TRIPOLI, May 7, 2011 (AFP) - Libya's tribal chiefs urged a general amnesty for all fighters engaged in the oil-rich nation's civil war, as Amnesty International said the regime's siege of Misrata could be a war crime.
Rebels, meanwhile, braced for a new ground assault by Muammar Gaddafi’s forces on Misrata, the main bastion of the insurgents in western Libya.
The National Conference for Libyan Tribes in a meeting that ended late Friday called for a “general amnesty law which will include all those who were involved in the crisis and took up arms.”
“The general amnesty law is a means of laying the path ahead for a new era of peace and forgiveness,” it said in a statement, without providing further details on the law, or a timetable for its passage.
But doubts were cast on the call as the statement referred to Libyan rebels as “traitors” and pledged not to “abandon” or “forsake” the strongman, whose ouster the insurgents are demanding.
The statement also called for marches to “liberate” rebel-held towns. “The conference also calls all Libyan tribes neighbouring the towns and cities hijacked by armed groups to move peacefully in popular marches to liberate those hijacked towns, disarming the armed rebels,” it said.
Libya is engulfed in a deadly rebellion against Gaddafi triggered by massive protests in February.
The protests were inspired by revolts that toppled long-time autocrats in Tunisia and Egypt and which escalated into war when government troops fired on demonstrators and protesters seized several eastern towns.
Tanks storm Syrian flashpoint city Banias
DAMASCUS, May 7 (AFP) - Syrian tanks stormed the flashpoint city of Banias Saturday, rights activists said, as President Bashar al-Assad ignored growing world outrage to press a violent crackdown on anti-regime protesters.
The military assault came after Syrian security forces shot dead at least 26 protesters Friday during a huge “Day of Defiance” against the regime, according to a toll by rights groups.
Rights activists reached by telephone from Nicosia said residents of Banias, in northwestern Syria on the Mediterranean coast, formed human chains in a bid to halt the military operation when it began very early Saturday.
Electricity and communications were cut as the tanks entered along three axes heading towards the southern sector of the city, the bastion of anti-regime protesters, the sources said. Tanks also encircled the nearby town of Baida while an army boat patrolled offshore, they added.
Opposition hopes for boost as Singapore votes
SINGAPORE, May 7 (AFP) - Singaporeans went to the polls today with opposition parties hoping to reduce the government's overwhelming majority amid voter disenchantment over the cost of living and immigration policies.
The People's Action Party (PAP), in power since 1959, won 82 of the 84 seats contested in 2006 but this time faces its most vigorous challenge in decades with tens of thousands of people attending opposition rallies.
Voters across the tropical island lined up in humid, 33 degree (91.4 Fahrenheit) weather before 12 hours of balloting started at 8:00 am (0000 GMT).
Six opposition parties fielded slates against the PAP, which was taken aback by the depth of public disquiet and forced to issue a rare apology for policy mistakes while appealing for support from new voters.
Opposition parties face tough restrictions on political activities.
Close to half of the 2.2 million voters were casting ballots for the first time, partly due to uncontested seats in past polls, adding an element of uncertainty in a country where publishing pre-election poll results is banned.
The opposition relied heavily on the Internet, particularly social media platforms such as Facebook, YouTube and Twitter, because the mainstream newspapers and broadcast media are widely regarded as PAP mouthpieces.
“People used to say they don't vote for the opposition because they don't have much of a choice, but the Workers' Party is fielding quite a strong team this time,” voter Annie Lim, 61, said in Aljunied, the most hard-fought constituency.
Voting is compulsory in Singapore, a former British colony which has a modified version of the Westminster parliamentary system.
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