Libya urged to examine Muammar Gaddafi's death

Libyan leaders have said they want to make sure "everybody knows Gaddafi is dead"

Libya's authorities have come under pressure to give a full account of the death of ex-leader Col Muammar Gaddafi.

The US said they should do it in an "open and transparent manner". The UN called for a full investigation, after video footage showed Col Gaddafi captured alive - and then dead.

His burial has been delayed with officials divided about what to do with the body. A post-mortem is expected.

Nato says it will end its campaign in Libya by 31 October.

The alliance's Secretary General, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, said that as the mission winds down, Nato "will make sure there are no attacks against civilians during the transition period".

Nato's seven-month campaign of air strikes was carried out under a UN mandate authorising the use of force to protect civilians in Libya.

Visits to freezer

Hundreds of Libyans have been queuing to get a glimpse of the body of Col Gaddafi in a meat storage room in Misrata.

The BBC's Gabriel Gatehouse in the city says some - mostly women - craned their necks to see the body of his son Mutassim, who was also killed on Thursday.

Officials, including acting Prime Minister Mahmoud Jibril, have also been to see the corpses.

Oil Minister Ali Tarhouni told Reuters news agency Col Gaddafi would not be released for immediate burial.

"I told them to keep it in the freezer for a few days... to make sure that everybody knows he is dead," he said.

It is unclear whether the ex-leader will be buried in Misrata, in his hometown of Sirte, where he and his son were captured, or elsewhere.

Officials from the National Transitional Council (NTC) have said they will conduct a secret burial and there is some speculation that they might even try to bury him at sea, as happened with al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden, to prevent any grave being turned into a shrine.

Autopsy

Meanwhile, questions are mounting as to exactly what happened in Col Gaddafi's last moments following his capture.

Mr Jibril said Col Gaddafi had been shot in the head in an exchange of fire between Gaddafi loyalists and NTC fighters in Sirte.

Video footage suggests he was dragged through the streets.

An NTC fighter told the BBC on Thursday that he found the former Libyan leader hiding in a drainage pipe and he had begged him not to shoot.

Misrata's chief forensic doctor, Othman al-Zintani, told al-Arabiya TV that full autopsies would be carried out on the bodies of Col Gaddafi and his son.

Senior NTC member Mohammed Sayeh told the BBC he doubted that the colonel had been deliberately killed, but added: "Even if he was killed intentionally, I think he deserves this."

In Washington, state department spokesman Mark Toner said the NTC "has already been working to determine the precise cause and circumstances of Gaddafi's death, and we obviously urge them to do so in an open and transparent manner as we move forward".

But Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the "way his death happened poses an entire number of questions".

Mr Lavrov called for a full investigation, echoing a similar call by UN Human Rights Commissioner Navi Pillay.

Her spokesman Rupert Colville told the BBC that the killing could have been illegal.

"There are two videos out there, one showing him alive and one showing him dead and there are four or five different versions of what happened in between those two cell phone videos. That obviously raises very, very major concerns," he said.

However, correspondents say few Libyans are worried about the manner of their former dictator's humiliating end. Celebrations continued late into the night across Libya.

The NTC is expected to formally announce the liberation of the country during the weekend.

Col Gaddafi, who came to power in a coup in 1969, was toppled in August. He was making his last stand in Sirte alongside two of his sons, Mutassim and Saif al-Islam, according to reports.

There are conflicting reports as to the whereabouts of Saif al-Islam, and Col Gaddafi's security chief - who are both at large.

It is believed Colonel Gaddafi and his entourage had been trying to flee Sirte

Gaddafi was 'killed in crossfire'

Amateur video of Col Gaddafi shortly before he was killed

Libya's Col Muammar Gaddafi was killed in crossfire in an assault on his birthplace of Sirte, officials say.

Acting Prime Minister Mahmoud Jibril said he had been shot in the head in an exchange between Gaddafi loyalists and National Transitional Council fighters.

He confirmed that Col Gaddafi had been taken alive, but had died before reaching hospital.

Nato's governing body, meeting in the coming hours, is expected to declare an end to its Libyan bombing campaign.

Nato Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said that with the death of Col Gaddafi "that moment has now moved much closer".

"After 42 years, Col Gaddafi's rule of fear has finally come to an end," he said. "I call on all Libyans to put aside their differences and work together to build a brighter future."

Golden gun

Mr Jibril, number two in the National Transitional Council (NTC), held a news conference in Tripoli to confirm the colonel's death.

"We have been waiting for this moment for a long time. Muammar Gaddafi has been killed," he said.

Video footage suggests Col Gaddafi was dragged through the streets.

It is unclear from the footage, broadcast by al-Jazeera TV, whether he was alive or dead at the time.

Mr Jibril, number two in the National Transitional Council (NTC), held a news conference in Tripoli to confirm the colonel's death.

Later, he told journalists that a "forensic report" had concluded that the colonel had died from bullet wounds after he had been captured and driven away.

"When the car was moving it was caught in crossfire between the revolutionaries and Gaddafi forces in which he was hit by a bullet in the head," said Mr Jibril, quoting from the report.

"The forensic doctor could not tell if it came from the revolutionaries or from Gaddafi's forces."

Earlier, some NTC fighters gave a different account of the colonel's death, saying he had been shot by his captors when he tried to escape.

One NTC fighter told the BBC that he found Col Gaddafi hiding in a hole, and the former leader had begged him not to shoot.

The fighter showed reporters a golden pistol he said he had taken from Col Gaddafi.

Arabic TV channels showed images of troops surrounding two large drainage pipes where the reporters said Col Gaddafi was found.

US President Barack Obama said it was a "momentous day" for Libya, now that tyranny had fallen.

He said the country had a "long and winding road towards full democracy", but the US and other countries would stand behind Tripoli.

Col Gaddafi was toppled from power in August after 42 years in charge of the country.

He was making his last stand in Sirte alongside two of his sons, Mutassim and Saif al-Islam, according to reports.

Nato air strike

A body officials identified as that of Mutassim has been shown on Libyan TV.

A reporter for the Reuters news agency described how the body of Mutassim -- the former national security adviser -- had been laid out on blankets on the floor of a house in the city of Misrata, while local people jostled to take pictures of the corpse with their mobile phones.

Al-Jazeera TV broadcast footage it says showed Col Gaddafi's body

The body of Col Gaddafi was also taken to Misrata.

There are conflicting reports as to the whereabouts of Saif al-Islam.

Acting Justice Minister Mohammad al-Alagi told the AP news agency Saif al-Islam had been captured and taken to hospital with a leg wound.

But another NTC official said his whereabouts were unknown.

Nato, which has been running a bombing campaign in Libya for months, said it had carried out an air strike earlier on Thursday.

French Defence Minister Gerard Longuet said French jets had fired warning shots to halt a convoy carrying Col Gaddafi as it tried to flee Sirte.

He said Libyan fighters had then descended and taken the colonel.

Proof of Col Gaddafi's fate came in grainy pieces of video, first circulated among fighters, and then broadcast by international news channels.

The first images showed a bloodied figure presumed to be Col Gaddafi.

Later, video emerged of the colonel being bundled on to the back of a pick-up truck after being captured alive.

None of the video footage has been independently verified.

'Full of challenges'

Libyans gathered in towns and cities across the country to celebrate the reports of the colonel's death.

The BBC's Gabriel Gatehouse has visited the drain where Col Gaddafi was reportedly found by NTC forces

Groups of young men fired guns in the air, and drivers honked horns in celebration.

In the capital Tripoli, wild scenes of celebration continued into the night, with cars clogging the city centre.

Col Gaddafi's death came after weeks of fierce fighting for Sirte, one of the last remaining pockets of resistance.

A senior official, Mahmoud Shammam, told the BBC that fighting throughout Libya was over.

World leaders urged the NTC to carry through its promise to reform the country.

UK Prime Minister David Cameron, who had taken a leading role in Nato's intervention, said it was "a day to remember all of Col Gaddafi's victims".

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon called it a "historic" moment, but warned: "The road ahead for Libya and its people will be difficult and full of challenges."

Officials said the NTC intended to announce the "liberation of the country" in the coming days, allowing them to begin pushing through democratic reforms that will lead to elections.

Kenyans hunt for kidnappers of Spanish MSF aid workers

The BBC's Nawaz Shah says it is unclear who kidnapped the MSF doctors

Police in Kenya say they are hunting for the gunmen responsible for abducting two Spanish woman aid workers near the Kenya-Somalia border.

Regional police chief Leo Nyongesa said he believed the attackers had come from Somalia and that they were pursuing them by road and air.

The government blames al-Shabab militants for the attack.

The Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) workers were taken from Dadaab refugee camp, the world's largest, on Thursday.

The camp lies about 50 miles (80km) from the Somalia-Kenya border and houses nearly half a million refugees fleeing famine in the Horn of Africa.

The aid workers' Kenyan driver was wounded in the attack and is now in hospital, MSF say.
In recent weeks, two other foreign women - one English, the other French - have been kidnapped near the border and are believed to have been taken to Somalia.

Al-Shabab denial
Kenyan police say they are confident they will find the gunmen, who they says fled towards Somalia from the camp.

"We are following them by the road and air. We have closed the borders. We are tracking them down," Mr Nyongesa said.

The BBC's Kevin Mwachiro in Nairobi says it is feared that the aid workers may have been taken across the border, which is highly porous.

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Antonio Guterres, said police had recovered an abandoned vehicle.

"The Kenyan police acted very quickly today," he said.

"They mobilised not only the local forces but two helicopters, as a matter of fact, the car has been recovered but unfortunately the two colleagues have not yet been found."

The Kenyan government says it believes the al-Shabab militant group, which controls large swathes of Somalia, is behind the attack.

However a senior al-Shabab official, who did not want to be named, denied the accusation.
"We heard about the MSF abductions but we were not behind it," the official in southern Somalia told Reuters news agency.

"Nor have they been brought into any area under our control," he said.

The head of MSF in Spain, Jose Antonio Bastos, condemned the attack.

"MSF is in contact with all the relevant authorities and is doing all it can to ensure the swift and safe return of our colleagues.

"Meanwhile, our thoughts are with them and with their families in this difficult time".

MSF has set up a crisis team but says it will not provide any further information for the moment in order to ensure a rapid and safe resolution.

'Complicates aid efforts'
Adan Keynan, chairman of the parliament's defence and foreign relations committee, said he was "deeply shocked and saddened".

"This is a barbaric action, and the people of responsible nations must unite and fight this menace. This is an organised criminal gang who are hell-bent on causing fear and mayhem among people of Kenya," he told Reuters.

The attack happened near the Ifo camp, one of three areas that make up Dadaab. In all, Dadaab now houses 450,000 refugees, making it the equivalent of Kenya's third-largest city.

Correspondents say the attack complicates the humanitarian aid effort that is taking place in Dadaab, which has expanded as a result of the region's worsening food crisis.

The region is experiencing its worst drought in more than half a century. Tens of thousands of people have died.

The UN has declared a famine in six regions of Somalia, most of them under the control of al-Shabab.

Last month, 56-year-old Briton Judith Tebbutt was kidnapped by gunmen from a remote Kenyan resort at Kiwayu. Her husband David was killed. Mrs Tebbutt is believed to be held by al-Shabab in Somalia.

On 1 October, a 66-year-old French woman was seized by an armed gang on Kenya's northern resort island of Manda and taken to Somalia.

And a Kenyan driver working for the Care charity was abducted from Dadaab on 21 September.

The UK Foreign Office has advised against all but essential travel to the Kenyan coast near the Somali border.

Aid workers from Kenya camp seized near Somali border

The sprawling Dadaab refugee camp houses an estimated 450,000 people

Gunmen have kidnapped two Spanish doctors working for the medical charity Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) near Kenya's border with Somalia.

The two were seized from the Dadaab refugee camp, which houses hundreds of thousands of refugees fleeing famine in the Horn of Africa.

Their Kenyan driver was injured and is now in hospital, MSF say.

In recent weeks, two foreign women - one English, the other French - have been kidnapped near the border.

Kenyan police told the BBC they were pursuing the kidnappers towards the Somali border by road and by air.

Al-Shabab?
MSF have confirmed the two missing doctors are European and have released a brief statement.
"This morning an MSF team suffered an incident in Dadaab," the statement says.

"One driver was injured: he's currently hospitalised and stable. Two international staff are missing. A crisis team has been set up to deal with this incident."

Kenyan police have said the two doctors are both Spanish women.

"Two female aid workers working for MSF were... kidnapped by suspected al Shabab militants in Dadaab refugee camp," regional police commander Leo Nyongesa told the Reuters news agency.

The attack happened near the Ifo camp, one of three areas that make up Dadaab, just 80km (50 miles) from the Somali border. In all, Dadaab now houses 450,000 refugees, making it the equivalent of Kenya's third-largest city.

Security in and around Dadaab is notoriously bad.

It is not yet clear who was behind this latest kidnapping.

The Islamist al-Shabab group controls much of southern Somalia but usually denies allegations of involvement in such cases.

The BBC's Bashkash Jugsodaay, at Dadaab, has seen two helicopters heading towards the Kenya-Somalia border.

It is unclear whether al-Shabab or bandits were behind the attack, our reporter says.

Refugees told our reporter that bandits - armed with AK-47 rifles - often enter the camp at night, robbing them of their belongings.

The UN has declared a famine in six regions of Somalia, most of them under the control of al-Shabab.

The region is experiencing its worst drought in more than half a century.

Al-Shabab, which is affiliated with al-Qaeda and controls large swathes of south and central Somalia, had imposed a ban on foreign aid agencies in its territories in 2009.

However, it has recently allowed limited access.

The autumn rains have now begun in Mogadishu, alleviating the drought. Thousands of people have arrived in the Somali capital in recent weeks, fleeing food shortages.

Last month, 56-year-old Briton Judith Tebbutt was kidnapped by gunmen from a remote Kenyan resort at Kiwayu. Her husband David was killed. Mrs Tebbutt is believed to be held by al-Shabab in Somalia.

On 1 October, a 66-year-old French woman was seized by an armed gang on Kenya's northern resort island of Manda and taken to Somalia.

And a Kenyan driver working for the Care charity was abducted from Dadaab on 21 September.

The UK Foreign Office has advised against all but essential travel to the Kenyan coast near the Somali border.

Libya conflict: Confusion over Mutassim Gaddafi's fate

Mutassim Gaddafi is an officer in his father's army and was a national security advisor

There are conflicting reports in Libya about the fate of one of ousted leader Col Muammar Gaddafi's sons.

Some figures from the National Transitional Council told news agencies Mutassim Gaddafi had been seized in the family's embattled hometown of Sirte.

However, officials in the NTC stronghold of Benghazi could not confirm the claims, which have sparked celebratory gunfire in several cities.

NTC forces say they now control most of Sirte, following fierce fighting.

Where is Gaddafi?
There have been false reports of the capture of senior Gaddafi figures in the past, including another son, Saif al-Islam, and Gaddafi spokesman Moussa Ibrahim.

But if confirmed, Mutassim Gaddafi's capture would be a major breakthrough for the NTC, says the BBC's Caroline Hawley in Tripoli.

He is a senior officer in Col Gaddafi's army and was a national security advisor to his father.

The NTC would want to question him as to the whereabouts of his father and other family members such as Saif and another son Khamis - both in Col Gaddafi's inner circle - analysts say.
Col Gaddafi is believed to be somewhere in Libya's southern deserts. His supporters are also holding out in the town of Bani Walid.

The reports that Mutassim Gaddafi was captured sparked celebrations in Libya

Reuters news agency quotes NTC officials as saying Mutassim was captured as he tried to escape Sirte in a car with a family. The officials said he had been taken to Benghazi and was being held in a military camp.

Col Abdullah Naker told Reuters that he had been seized on Wednesday.

NTC advisor Abdelkarim Bizama told AFP news agency that Mutassim "was captured at Sirte and was transferred to Benghazi" on Wednesday.

Mutassim Gaddafi's presence in the city, and that of several other senior figures in the former regime, is believed to be responsible for the fierce resistance the anti-Gaddafi fighters have encountered.

'Victory near'
On Wednesday the head of Libya's National Transitional Council (NTC), Mustafa Abdul Jalil, said he was optimistic they would soon declare total victory.

"I hope that liberation will be declared in less than a week, after we free Sirte," he said at a news conference with Tunisian Prime Minister Caid Essebsi in Benghazi.

"And within less than a month we will form a transitional government and the youth and women will have a role in that."

The NTC said taking Sirte would be a major step in being able to govern the whole of Libya, giving them full control of the country's ports and harbours.

Thousands of civilians have fled the city in recent weeks but an unknown number are thought to have stayed behind, facing shortages of food, medicine and drinking water.

Cars leaving Sirte are being stopped and searched at checkpoints to prevent escaping pro-Gaddafi fighters passing themselves off as civilians.

Libya NTC interim forces launch Sirte attack

Transitional troops are hoping Sirte will be their last major battle

Forces loyal to Libya's transitional government have launched a major assault on the city of Sirte, one of the last Gaddafi strongholds.

Hundreds of vehicles have advanced on the city from both the east and the west and are close to the centre.

Thousands of civilians have already left Sirte but many more are thought to have remained behind.

The BBC's Jonathan Head, on the city's outskirts, says it is by far the biggest assault in recent days.

Sustained tank and mortar fire has been targeting Sirte and there are huge columns of smoke across the city, some 360km (225 miles) east of Tripoli, with many buildings struck and on fire, says our correspondent.

This appears to be the final push for Col Gaddafi's home town, he adds, as the country has been unable to think about the future until Sirte falls.

The interim authority's troops are coming from both Misrata in the west and Benghazi in the east.

The Benghazi forces are only 1km from the city centre but have faced heavy resistance from snipers inside the city.
Libya forces in big Sirte assault

The Ouagadougou conference centre, where many of the Gaddafi loyalists are believed to have gathered, has become the focus of the artillery barrages.

On Thursday, an NTC military commander Col Abdel Salam Gadallah said three quarters of the city was in their hands.

"God willing, in two days maximum all of Sirte will be clean."

The NTC troops have given civilians in Sirte the opportunity to leave, but there are fears that thousands have been unable to do so or believed warnings by pro-Gaddafi fighters that they would be attacked by the interim forces if they surrendered.

Efforts to negotiate with loyalist commanders have also failed.

The attack on Sirte came just hours after Col Gaddafi urged Libyans to take to the streets "in their millions" to resist the interim leaders.

In a poor quality audio message broadcast on Thursday on Syrian-based Arrai television, he said conditions in Libya had become "unbearable" and that the National Transitional Council (NTC) were not the country's legitimate leaders.

"I say to them, do not fear anyone. You are the people, you belong to this land," said Col Gaddafi, telling people to make their voices heard against the "Nato's collaborators" of the NTC.

The ousted leader's whereabouts remain unknown. Several of his family member are in hiding or have fled the country.

Nigeria arrests three ex-governors for alleged fraud

The men are alleged to have defrauded the government of hundreds of millions of dollars

Nigeria's anti-corruption agency arrests three former state governors for allegedly embezzling funds amounting to $674m (£436m).

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) said the former governors of Ogun, Oyo and Nasarawa states faced a series of charges.

They are likely to appear in court in the next few days.

Correspondents say the EFCC has made high-profile arrests before but has found hard to make the charges stick.

'Abused state contracts'
Former Ogun state governor Olugbenga Daniel, Adebayo Alao-Akala of Oyo state and Aliyu Akwe Doma of Nasarawa state were arrested Thursday, EFCC spokesman Femi Babafemi said.

During their time in office, the men are alleged to have abused state contracts and diverted government money for their personal use.

Mr Babafemi said Mr Daniel is accused of defrauding the state of $387m. He said Mr Alao-Akala and Mr Doma each face $167m and $120m fraud allegations. All three men are members of the ruling party.

The BBC's Jonah Fisher in Lagos says the EFCC has arrested high-profile figures before, but has so far been less successful in making the charges stick.

Nigeria's justice system is painfully slow and ill-equipped to deal with complex financial cases, our correspondent says.

Dalai Lama cancels South Africa Tutu trip over visa

China views the Dalai Lama as a dangerous "splittist"

The Dalai Lama has cancelled his trip to South Africa, where he had been invited by fellow Nobel Peace laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu.

The Tibetan spiritual leader's office said the South African government had failed to grant him a visa on time.

He was due to take part in Friday's celebrations to mark the archbishop's 80th birthday.

Pretoria has maintained that it did not come under pressure from China to stop the visit.

The row intensified as South Africa's Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe visited China for four days of talks last week, signing a number of bilateral trade and investment deals. He made no public mention of the visa issue while in China.

It is the second time in two years that the Dalai Lama's visit to South Africa has been blocked.

'Inconvenient'
"His Holiness was to depart for South Africa on 6 October 2011 but visas have not been granted yet," the Dalai Lama's office in northern India said in a statement.

"We are, therefore, now convinced that for whatever reason or reasons, the South African government finds it inconvenient to issue [a] visa to His Holiness the Dalai Lama."

The statement said he had cancelled his visit because he "does not want to create any inconveniences to anyone, individuals or governments" in his work, but that he "regrets the inconveniences caused to his hosts and the large number of South African public".

Beijing considers the Dalai Lama to be a dangerous separatist seeking to lead Tibet in breaking away from China.

But he has repeatedly stated that his goal is for greater Tibetan autonomy rather than independence.

Protests have been held outside South Africa's parliament by his supporters, who say the country's sovereignty is being compromised.

Archbishop Tutu's office had accused the South African government of dragging its feet over the visa application.

At the weekend, the Desmond Tutu Peace Centre put its name to a petition calling for the Dalai Lama to be allowed into South Africa.

Signatories to the petition said they were "ashamed and hurt" by the visa delays and that they believed the Dalai Lama was being refused entry "on the basis of political considerations that are inconsistent with our Constitution and the values contained in it".

Huge Somalia suicide car bomb kills dozens in capital

At least 65 people have been killed by a huge suicide blast near a government compound in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, say officials.

Eyewitnesses said a truck carrying explosives was driven into a gate near a government ministry and detonated.

A spokesman for the Islamist militant group al-Shabab told the BBC it had carried out the attack.

It is the largest attack since al-Shabab withdrew its forces from Mogadishu in August.

Rescue workers said more than 40 people had been injured in the blast.

The UN-backed transitional government condemned the attack and said no senior government officials were hurt in the blast. Government members were meeting in the building near the blast site at the time.

"The attack shows that the danger from terrorists is not yet over and that there are obviously still people who want to derail the advances that the Somali people have made towards peace," it said in a statement.

The government statement set the number of dead at 15, but it was not clear whether this was an earlier count.

'Walls fell apart'

The blast struck outside a compound housing government buildings in Kilometre Four (K4) - a crossroads in central Mogadishu. Buildings were destroyed.

Police officer Ali Hussein told the Associated Press news agency that the vehicle had exploded after pulling up at a checkpoint on the way into the official compound.

Somalia's Planning Minister Abdullahi Godah Barreh told the BBC's Focus on Africa programme he was in his office when the blast hit.

"All of a sudden a huge, huge sound and all the furniture and all the windows and all the walls started falling apart," he said.

The vehicle carrying the explosives was big, he said, about an eight- or 10-tonne truck.

"The building that has been destroyed houses eight ministries, and you can imagine how crowded it would have been. I expect the casualty toll to be very high."

He said the area was well protected which is "why we have a high number of soldiers among the dead".

"There was some protection, but unfortunately, it was not good enough.

"Almost half of the cabinet sit in that building. So you can understand it was a good target for them - the terrorists."

BBC Somali's Mohammed Dhore in Mogadishu said vehicles were on fire, bodies were lying in the street and shocked soldiers were randomly firing into the air.

Our correspondent said it was the worst incident he had ever come across.

One aid worker said body parts had landed hundreds of metres from the scene.

Among those killed were students who had been queuing at the main gate to take an exam at the education ministry in order to gain a scholarship to study in Turkey.

Ali Abdullahi, a nurse at Medina hospital in the city, said victims were being brought in with horrific wounds, including burns and lost limbs. Some had been blinded, he said.

"It is the most awful tragedy I have ever seen," he told AP.

"Dozens are being brought here minute-by-minute. Most of the wounded people are unconscious and others have their faces blackened by smoke and heat."

Ali Muse, the head of Mogadishu's ambulance service, said he expected the death toll to increase.

"The explosion has not only affected the targeted place, but even passer-by people and car passengers died there."

An official from the African Union, which has peacekeeping troops in Somalia, said the incident was "very serious".

Famine crisis

Somalia has been without an effective central government since 1991 - the weak transitional government and Islamist militias are competing for control of the country.

Al-Shabab, which has links to al-Qaeda, controls large swathes of south and central Somalia.

It retreated from Mogadishu two months ago, but analysts said without a front line it was likely to begin carrying out more bombings, including suicide attacks.

Last week, al-Shabab tried but failed to seize two towns from pro-government forces near Somalia's border with Kenya.

Somalia's political instability has been compounded in the past year by the worst drought in six decades, which has forced tens of thousands of people to flee to Mogadishu in search of food.

The UN has declared a famine in six regions of Somalia.

The BBC's East Africa correspondent, Will Ross, said the latest attack will not only worry the government, but also the aid agencies, who have been taking great risks to get food to the drought victims.

Violent attack in Nigeria village leaves 19 dead

At least 19 people have been shot or hacked to death in a brutal attack in a village in north-west Nigeria, police say.

Eyewitnesses said about 150 people raided the village of Lingyado, in Zamfara state close to the border with Niger, with guns and machetes.

A police spokesman said it appeared to be a reprisal attack in response to a similar incident in August.

Security forces have been sent to the area to restore order.

Police spokesman Sunusi Amiru said six others were wounded in the attack and were receiving medical attention.

"We are on top of the situation, we are on the trail of the suspects, we have deployed more men to the trouble spots," he told Reuters news agency.

The BBC's Nigeria correspondent Jonah Fisher says the victims were attacked as they emerged from their homes.

One witness, speaking from hospital, told the BBC that his house was targeted first, and that he saw both his grand-daughter and daughter-in-law killed.

Libya conflict: Hundreds of residents flee Sirte

The BBC's Jonathan Head reports from a makeshift refuelling station near Sirte

Streams of civilians have been fleeing the Libyan city of Sirte, ousted leader Muammar Gaddafi's birthplace.

Travelling in vehicles packed with belongings, they have been queuing at checkpoints leading out of the city.

Transitional authority forces say they are observing a truce to encourage the remaining civilians to get out, before launching a final assault.

Sirte is one of two major cities still holding out against the National Transitional Council (NTC) forces.

The whereabouts of Col Gaddafi remain unknown.

Hospital under fire

Scores of cars, buses and trucks piled high with household goods lined up at NTC checkpoints on the outskirts of Sirte all Sunday.

The fleeing residents said the situation in the city had deteriorated to such an extent that there was little food and no water or electricity.

"We couldn't leave our homes because of the shelling; we had to leave the city," Ahmed Hussein, travelling with his wife, mother-in-law and two children, told Associated Press news agency.

An International Red Cross team has been into Sirte and says there is an urgent need for medical aid.

The BBC's Jonathan Head, who is in the area, says that with the exodus picking up, anti-government forces hope they can finally take the town.

Reports suggest that Nato forces are continuing to target the area.

One man, Ali, said he and his family were leaving because "we are caught between Nato bombings and shelling by rebels".

"Nato, in particular, is bombing at random and is often hitting civilian buildings," he told the AFP news agency.

NTC fighter Masoud Jema al-Amari, told AFP that Nato had asked them to pull out of the village where Col Gaddafi was born - on the southern outskirts of Sirte - so they could launch air strikes.

Imam Mahmoud Hammoud al-Kaleni, who was leaving the village with his family, said anti-Gaddafi forces had told them they had to urgently leave.

"They came to our house and told us we had one hour to leave. They told us it was safe to leave," he said.

'Oxygen shortage'

The Geneva-based ICRC says nearly 10,000 people have now left Sirte, with at least a third setting up camp in desert areas just a few kilometres from the city not wishing to travel too far from their homes.

Continue reading the main story

In pictures: Civilians flee Sirte

It says that in Sirte itself, people are dying in the main hospital because of a shortage of oxygen and fuel.

An ICRC team was given security clearance from both sides to cross checkpoints and visit the city's Ibn Sima hospital on Saturday.

"The hospital is facing a huge influx of patients, medical supplies are running out and there is a desperate need for oxygen. On top of that, the water reservoir has been damaged," the ICRC said in a statement.

The team was able to pass through the front lines and deliver medical equipment.

However, they could not visit wounded people on the wards as the hospital came under fire.

"Several rockets landed within the hospital buildings while we were there," the leader of the ICRC team, Hichem Khadhraoui, told AFP.

"We saw a lot of indiscriminate fire. I don't know where it was coming from," Mr Khadhraoui said.

Gaddafi loyalists have been putting up stiff resistance in Sirte since NTC troops began their assault several weeks ago.

Bani Walid is the only other remaining centre of resistance against NTC forces.

Libya conflict: Hundreds of residents flee Sirte

Residents say there is little food and no water or electricity in Sirte

Streams of civilians are fleeing the besieged Libyan city of Sirte, ousted leader Muammar Gaddafi's birthplace.

Hundreds of residents, in vehicles packed with belongings, are queuing at checkpoints leading out of the city.

Transitional authority forces say they are observing a truce to encourage the remaining civilians to get out, before launching a final assault.

Meanwhile, an International Red Cross team has been into Sirte and says there is an urgent need for medical aid.

Sirte is one of two major cities still holding out against the National Transitional Council (NTC) forces.

The whereabouts of Col Gaddafi remain unknown.

War-wounded kits

Scores of cars, buses and trucks piled high with household goods were lined up at NTC checkpoints on the outskirts of Sirte on Sunday.

The fleeing residents said the situation in the city had deteriorated to such an extent that there was little food and no water or electricity.

"We couldn't leave our homes because of the shelling; we had to leave the city," Ahmed Hussein, travelling with his wife, mother-in-law and two children, told Associated Press news agency.

Another man, Ali, said he and his family were leaving because "we are caught between Nato bombings and shelling by rebels".

"Nato, in particular, is bombing at random and is often hitting civilian buildings," he told the AFP news agency.

The Geneva-based ICRC says nearly 10,000 people have now left Sirte, with at least a third setting up camp in desert areas just a few kilometres from the city not wishing to travel too far from their homes.

It says that in Sirte itself, people are dying in the main hospital because of a shortage of oxygen and fuel.

An ICRC team was given security clearance from both sides to cross checkpoints and visit the city's Ibn Sima hospital on Saturday.

"The hospital is facing a huge influx of patients, medical supplies are running out and there is a desperate need for oxygen. On top of that, the water reservoir has been damaged," the ICRC said in a statement.

The team was able to pass through the front lines and deliver medical equipment.

"What we have delivered is war wounded kits, I mean, basically this is medical equipment in order to be able to carry out operations for war wounded, about 200 war wounded patients," spokeswoman Soaade Messoudi told the BBC.

However, the team could not visit wounded people on the wards as the hospital came under fire.

"Several rockets landed within the hospital buildings while we were there," the leader of the ICRC team, Hichem Khadhraoui, told AFP.

"We saw a lot of indiscriminate fire. I don't know where it was coming from," Mr Khadhraoui said.

Gaddafi loyalists have been putting up stiff resistance in Sirte since NTC troops began their assault several weeks ago.

On Friday, the NTC troops captured the airport. Forces from the east and west of the country are moving against the city and are trying to launch co-ordinated attacks against the Gaddafi loyalists in the city centre.

Only when they have taken it will they consider Libya to be fully under their control, says the BBC's Jonathan Head on the outskirts of the city.

Bani Walid is the only other remaining centre of resistance against NTC forces.

Libya conflict: Sirte medical need dire, says Red Cross

aFierce fighting for the besieged Libyan city of Sirte has left people there in desperate need of medical aid, says the International Red Cross.

People are dying in the main hospital because of a shortage of oxygen and fuel, the ICRC said.

Libya's transitional authorities called a two-day truce on Friday to let civilians leave, but the ICRC team said fighting was continuing.

Troops loyal to ousted leader Muammar Gaddafi are being slowly pushed back.

Sirte, Col Gaddafi's hometown, and Bani Walid are the two main centres of resistance against the forces of the National Transitional Council (NTC).


'Rocket fire'
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Geneva said its team had security clearance from both sides to cross checkpoints and visit Ibn Sima hospital.

"The hospital is facing a huge influx of patients, medical supplies are running out and there is a desperate need for oxygen. On top of that, the water reservoir has been damaged," the ICRC said in a statement.

The team was able to pass through the front lines and deliver medical equipment.

"What we have delivered is war wounded kits, I mean, basically this is medical equipment in order to be able to carry out operations for war wounded, about 200 war wounded patients," spokeswoman Soaade Messoudi told the BBC.

However, they could not visit wounded people on the wards as the hospital came under fire.

"Several rockets landed within the hospital buildings while we were there," the leader of the ICRC team, Hichem Khadhraoui, told AFP news agency.

"We saw a lot of indiscriminate fire. I don't know where it was coming from," Mr Khadhraoui said.

Staff at the hospital told the Red Cross that people were dying because of a lack of oxygen and fuel for the generator, he said.

Gaddafi loyalists have been putting up stiff resistance in Sirte since the troops supporting the National Transitional Council (NTC) began their assault several weeks ago.

On Friday, the NTC troops captured the airport. Forces from the east and west of the country are moving against the city and are trying to launch co-ordinated attacks against the Gaddafi loyalists in the city centre.

But they are reluctant to mount a full scale assault to avoid civilian casualties.

Zambia's president replaces anti-corruption chief

Mr Sata has got rid of several top officials since his poll victory

Zambia's newly-elected President Michael Sata has dismissed the head of the country's anti-corruption watchdog.

A presidential statement said Godfrey Kayukwa would be replaced by Rosewin Wandi, without giving further details.

Mr Kayukwa is considered to be a close aide to former President Rupiah Banda, who lost last month's tightly-contested elections to Mr Sata.

During the campaign, Mr Sata pledged to stem out corruption among government officials.

And during the swearing-in ceremony last week he said: "Corruption has been a scourge in this country and there is a wide link between corruption and poverty."

The previous government was criticised for not being tough on tackling graft.

Rwanda genocide court jails former ministers

All four ex-ministers were accused of calling for the massacre of Tutsis in meetings and speeches

Two former Rwandan ministers have been sentenced to 30 years in jail by the UN war crimes tribunal for involvement in Rwanda's genocide in 1994.

Former civil service minister Prosper Mugiraneza and former trade minister Justin Mugenzi were convicted of complicity to commit genocide and incitement to commit genocide.

But two other former ministers were acquitted due to lack of evidence.

The judgements come nearly eight years after the trial began.

They come 12 years since the former ministers were arrested.

The tribunal, based in the Tanzanian town of Arusha, was formed in late 1994 to try the alleged perpetrators of the genocide, in which nearly 800,000 people, mainly Tutsis, were killed.

In this case, all four ministers were accused of calling for the massacre of Tutsis during public meetings held across Rwanda and in speeches, some of which were aired on radio.

But Judge Khalida Rachid Khan, Judge Lee Gacuiga Muthoga and Judge Emile Francis Short acquitted former health minister Casimir Bizimungu and former foreign affairs minister Jerome-Clement Bicamumpaka, citing a lack of evidence.

The trial took place from 2003 to 2008, and Judge Short issued a partially dissenting opinion, saying the two convicts deserved a reduction of five years for violation of right to trial without undue delay, the tribunal said in a news release.

Mr Bizimungu was arrested in Kenya in February 1999, while the other three were all arrested in Cameroon in April 1999, the tribunal said.

Kenya's Nobel laureate Wangari Maathai dies aged 71

Kenya's Nobel laureate Wangari Maathai has died in Nairobi while undergoing cancer treatment. She was 71.

She won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2004 for promoting conservation, women's rights and transparent government - the first African woman to get the award.

She was elected as an MP in 2002 and served as a minister in the Kenyan government for a time.

Ms Maathai founded the Green Belt Movement, which has planted 20-30 million trees in Africa.

'Role model and heroine'
"It is with great sadness that the family of Professor Wangari Maathai announces her passing away on 25 September, 2011, at the Nairobi Hospital, after a prolonged and bravely borne struggle with cancer," the Green Belt Movement said in a statement.

"Her loved ones were with her at the time.

"Professor Maathai's departure is untimely and a very great loss to all who knew her - as a mother, relative, co-worker, colleague, role model, and heroine; or who admired her determination to make the world a more peaceful, healthier, and better place."

The organisation did not provide further details.

The BBC's Will Ross said Ms Maathai was seen as a source of inspiration

Ms Maathai, who was a professor of veterinary anatomy, rose to international fame for campaigns against government-backed forest clearances in Kenya in the late 1980s-90s.

Under the former government of President Daniel Arap Moi, she was arrested several times, and vilified.

In 2008, Ms Maathai was tear-gassed during a protest against the Kenyan president's plan to increase the number of ministers in the cabinet.

In her speech accepting the Nobel prize, Ms Maathai said she hoped her own success would spur other women on to a more active role in the community.

"I hope it will encourage them to raise their voices and take more space for leadership," she said.

The President of Liberia, Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, said she was saddened by the news.

"Africa, particularly African women, have lost a champion, a leader, an activist. We're going to miss her. We're going to miss the work she's been doing all these years on the environment, working for women's rights and women's participation," she said.

Libya's NTC troops renew assault on pro-Gaddafi Sirte

Libya's interim government forces are renewing their attack on Sirte, one of the last pro-Gaddafi strongholds.

Alastair Leithead says anti-Gaddafi fighters have made a "major breakthrough"

National Transitional Council (NTC) fighters had regrouped overnight after making major gains on Saturday.

Troops entered from both west and east and, at one stage, were within 1km (0.5 miles) of the city centre, after weeks of stalemate.

Sirte is Colonel Muammar Gaddafi's birthplace, but it is not known if he is in the city.

The city has always been a hugely symbolic target for the NTC, and it seems close to being won, reports the BBC's Alastair Leithead, who is with anti-Gaddafi forces in Sirte.

Gaddafi snipers
Gunfire could be heard and black smoke was seen rising as NTC soldiers carried out their surprise pincer assault on the city on Saturday.

The advance was especially swift from the east, our correspondent says.

NTC fighters pushed far along the road towards the city centre, outpacing the protection of the artillery and rockets which had been bombarding what was left of the pro-Gaddafi positions.

NTC fighter El-Tohamy Abuzein told the Reuters news agency that pro-Gaddafi snipers were firing from mosques and other buildings.

"They're using the houses and public buildings," he said.

At least two soldiers of the interim government were killed, reports say.

NTC fighters tried to push into Sirte last weekend but were driven back by pro-Gaddafi forces entrenched in the city.

Nato aircraft hit targets in the Sirte area on Saturday, as part of the alliance's UN-mandated mission to protect civilians. Nato air strikes have played a major role in the conflict.

The NTC is also facing strong resistance in the only other remaining Gaddafi stronghold, Bani Walid to the south-east of the capital, Tripoli.

'Coming to life'
In Tripoli, explosions were heard on Saturday afternoon. Plumes of smokes were seen rising from the harbour area.

Officials later said it had been an accident at a military storage facility.

Also on Saturday, NTC chairman Mustafa Abdul Jalil said a new interim government would be announced within a week.

At the UN headquarters in New York, Libya's interim Prime Minister Mahmoud Jibril gave his first address to the General Assembly.

He said a new democratic Libya was "coming to life" and reaching out to the international community.

Mr Jibril asked member states to unlock all of Libyan assets, which had been frozen under UN sanctions, "to assure reconstruction and rehabilitation of the country".

Col Gaddafi went into hiding after Tripoli fell to NTC forces in August, six months into the uprising.

The whereabouts of the former leader - who ruled Libya for 42 years - are unknown. Many of his relatives and aides have taken refuge in neighbouring Algeria and Niger.

Meanwhile a report on the NTC's Qatar-based Libya TV criticised the Algerian authorities over an audio message broadcast by Col Gaddafi's daughter Aisha - who has fled to Algeria.

The message, in which Aisha Gaddafi criticised the new Libyan government, was broadcast on Friday by a pro-Gaddafi TV channel in Syria.

Libya TV said Aisha Gaddafi should not be allowed to make political statements. She was granted entry in Algeria for humanitarian reasons.

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