Obama Regrets UN, French Military Action in Cote d’ Ivoire, Posted by Meosha Eaton

By Williams Ekanem for MACTV News

President Barack Obama on Tuesday reacted over the military action by the United Nations and French forces in Cote  d’Ivoire regretting that “the violence that we are seeing could have been averted had Laurent Gbagbo respected the results of last year’s presidential election.”

In a statement made available to MAC.TV, President Obama said that "the people of Cote D’Ivoire have suffered too much throughout this period of unrest,” and pointed out that, “to end this violence and prevent more bloodshed, former President Gbagbo must stand down immediately, and direct those who are fighting on his behalf to lay down their arms."

According to the President of the United States, to end this violence and prevent more bloodshed, former President Gbagbo must stand down immediately, and direct those who are fighting on his behalf to lay down their arms.

While commending Quattara’s pledge to ensure accountability for those who have carried out attacks against civilians, Obama the United States will continue to support a future in which Laurent Gbagbo stands down, and President Outarra and the government of Cote D’Ivoire can move beyond this current crisis and serve all of the Ivorian people. 

 According to the President, the United States joins with the international community in our deep concern about reports of massacres in the western region of the country, and the dangers faced by innocent civilians – particularly the most vulnerable, and all parties must show restraint and respect the rights of the Ivorian people.

 French and UN soldiers were engaged in operations in Abidjan Monday to "neutralize" weapons used against civilians by fighters for Côte d’Ivoire strongman Laurent Gbagbo, the French government said.

Under the auspices of UN Security Council resolution 1975, the troops "have engaged in actions aimed at neutralizing heavy arms used against civilians and UN personnel in Abidjan," said a presidency statement.

The objectives of the military action was not outlined in further detail.

"The secretary general of the United Nations, [Ban Ki-moon] requested the support of French forces in these operations," said the statement.

"The president of the [French] Republic [Nicolas Sarkozy] responded positively to this request, and authorized French forces... to participate in operations conducted by ONUCI (the UN mission in Ivory Coast) aimed at protecting civilians."

"France calls for the immediate cessation of all violence against civilians. The perpetrators of these crimes must be brought to justice," said the presidency.

MACTV NEWS

Tunisian youth volunteer at border refugee camp, Posted by Meosha Eaton

Tunisian youth volunteer at the Ras Jdir camp, where Libyans fleeing violence in their country have taken refuge, to entertain them with games, sport and music, in an effort to alleviate the refugees' hardship.

SHOWS: RAS JDIR BORDER REFUGEE CAMP, TUNISIA (MARCH 21, 2011) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL)

1. VARIOUS OF REFUGEES PLAYING GAMES

2. MORE OF REFUGEES GATHERED

3. REFUGEES DRAWING

4. MORE OF REFUGEES PLAYING AND DANCING

5. A REFUGEE WATCHING THE ENTERTAINMENT

6. (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) TUNISIAN VOLUNTEER, NAHED JAMAL, SAYING:

"We're here with the aim to hold activities for those here in this camp, and to lighten their mood against the terrible things that are happening in this region. Our programme is going on for two days, it started yesterday, and we had different activities, and there was a group of journalists from the Tunisian press, and we showed a comedy (film).''

7. MORE OF DANCING WITH AUDIENCE CLAPPING

8. (SOUNDBITE) (English) REFUGEE FROM NIGER, TENA, SAYING:

"About five days ago we are here, so trying to help everybody who will be going home time by time - eat, bathe, come here to listen to music or do something else. Nigeria, Ghana, Niger - many of them are here to dance, to play games, to win a prize so we are happy."

9. TENTS ON THE CAMP

10. MORE OF PEOPLE DANCING

STORY: A group of Tunisian youth volunteered at the Ras Jdir border refugee camp, where scores of people fleeing from violence in Libya have sought refuge in recent weeks.

The Tunisian youth, who stayed at the camp for two days entertained refugees with games, sport and music in an effort to alleviate the hardship migrants are undergoing said volunteer Nahed Jamal.

"We're here with the aim to hold activities for those here in this camp, and to lighten their mood against the terrible things that are happening in this region. Our programme is going on for two days, it started yesterday, and we had different activities, and there was a group of journalists from the Tunisian press, and we showed a comedy (film)," added Nahed Jamal.

The lively music and laughter coming from the stalls set up by the Tunisian youth drew large crowds who participated in the games and cheered their friends along in the range of activities.

Tena who is an evacuee originally from Niger said the games had made people in the camp happy.

"Nigeria, Ghana, Niger - many of them are here to dance, to play games, to win a prize so we are happy," Tena said.

Some 200,000 migrant workers have crossed from Libya into Tunis in the wake of widespread violence. Many were Egyptian workers most whom have been repatriated.

Now, thousands of Bangladeshi, Sudanese, Malians, Ghanaians, Somalis and Nigerians await in the camp near the border for their repatriation.

LIBYA'S GADDAFI SAYS INTERESTS OF MEDITERRANEAN, NORTH AFRICAN COUNTRIES WILL BE IN DANGER FROM NOW ON

Syrian mourners call for revolt, forces fire tear gas, Posted by Meosha Eaton

* Boldest challenge yet to President Assad

* Arrests of schoolchildren helped fuel protests

* Deraa figures meet authorities, demand prisoners' release

* Assad shortens conscription period


(Adds meeting, demands)

By Suleiman al-Khalidi

DERAA, Syria, March 19 (Reuters) - Thousands of mourners called on Saturday for "revolution" at the funeral of protesters killed by Syrian security forces, in the boldest challenge to Syria's rulers since uprisings began sweeping the Arab world.

Security forces responded by firing tear gas to disperse crowds in Deraa, a region south of the capital where at least 10,000 people demonstrated on Saturday at the funeral of two protesters, among at least four who were killed on Friday.

"Revolution, revolution. Rise up Hauran," chanted the mourners in Deraa, administrative capital of the Hauran plateau, as they marched behind the simple wooden coffins of Wissam Ayyash and Mahmoud al-Jawabra.

"God, Syria, Freedom. Whoever kills his own people is a traitor," they said. Some of the mourners left a mosque and headed for the centre to protest.

The two were killed when security forces opened fire on Friday on civilians taking part in a peaceful protest demanding political freedoms and an end to corruption in Syria, which has been ruled under emergency laws by President Bashar al-Assad's Baath Party for nearly half a century.

A third man killed on Friday, Ayhem al-Hariri, was buried in a village near Deraa earlier on Saturday. A fourth protester, Adnan Akrad, died on Saturday from his wounds.

Deraa was less tense by late afternoon, with security forces using less force after a meeting at the main Omari mosque between the authorities and prominent figures in the city.

An activist who was at the meeting said officials were presented with a list of demands, most importantly for the release of political prisoners. Among them were 15 schoolchildren arrested in Deraa this month after writing slogans on walls, inspired by revolutions in Egypt and Tunisia that swept their autocratic leaders from power.

The list demands the dismantling of secret police headquarters in Deraa, dismissal of the governor, a public trial for those responsible for the killings, and scrapping of regulations requiring permission from the secret police to sell and buy property.

"If they do not respond the protests will only escalate," the activist told Reuters.

An official statement said the interior ministry had formed a committee to investigate the "regrettable events" in Deraa.

The city is home to thousands of displaced people from eastern Syria, where up to a million people have left their homes because of a water crisis over the past six years. Experts say state mismanagement of resources has worsened the crisis.

The Hauran region, once a bread basket, has also been affected by diminishing water levels, with yields falling by a quarter in Deraa last year.


ARRESTS OF CHILDREN FUEL RESENTMENT

Protests against Syria's ruling elite, inspired by revolts in the Arab world, have gathered momentum this week after a silent protest in Damascus by 150 people demanding the release of thousands of political prisoners.

At least one activist from Deraa, Diana al-Jawabra, took part in the protest. She was arrested on charges of weakening national morale, along with 32 other protesters, a lawyer said.

Jawabra, who is from a prominent tribe, was campaigning for the release of the 15 schoolchildren from her home city. Residents say the children's arrests deepened feelings of repression and helped fuel the protests in Deraa.

Assad said in a January interview Syria's leadership was "very closely linked to the beliefs of the people" and there was no mass discontent.

"The leadership have given a clear signal that they are not in any hurry to embark on fundamental political reform," said a diplomat in the Syrian capital.

In a move seen as an attempt to address the discontent, Assad issued a decree on Saturday shortening mandatory army conscription from 21 months to 18 months.

The long conscription period has generated discontent, especially among youth who resent state tactics to bring them into service, such as random ID checking, and the withholding of food aid from families whose members escape conscription. (Editing by Andrew Roche)

Gaddafi advances, no-fly diplomacy falters, Posted by Meosha Eaton

* Libya government forces attack Misrata, 5 reported killed

* Gaddafi son says Benghazi will fall in next 48 hours

* Kouchner berates outside world for "doing nothing"

(Recast, adds Kouchner, Saif al-ISlam, Misrata death toll)

By Mohammed Abbas

TOBRUK, Libya, March 16 (Reuters) - The Libyan army shelled a rebel-held city and closed in on the opposition bastion of Benghazi on Wednesday as diplomatic steps to stop long-serving autocrat Muammar Gaddafi crushing a rebellion ran aground.

In Geneva, former French foreign minister Bernard Kouchner berated the international community for its delay in imposing a no-fly zone, saying it was already too late to save lives.

"A no-fly zone is a minimum. It's certainly already too late," Kouchner said of Gadadfi's crackdown on the increasingly vulnerable-looking uprising, which was inspired by pro-democracy rebellions that toppled the Egyptian and Tunisian presidents.

"Even if we were able to decide today, it's so late," he told World Radio Switzerland. "We've known since three weeks that the poor civil society, the poor people, are dying. And we are doing nothing."

In Benghazi, seat of the insurgents' provisional national council, the mood was a mixture of defiance and nervousness, with some citizens predicting a bloodbath and others confident the rebels would still snatch victory against the government offensive.

Italy, a potential base for such a no-fly zone proposed by Britain and France, ruled out military intervention in the oil-exporting north African country.

"We cannot have war, the international community should not, does not want and cannot do it," Foreign Minister Franco Frattini said in Rome.

The Libyan army told residents of Benghazi to lay down their arms, and one of Gaddafi's sons, Saif al-Islam, told Euronews TV that Libya's second largest city would fall whether or not world powers imposed a no-fly zone.

"Everything will be over in 48 hours," he said.

Aid organisation Medecins Sans Frontieres said the violence had forced it to withdraw its staff from Benghazi and begin moving teams to Alexandria in Egypt.

Residents in Misrata, the country's third largest city 200 km (130 miles) east of Tripoli, Gaddafi's stronghold, said his forces attacked the rebel-held city with tanks and artillery.

The shelling killed at least five people and wounded 11, a doctor at Misrata hospital told Reuters by telephone.

"Very heavy bombardments are taking place now from three sides. They are using heavy weapons including tanks and artillery ... They have yet to enter the town," said one resident, called Mohammed, by telephone.

Foreign powers have condemned Gaddafi's crackdown but show little appetite for action to support the revolt. A Gaddafi victory and the suppression of protests in Bahrain could turn the tide in the region against pro-democracy movements.

Supporters of a no-fly zone to halt Libyan government air strikes on rebels circulated a draft resolution at the U.N. Security Council on Tuesday that would authorise one, but other states said questions remained.

The draft was distributed at a closed-door meeting by Britain and Lebanon after the Arab League called on the council on Saturday to set up a no-fly zone.

German Ambassador Peter Wittig told reporters after the meeting his country still had queries, and noted that while the Arab League had called for a no-fly zone it also opposed any foreign military intervention.

NATO has set three conditions for it to enforce a no-fly zone over Libya: regional support, proof its help is needed and a Security Council resolution.

An Arab League call for a no-fly zone satisfies the first condition, but with access to most of Libya barred by Gaddafi's security forces, hard evidence that NATO intervention is needed to avert atrocities or a humanitarian disaster is scarce.

Growing numbers of Libyans are now crossing into Egypt fleeing Gaddafi's advance, the U.N. refugee agency said.


GADDAFI TAUNTS THE WEST

In a televised speech, Gaddafi taunted Western countries that have backed the imposition of a no-fly zone to come and get him.

"Strike Libya?" he asked. "We'll be the one who strikes you! We struck you in Algeria, in Vietnam. You want to strike us? Come and give it a try."

In an interview with the Italian daily Il Giornale published on Tuesday, Gaddafi said that if western forces attacked Libya, he would ally with al Qaeda "and declare holy war".

In Benghazi, where the revolt began in mid-February, residents said they had found leaflets lying in the city streets suggesting that if they gave up the fight against Gaddafi now, they would not be harmed or punished.

The leaflest accused rebels of being driven by al Qaeda and high on drugs, an allegation routinely levelled by the government against an uprising that was inspired by pro-democracy rebellions that toppled the Egyptian and Tunisian presidents.

Salah Ben-Saud, a retired undersecretary at the Agriculture Ministry, said in Benghazi that life in the town was normal and "pro-Gaddafi people have not really shown their face."

"There were rumours that he (Gaddafi) would try to take back Benghazi and that made people a bit nervous, but he didn't and people here don't think he would succeed anyway if he tried."

Thousands gathered in a square in Benghazi on Tuesday evening denouncing Gaddafi as a tyrant and throwing shoes and other objects at his image projected upside down on a wall.

The rebels' position looked highly vulnerable after government troops took control of the junction at Ajdabiyah, opening the way to Benghazi.

(Reporting by Maria Golovnina and Michael Georgy in Tripoli, Tom Pfeiffer in Benghazi, Mariam Karouny in Djerba, Tunisia, Tarek Amara in Tunis, Louis Charbonneau and Patrick Worsnip at the United Nations, James Regan, Tim Hepher, Arshad Mohammed and John Irish in Paris; Writing by William Maclean; Editing by Giles Elgood)

Gaddafi forces attack western Libyan town-residents, Posted by Meosha Eaton

* Govt forces coming from various directions, residents say
* Residents hide in houses; rebels say one killed
* Town is one last remaining rebel holdouts in western Libya


(adds details, quotes from Misrata)

By Mariam Karouny
TUNIS, March 14 (Reuters) - Forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi attacked the small town of Zuwarah on Monday, seeking to recapture one of the last remaining rebel holdouts in western Libya, residents said.

"They are coming from the eastern side and also trying to get in from the west and the south. They are one kilometre from the centre of town," resident Tarek Abdallah told Reuters by telephone.

"They are firing artillery shells. The shops are closed, people are terrified. There is no life in Zuwarah right now." Zuwarah is a Mediterranean coastal town of 40,000 people, mostly from the Amazigh Berber minority, some 120 km (70 miles) west of the capital Tripoli and near the border with Tunisia.

"I do not think we will hold on for long because there aren't that many of us, but the rebels went to try to defend the town anyway," Abdallah said. Another resident, Waleed, said: "We are hiding in our houses, we are very scared. How can they do something like that to us? We are Libyans like them."

One rebel fighter was killed and many wounded, insurgent Abu Zeid said. "They came in military vehicles and started shooting at us," he said. "We do not have weapons, we are fighting with whatever we can find here. God knows what will happen to us."
There were reports of fighting in Zuwarah at the start of the insurrection against Gaddafi's four-decade rule last month but since then there had been no news from the town.

Gaddafi's forces initially lost control over large swathes of the oil exporting North African country, but over the past week, military momentum has shifted back in their favour.

His forces have stamped out a rebellion in Zawiyah, 50 km (30 miles) west of Tripoli and pushed insurgents in the east back from the oil towns of Ras Lanuf and Brega.
The only major city held by insurgents in the west is Misrata, 200 km (130 miles) east of the capital.

Rebels and residents there have reported that an assault on the city had been held up by a mutiny within the ranks of the besieging government forces. "The fighting has stopped now. Early on Monday we heard five shells after a fierce night of fighting and now it has stopped," Mohammed, a resident of Misrata, told Reuters by telephone.

"We are not sure why it has stopped. Maybe they got tired or maybe one group won over the other. Things are not clear."

The government has denied the reports, which could not be verified independently because Libyan authorities have not allowed reporters access to the city.

(Writing by Silvia Aloisi; editing by Mark Heinrich)

Libya rebel town says doctors overwhelmed by wounded, Posted by Meosha Eaton

* Misrata fighting off attacks by pro-Gaddafi militia
* Medical shortages are catastrophic: resident
* Wounded "being treated on hospital floor"

By Hamid Ould Ahmed

ALGIERS, March 7 (Reuters) - People wounded in fighting over the rebel-held Libyan city of Misrata are being treated on hospital floors because of a catastrophic shortage of medical facilities in the besieged city, a resident said on Monday. Misrata is the biggest population centre in the west of the country not under the control of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, and its stand against a militia commanded by his own son has turned it into a symbol of defiance. Units of the 32nd brigade, which is led by Khamis Gaddafi, on Sunday launched the fiercest attack on Misrata so far, with a doctor in the town saying at least 18 people had been killed.

Rebels said they repelled the attack. Two residents said on Monday there was no new fighting and painted a picture of a city where ordinary people were organising to direct traffic and clean the streets, even as Gaddafi's security forces encircle the town. MANY WOUNDED But medical care appeared to be the biggest immediate problem facing Misrata, a city of about 300,000 people two hours' drive east of Tripoli. "Regarding health, the situation is catastrophic," one resident, called Mohamed, told Reuters by telephone. "We are suffering a shortage in medicine and a lack of skilled doctors and medical equipment." "We have a large number of wounded. Many of them are being treated on the (hospital) floor because we do not have a sufficient number of beds."

In a statement issued on Sunday, the United Nations' humanitarian chief, Valerie Amos, called for aid workers to be urgently allowed into the town to treat the wounded. "People are injured and dying and need help immediately," she said. Another resident of Misrata said local people had set up a committee to run their affairs and were providing basic public services. "The youths have set up a committee to run things in the town," said the resident, who did not want to be named. "It (the committee) has its headquarters. Young men help direct traffic. They have also set up several checkpoints." "Some shops are open to supply food. Bakeries are open. Some of them provide bread for free. There are also donations from many people here, thank God." "But schools are still closed.

Banks were open before yesterday's fighting, which forced them to close their doors again," he said. The other resident, Mohamed, said young people were out in the streets cleaning up the debris from Sunday's fighting. "Residents are helping each other. I have not seen this kind of cooperation ... in years," he said. But he said rebels manning checkpoints on the entrances to the city were on the alert for more violence. "They are expecting a new attack at any time," said Mohamed.

(Writing by Christian Lowe; Editing by Ralph Boulton)

Gaddafi forces launch new attack on Zawiyah-resident, Posted by Meosha Eaton

ZAWIYAH, Libya, March 5 (Reuters) - Forces loyal to Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi launched a new attack on the western town of Zawiyah on Saturday, with tanks shelling the central square, residents said.

"The attack has started. I see more than 20 tanks," one resident in the square told Reuters by telephone. Gunfire could be heard in the background.

A second resident confirmed the fighting, saying Gaddafi's forces were using "tanks and mortars". (Reporting by Mariam Karouny; Editing by Jon Hemming)

Gaddafi forces try to retake rebel town near capital, Posted by Meosha Eaton

* Residents say gunfight raging since morning
* Rebels pushed back to central square
* "We will fight to the end" - rebel spokesman


By Maria Golovnina

TRIPOLI, March 4 (Reuters) - Security forces loyal to Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi launched an offensive on Friday to retake a town near the capital that has for days been defying his rule, residents said by telephone.

An improvised force of rebels has been pushed back to the central square in Zawiyah, 50 km (30 miles) west of Tripoli, where about 2,000 of them are getting ready to make a last stand, a rebel spokesman said.

"We are on the square, all of our forces are here," said Youssef Shagan. "The square is safe but they (government forces) are attacking from east and west. We will fight until the end."

"They have now started trying to go into the city to try to retake it," he said.
He said three rebel soldiers had been killed and 40 people had been wounded. His account could not be independently verified because reporters' movements in Libya are restricted.

The rebellion in Zawiyah -- the closest rebel-held territory to the capital and also the site of an oil refinery -- has been an embarassment to the Libyan authorities who are trying to show they control at least the west of the country.

Italy call for EU help with refugees rebuffed, Posted by Meosha Eaton

* Italy alarmed by threat of refugees from north Africa
* EU governments say Italian calls for help exaggerated


By Justyna Pawlak

BRUSSELS, Feb 24 (Reuters) - Italy faced criticism in the European Union on Thursday for raising alarm over a potential wave of refugees from Libya, with several governments saying Rome's calls for help in dealing with migrants were exaggerated.
Western governments are weighing contingency plans if escalating violence in Libya triggers massive outflows of people.

But international experts say out of at least 30,000, mainly Tunisians and Egyptians, who have fled turmoil so far, none were headed for Europe. Rome has warned hundreds of thousands could flee to Italy, an important European port of entry for many migrants from north Africa, and asked its European partners for funds and help in housing them.

But many EU governments, mainly from northern Europe, said during a meeting in Brussels it was too early to predict how many people could seek shelter from turmoil in north Africa in Europe, and rebuffed Italy's requests. "We shouldn't paint the devil on the wall until he appears," Hungary's interior minister, Sandor Pinter, told reporters after the meeting. Hungary holds the EU's presidency until the end of June and oversees many policy debates.

Austrian Interior Minister Maria Fekter said Vienna was ready to help if turmoil led to a humanitarian disaster, but this was not the case yet. "We are against reallocating asylum seekers from Italy to the rest of Europe," she said before meeting. The rift underscores divisions in Europe on how to tackle immigration and share responsibility for housing refugees, asylum seekers and irregular immigrants to the bloc.


Under EU rules, asylum seekers can only apply for assistance in the country in which they first entered the EU. In case of a humanitarian disaster outside EU borders, the bloc's governments are not obliged to take in refugees who arrive in another state.
German Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere said Berlin had done a share of caring for massive flows of refugees when it sheltered thousands that fled Balkan wars in the 1990s. He said Italy was "challenged but not overstretched" by more than 5,000 people that have arrived on the Italian island of Lampedusa in recent weeks, fleeing unrest in Tunisia. "We have lived up to our humanitarian responsibility," he said. "We shouldn't be painting horror figuresand encouraging refugees to come to Europe."


The EU's border agency sent teams of officials in recent days to Italy to deal with migrants from Tunisia. But Italy wants a promise that more help would be available.
Its worry is that many of the hundreds of thousands of migrants from Asia and other parts of Africa now living in Libya could seek shelter in Italy. "We ask for solidarity of other member states ... We cannot be left alone," Italian Interior Minister Roberto Maroni said.

(Additional reporting by Francesco Guarascio; Reporting by Justyna Pawlak; Editing by Alison Williams)

Obama breaks silence on Libya, Posted by Meosha Eaton

Clashes in KENYA, Posted by Meosha Eaton

* Three rebel bases seized
* At least 20 civilians killed on Wednesday
* Clashes also erupt on border with Kenya


MOGADISHU, Feb 23 (Reuters) - Somali troops backed by peacekeepers seized three rebel bases in the capital Mogadishu on Wednesday, the government said, in a new offensive against hardline Islamist militants.
The country's interim government -- whose mandate ends in August with no firm plans in place for what will follow -- has struggled to end a four-year insurgency that has killed at least 21,000 people.
From early morning, Burundian troops from the African Union (AU) peacekeeping force, known as AMISOM, advanced block by block on foot along the city's industrial road, which leads to the Bakara market, a major insurgent hideout.

"We have captured three al Shabaab bases," Defence Minister Abdihakim Haji Fiqi told reporters. "Our enemies have been weakened and the fighting will continue until we have captured the city. AMISOM says its soldiers have now secured more than half of Mogadishu covering more than three quarters of the population. It was not possible to reach al Shabaab for a comment. An al Shabaab suicide car bomb killed at least 17 people near a police training camp in Mogadishu on Monday. Prime Minister Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed said there could be further bomb attacks by the rebels loyal to al Qaeda.

"We understand the weakened al Shabaab may plan bombings. But we are very vigilant and have brave forces," Mohamed told a news conference in the rubble-strewn capital, unusually dressed in military fatigues.
Ali Muse, coordinator of ambulance services, reported that at least 20 people had been killed. Residents said Wednesday's clashes were the heaviest since the latest bout of violence began on Saturday. "Stray bullets pour like rain," Muse said. Separately, a Kenyan official said security forces were on high alert along the border with Somalia because al Shabaab and government-allied militia were fighting in the Somali border town of Balad Hawa. East Africa's largest economy has long cast a wary eye at its anarchic neighbour where first clan warlords and now Islamist insurgents have reduced government to impotence.

"We are on alert and aware that rebel groups are fighting. They are fighting inside Somali territory," said David Ole Serian, provincial commissioner of the frontier North Eastern province. Kenya closed its border with Somalia in January 2007. However thousands of Somalis still cross the desert frontier each year to reach refugee camps in Kenya. "Families living close to the border have moved away with their belongings. People are scared. School children have been sent home and many Somalis have crossed the border," said primary school teacher Ibrahim in Mandera, a Kenyan town little more than a stone's throw from Balad Hawa.

(Additional reporting by Sahra Abdi in Nairbi and Noor Ali in Isiolo; Writing by Richard Lough; Editing Helen Nyambura-Mwaura and Elizabeth Piper)

Libya escapees reach Tunisia, tell of violence, Posted by Meosha Eaton

* Accounts of fighting, abuse by security forces
* Tunisians, Egyptians seen targeted


By Michael Georgy

RAS JDIR, Tunisia, Feb 23 (Reuters) - Weighed down with suitcases, blankets and plastic bags, people fleeing turmoil in Libya crossed into Tunisia on Wednesday with tales of the violence they were leaving behind.

About 2,000 people had streamed over the Ras Jdir crossing point by midday, part of a wider exodus of tens of thousands of foreign nationals trying to escape the North African country whose leader Muammar Gaddafi is attempting to crush a revolt against his 41-year rule. "It's very bad. There is fighting between the police and army against civilians. The civilians have AK-47s. (The fighting) is mostly at night," an Algerian named Rashid told Reuters. Another who fled, Tunisian artist Hamdi Chalbi, said: "Militias tell people 'If you come out at night we will kill you.' People are scared."

Many people reached the border in cars and walked across, carrying their possessions. Medical tents and food stations awaited them on the Tunisian side, and police attempted to control the growing crowd.
A Tunisian named Nizar Youssef said Libyan police appeared to be targeting Egyptians and Tunisians for abuse: revolutions in both countries since the start of this year were seen as having inspired Libya's uprising.
"They held me for seven hours and beat me with cables," he said.

A Libyan man who crossed over said: "The west must bomb Gaddafi's oil and gas fields. If they don't, we (the Libyan people) will." Tunisia's national airline, Tunisair, has scheduled five flights to Libya on Wednesday to evacuate some 1,500 nationals. Other countries like Egypt, Turkey, the United States and Britain were also rushing to pull citizens out. Several evacuees arriving at Tunisia's capital by air on Tuesday told Reuters they had been beaten by police and denied food and water during a two-day wait at Tripoli airport.

Marwan Mohammed, a Tunisian at Ras Jdir, said it was dangerous to go outside in Libya's capital Tripoli because of armed gangs. "Pro-Gaddafi gunmen are roaming around threatening any people who gather in groups," he said. A Reuters reporter in Tripoli said that the streets were nearly deserted, with most businesses closed. Tunisia is also sending a ferry to Benghazi, the flashpoint of the Libyan uprising, to pick up some 1,400 Tunisians, though the timing has yet to be announced.

(Additional reporting by Tarek Amara; Writing by Richard Valdmanis; Editing by Mark Trevelyan)