that many foreigners were leaving. She said the sound of artillery fire could be clearly heard.

“It’s the first time that we are hearing artillery fire in the daytime. Usually it used to be at night, sometimes, you know. So that’s a big change, you know. It’s outside of the city, but we can hear it very clearly and I stay right in the middle of the city.”

A group set up by Colonel Gaddafi’s opponents in eastern Libya has met to issue its first formal proclamation. The 30-member national council is headed by the former Justice Minister Mustafa Abud Al Jeleil. Speaking in Benghazi, he said the council was now Libya’s sole legitimate representative.

Hundreds of Egyptian protesters in Cairo have entered the main building of the secret police to try to prevent staff from destroying evidence that could be used in later trials of officials. They also want the organisation to be dismantled, one of the main demands of the protest movement since President Mubarak was ousted last month. From Cairo, here’s Alastair Leithead.

One of the protesters told the BBC that they’d been allowed into the building by guards, and had discovered piles of shredded documents, but nobody inside. The army has secured the building. They are seen by the protesters as being on their side. The internal security services were the feared enforcers of Hosni Mubarak’s three decades in power. It was their agents who used violence as to try and stop the protests in Tahrir Square.

The Saudi government has warned against any public protests, saying that they are illegal and against the teachings of Islam. The government said that the police would take all measures needed against those who tried to break the law. The interior ministry issued the warning after small protests on Friday in the predominantly Shia region of eastern Saudi Arabia. There've been calls for other demonstrations later this month.

World News from the BBC.

The newly-appointed US special envoy for Afghanistan and Pakistan, Marc Grossman, has stressed the importance of pursuing a diplomatic settlement in Afghanistan alongside military operations. During his first visit to Kabul, he said the United States supported the Afghan government’s move towards talks with the Taliban, but he said it was important that the Taliban end its alliance with al-Qaeda.

In the latest stage of an offensive against Islamist militants in Somalia, forces loyal to the transitional government have captured a key town near the border with Kenya and Ethiopia. Ethiopian soldiers were also reported to be involved in the fighting for the town of Bulo Hawo. Will Ross reports.

The Kenyan and Ethiopian authorities will be hoping that Bulo Hawo stays in the hands of pro-Somali government troops. They want al-Shabab as far away from their borders as possible. Meanwhile, in the Somali capital Mogadishu, the African Union peacekeeping force, known as AMISOM, says it has foiled a suicide bomb attack by Islamist insurgents. A spokesman said a jeep flying a black flag was heading towards an AMISOM base, but he said soldiers destroyed the vehicle, killing all the suicide bombers inside.

Hundreds of people have taken part in a protest in the Bosnian capital Sarajevo against the arrest of a retired Bosnian army general accused by Serbia of war crimes. Jovan Divjak was detained at Vienna Airport on Thursday at Serbia’s request. On Saturday, his supporters gathered outside the Austrian embassy in Sarajevo to demand his release.

International football authorities have stepped into the world of fashion and banned snoods, or neck-warmers, for footballers. A number of players in the English Premier League had adopted them in cold weather. Now the International Football Association Board has said that must stop immediately on safety grounds. The suggestion was that opponents might grab the snood when a player was running at speed.

And that’s the latest BBC News.