A senior Libyan diplomat posted in China has resigned and called on the army to intervene in the bloody uprising against leader Moamer Kadhafi, the Al-Jazeera news network reported today.
The diplomat, Hussein Sadiq al Musrati, stepped down in an on-air interview with al-Jazeera and "called on all diplomatic staff to resign", the Qatar-based satellite television channel reported on its website.
The official also said Kadhafi "may have left Libya" and that there had been a "gunfight" between his sons, the network added, while noting it was unable to confirm those statements.
Musrati is listed as the second secretary in the Libyan mission to Beijing. Embassy staff told AFP on Monday that officials were not available for comment on the report.
Kadhafi's son Saif al-Islam Kadhafi warned Monday that the country was facing a bloody civil war if protesters refuse to accept reform offers, in a speech broadcast as gunfire rang out in the capital.
"Libya is at a crossroads. If we do not agree today on reforms, we will not be mourning 84 people, but thousands of deaths, and rivers of blood will run through Libya," he said.
{{/usCountry}}"Libya is at a crossroads. If we do not agree today on reforms, we will not be mourning 84 people, but thousands of deaths, and rivers of blood will run through Libya," he said.
{{/usCountry}}Rights watchdogs have said hundreds are feared dead in a military offencive to crush the uprising against Kadhafi's 41-year iron rule.