France expels 14 Libyan diplomats

France has expelled 14 Libyan diplomats loyal to the government of Muammar Gaddafi, the French foreign ministry said.

France, the United States, Britain and others are trying to go beyond a Nato bombing campaign against troops loyal to Gaddafi to find other ways of helping an uprising that prised eastern Libya from his control but then stalled.

The bombing and imposition of a no-fly zone, both intended to protect civilians, have not prevented scores being killed in government attacks on remaining pockets of rebellion in western Libya, notably the besieged cities of Misrata and Zintan.

Amnesty International said on Friday that indiscriminate attacks on Misrata, including the use of snipers, cluster bombs and artillery in civilian areas, might amount to war crimes.

"The scale of the relentless attacks that we have seen by al-Gaddafi forces to intimidate the residents of Misrata for more than two months is truly horrifying," said Donatella Rovera, Amnesty International's senior adviser in Libya.

"It shows a total disregard for the lives of ordinary people and is in clear breach of international humanitarian law."

A French diplomatic source said the decision to expel the 14 Libyan diplomats had been taken some time ago, "but there was a process to follow".

"Many of these people were using their status as diplomats as a cover," said the source, who declined to be named.

A coalition of Western and Arab countries agreed on Thursday to provide Libya's eastern rebels, based in Benghazi, with millions of dollars in non-military aid to help them keep services and the economy running as well as try to topple Gaddafi, in power since 1969.

The rebel Transitional National Council has said it needs up to $3 billion to keep going in the coming months, and the U.N. World Food Programme said on Thursday that Libya's food supplies could run out in six to eight weeks, particularly in the east.

At Thursday's Libya Contact Group meeting in Rome, Kuwait pledged $180 million and Qatar promised $400-500 million to the rebels. A US official said the administration was considering unblocking more than $150 million for humanitarian purposes and France said it was evaluating its contribution.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Washington would try to change the law to allow it to unlock some of the $30 billion of Libyan state funds frozen in the United States to help the rebels.

The Contact Group meeting brought together foreign ministers from more than 20 countries as well as representatives of the Arab League and the African Union.

But on Friday Russia warned the group not to try to eclipse the authority of the UN Security Council, which has imposed sanctions on Libya and authorised the use of force specifically to protect civilians.

These sanctions prevent the rebels as well as the government raising money by selling oil on international markets.

"We proceed from the position that the informal contact group comprises responsible states and that all of them ratified the UN Charter and are required to respect the authority of the Security Council," Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in Moscow.

He said the group was trying to "take on the leading role in determining the policy of the international community in relation to Libya", and that the international community should be concerned with stopping the fighting, not taking sides.

The insurgents trying to topple Gaddafi after 41 years in power had hoped for a swift victory, akin to the overthrow of the leaders of Egypt and Tunisia by popular uprisings.

But his better-equipped forces halted the rebels' westward advance from Benghazi and the front line is now largely static.

An aid ship that braved shelling by Gaddafi's forces to rescue more than 1,000 people from Misrata arrived safely in Benghazi on Thursday.

Dazed and emotional migrant workers who arrived on the boat described cowering in fear from relentless shelling, and a desperate scramble to board the vessel as it pulled away.

"I did not know if I would ever get out, I thought I was going to die," said Prince Amalkwah, a 24-year-old Nigerian electrician.