To celebrate Eid al-Fitr, Syrian Troops murdered 7 more citizens including a kid. Amnesty International alleges that at least 88 protestors have died in prison. The US Administration has expanded sanctions on Syrian officials by 3 people and the EU is considering sanctions.
Libyan rebels have announced a 4 day deadline for Qaddaffi's hometown to surrender. NATO continues to bomb pro-Qaddaffi forces, on the grounds he still commands it and won't end the violence. Algeria has defended its decision to accept the Qaddaffi women on humanitarian grounds as the daughter gave birth. The AP has released 1993 & 1999 file pictures of the Qaddaffi daughter, Hana, supposedly killed in the 1986 bombing of Qaddaffi's abode. Evidently she was working in a Tripoli hospital last week. Zimbabwe's Mugabe, a long time friend of Qaddaffi has renounced the alliance and pledged loyalty to the apparent winners of the civil war in Libya.
Iran is also reaching out to the new Libyan government.
National Transitional Council leader Mustafa Abdel Jalil said his forces will initiate military action in Sirte if pro-Gadhafi troops do not complete negotiations and surrender by Saturday – one day after the end of the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr.
Anti-Gadhafi fighters say they are bracing for a final battle to gain control of Libya's last pro-Gadhafi holdouts. The four-day cease-fire relates primarily to Sirte, but also covers loyalist strongholds in Bani Walid and the southern city of Sabha.
Neither Mr. Gadhafi nor his most influential sons have been seen since anti-Gadhafi fighters seized the capital, Tripoli, last week. Some believe the former leader may be hiding in the south.
On Monday, Algeria allowed some of Mr. Gadhafi's family members – including his wife Safiya, daughter Aisha, and two of his sons, Mohammad and Hannibal – to enter the country from Libya.
Algerian officials said Mr. Gadhafi's daughter Aisha gave birth to a baby girl in an Algerian oasis deep in the Sahara on Tuesday. The country's U.N. ambassador said the group was allowed entry for “humanitarian considerations.” Algerian officials have said Aisha's pregnancy was one reason for the controversial decision to take the family in.
In Washington, U.S. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said the Gadhafi family was under a U.N.-mandated travel ban. Nuland confirmed Tuesday that Algeria had sent a letter of explanation to the international community. She said Washington will decide how to respond after the U.N. and NTC review the letter.
The NTC has demanded that authorities in Algeria extradite members of the Gadhafi family.
The U.N. late Tuesday approved Britain's appeal to release $1.55 billion in seized Libyan assets to address urgent humanitarian needs. Britain says the money will go to the Central Bank of Libya.
Last week, the U.N. approved the United States' request to release $1.5 billion in frozen Libyan assets to the NTC for humanitarian aid.
Meanwhile, NATO's Colonel Roland Lavoie told reporters Tuesday the alliance is aware of negotiations going on between pro- and anti-Gadhafi forces in Mr. Gadhafi's hometown. NATO has carried out airstrikes against radar sites, missile systems and armed vehicles.
Colonel Lavoie said Mr. Gadhafi still displays the ability to command and control military forces and weapons and has shown “no intent to retreat peacefully and call his forces off hostilities.”
Also Tuesday, a U.S. human rights group said it had uncovered evidence of possible war crimes by pro-Gadhafi forces in Misrata.
Physicians for Human Rights said in a report that forces loyal to Mr. Gadhafi carried out murder, torture, rape and forced internment. The report said the troops forced civilians to act as human shields to guard military munitions from NATO attacks, and blocked civilians from receiving humanitarian aid.
The World Food Program said Tuesday it is sending 600 metric tons of food to Tripoli along with other urgent supplies, including water, medicine and fuel to help people affected by the fighting. The group said the food will be distributed by the Libyan Red Crescent and help feed 35,000 people for one month.
Zimbabwe on Tuesday expelled the Libyan ambassador and his staff after they claimed allegiance to Libya's NTC. Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe is a strong ally of Mr. Gadhafi.
Meanwhile, European Union member Slovakia granted recognition to the NTC as the legitimate representative of the Libyan people.
IRAN is making overtures to Libya's rebels, announcing its first formal contact with Libya's opposition Transitional National Council .
According to a foreign ministry statement Tuesday, Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi discussed bilateral relations and “issues of mutual interest” with TNC leader Mustafa Abdel Jalil.
The statement says Jalil also called for the promotion of ties between Tehran and Tripoli when the two spoke by phone on Monday.
The statement adds that Jalil promised action concerning the 1978 disappearance of an Iranian-born imam in Libya.
Relations between Shiite majority Iran and Moammar Gadhafi's regime were strained by the disappearance of Imam Moussa Sadr.
The Lebanese Shi'ite spiritual leader disappeared shortly before he was due to meet with officials in Libyan leader Gadhafi's government.
Lebanese Shi'ites generally have blamed Mr. Gadhafi for his disappearance.
Iran has maintained a dual stance on the Libyan conflict. It has condemned Mr. Gadhafi in his fight against rebels while also criticizing NATO for intervening on the side of the rebels.
SYRIA: Activists say Syrian troops have killed at least seven people — including a 13-year-old boy — emerging from mosques on the first day of the Muslim holiday marking the end of Ramadan.
Tuesday's bloodshed took place at the start of the Eid al-Fitr festival in southern Daraa province, the central city of Homs and the capital, Damascus. Activists say protests calling for President Bashar al-Assad's ouster have grown more frequent since the fall of former Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi.
An opposition group, the Syrian Revolution Coordinating Union, said Syrian forces killed 551 people during Ramadan and that 130 others died on July 31 – the eve of the holy month – in a tank assault on the city of Hama.
Also Tuesday, Amnesty International said it believes at least 88 people, including 10 children, have died in detention during the five-month anti-government uprising. The rights group said 52 of them suffered some form of torture that likely contributed to their deaths. Before the uprising, its researchers typically recorded about five deaths per year in custody.
Meanwhile, the United States announced Tuesday it is widening its sanctions on Syria to include Foreign Minister Walid Muallem. The new asset-freezes and bans on business interactions also target the Syrian ambassador to Lebanon, Ali Abdul Karim Ali, and presidential adviser Bouthaina Shaaban.
A State Department spokeswoman said the three were targeted because of their role in propagating what she called the “reign of terror” that Mr. Assad has unleashed on his people.
Also Tuesday, EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton expressed deep concern about the Syrian government's violence against peaceful demonstrators and rights activists.
European diplomats said earlier that sanctions may be imposed on Syrian banks, energy and telecommunications companies within a week, along with a planned embargo on Syria's oil exports.
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