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International News Title: Libya Evacuations Begin as Former Qaddafi Aide Says Regime May End in Days Feb. 23 (Bloomberg) -- Governments rushed to evacuate thousands of expatriates from Libya as army units defected and a former aide to Muammar Qaddafi warned that the spreading revolt may topple the regime within days. The U.S. has chartered a ferry that will take American citizens from the Libyan capital, Tripoli, to Malta today and Turkey said it has mounted the biggest evacuation in its history to remove some 5,000 nationals by sea and air. U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron said getting British citizens out of the Libya is the top Foreign Office priority, as his government deployed a Royal Navy frigate near Libya to help. The evacuations follow Qaddafi’s warning in a televised speech late yesterday that he will fight the uprising until his “last drop of blood.” Heavy gunfire broke out again in Tripoli today and the streets were empty, the Associated Press said. Army units in Benghazi and Tobruk have defected, leaving the eastern port cities under the control of Qaddafi’s opponents, his former chief of protocol Nuri al-Mismari said. While Middle East rulers have tried to put down uprisings that have overthrown leaders in Tunisia and Egypt and spread to Bahrain and Yemen, none used as much force as the Libyan ruler. Qaddafi’s crackdown on the week-long demonstrations has already left almost 300 dead, according to Human Rights Watch, and driven oil prices to a 2 1/2-year high. Libya holds Africa’s largest oil reserves. ‘Matter of Days’ It’s a “matter of days” before Qaddafi’s fall, though more violence may precede it, al-Mismari, who was subject to an extradition request in November while he was in France, told Canal+ television. “He’s already used planes, tanks, mercenaries. What’s left? Chemical weapons?” Crude for April delivery has jumped more than 10 percent this week. It traded at $95.94 a barrel at 12:15 p.m. in London. Shares in oil extractors with Libyan interests have slumped, with Italy’s Eni SpA dropping 5.8 percent this week and Austria’s OMV AG plunging 12 percent. Both companies, along with France’s Total SA, have cut back production in Libya. The United Nations condemned the violence and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the Obama administration was watching the events with “grave concern” and would take “appropriate steps,” which she did not describe. French President Nicolas Sarkozy said the European Union should consider imposing sanctions. ‘Intention to Massacre’ “Qaddafi has unequivocally declared his intention to massacre his own people,” said Shadi Hamid, director of research at the Brookings Doha Center in Qatar. “Time for the international community to intervene.” Italy warned that as many as 350,000 migrant workers in Libya may seek refuge in Europe. Foreign Minister Franco Frattini said the EU must develop a “mechanism on how to split the economic and social burden of an immigration wave.” The U.K and South Korea have dispatched charter planes to rescue nationals from Libya. The British plane, with room for about 200 passengers, should return tonight, the Foreign Office said, adding that its embassy in Tripoli is in contact with about 300 Britons in and near Tripoli. Turkey sent two passenger ferries and a military ship. Italy said it accepted requests from the U.K. and Serbia to use its air force bases to land planes carrying civilians. Protesters in Libya, where Qaddafi seized power in a 1969 coup, and elsewhere in the region have been driven by a combination of economic complaints such as high prices and scarce jobs, and the repression of political and civil rights by leaders in power for decades. Saudi Spending Saudi Arabia, the world’s biggest oil exporter, today moved to increase living standards after protests reached neighboring Bahrain. King Abdullah today announced at least $11 billion in spending increases on social security and housing. Saudi Arabia has a Shiite Muslim minority in the eastern provinces, where most of its oil is produced. Shiites have been leading protests in Bahrain, home of the U.S. Navy’s Fifth Fleet, where they form a majority and say they suffer discrimination under a Sunni monarchy. The largest Bahraini opposition group said it is looking for “significant steps” by the government before agreeing to join in a national dialogue, after at least seven died in clashes between protesters and security forces. Tens of thousands marched in the capital, Manama, yesterday to call for more democracy and equal rights. Yemen’s President Ali Abdullah Saleh, who has ruled for more than 30 years, has been urged to quit by protesters who clashed with pro-government forces for a 12th straight day yesterday. At least two people were killed and 10 others wounded yesterday, the media committee of the protesters said. Gulf Stocks Saudi Arabia’s benchmark Tadawul stock index fell for a ninth day, dropping 0.2 percent at 3:30 p.m. local time. Other regional markets pared losses, with Dubai’s main index rising 1.3 percent from a six-month low. The Bloomberg GCC200 regional benchmark added 0.1 percent. Libya, with a population of about 6.3 million, pumps 1.6 million barrels of oil a day, selling most of it to Europe, according to Bloomberg estimates. That’s about 1.8 percent of world supply. It’s the third-biggest producer in Africa after Nigeria and Angola, while Libyan reserves of 44.3 billion barrels are the continent’s largest, according to BP Plc’s Statistical Review of World Energy. Ships, Planes Defect It is unclear what degree of control over the military Qaddafi retains. Two Libyan warships arrived yesterday off the coast of Malta after refusing to carry out an order to attack Benghazi, Al Jazeera reported. Earlier, two jet fighters landed in Malta and their pilots said they had been ordered to attack protesters. Without a clear alternative to Qaddafi the country could easily slip into a civil war, said Edward Walker, a scholar at the Middle East Institute in Washington. “There is this split between the West and East, Tripoli and Benghazi, and the Tripoli people have a vested interest in keeping control,” said Walker, a former assistant secretary of state for near eastern affairs.
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