India and 14 other members of the UN Security Council agreed to hold yet another meeting soon to consider sanctions against the Gaddafi regime in Libya to end the crackdown by forces loyal to him against anti-government protesters.
Talking to newsmen, the Brazilian UN ambassador who holds the rotating Council presidency for February said, the Security Council is set to meet again on Saturday to consider a draft resolution, tabled by Britain, in response to the worsening situation on the ground in Libya.
The US has freezed assets of the Gaddafi and his kin and loyalists. This follows US President Barack Obama issued an executive order on Friday night announcing unilateral sanctions on the country.
The 27-nation European Union has reached consensus on imposing tough sanctions on Libya. A formal agreement on imposing a set of tough sanctions will be hammered out next week.
In Geneva, the UN Human Rights Council unanimously passed a resolution recommending suspension of Libya from the body and decided to conduct an independent probe into violations by the Gaddafi regime. The Swiss government has already frozen all assets of Gaddafi and his associates to prevent misappropriation while the autocratic regime is still in office in Libya.
Protests continued in Bahrain, Yemen and Egypt. In Bahrain, thousands of protesters still occupy Pearl Square in central Manama, demanding sweeping political reforms in the country. Bahraini Shi’ite opposition leader Hassan Meshaima returned home from self-imposed exile on Saturday. His return follows, just days after Bahrain’s king pardoned him and some political prisoners in a gesture toward anti-government activists who have been protesting for two weeks.
In Yemen, two key tribes have abandoned their support to president Ali Abdullah Saleh with pressure intensifying on him to resign. Reports from Capital Sanaa say powerful tribal leaders, including those of the Hashid and Baqil have pledged to join protests against Saleh at a gathering north of the capital. The news came as an official denied reports that police killed four people on Friday in an assault on an anti-government protest in Aden.
Egypt’s ruling military council apologised on Saturday after military police beat protesters in Cairo’s Tahrir Square on Friday during demonstrations. The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces said that what happened late Friday was the result of unintentional confrontations between the military police and the youth of the revolution. with input from AIR