Airports around the Middle East were on Wednesday night turning away planes carrying members of Col. Muammar Gaddafi's family.
A Libyan Arab Airlines aircraft was refused permission to land in Malta. Al-Jazeera said it was carrying Gaddafi's daughter, Ayesha Photo: JULIAN SIMMONDS
An official at Beirut Airport in Lebanon said it had denied a request to allow a plane belonging to the Gaddafi family to land. On board was Aline Skaff, the wife of one of the dictator's sons, Hannibal Gaddafi.
A Libyan Arab Airlines aircraft carrying 14 people made an unscheduled appearance in Maltese airspace and was also refused permission to land after failing to supply full details. Al-Jazeera said it was carrying Gaddafi's daughter, Ayesha.
It was not clear whether Gaddafi's family were defecting or being sent to safety. Gaddafi's sons are said to be leading the effort to defend his regime.
Other senior figures were actively going over to the rebels. Questions were still being asked about the statement read from his office in Benghazi by the former public security minister, Abdul Fattah Younis, that he had changed sides. The government claimed he had been kidnapped and was making his statement under duress.
The justice minister, Mustafa Abdel-Jalil, was among the first to stand down. He is now saying he has evidence that Col. Gaddafi personally ordered the Lockerbie bombing.
Nouri al-Mismari, the protocol chief and a long-time insider, also said he was defecting. His case is more mysterious – he was in Paris where he was detained at the request of the Libyan authorities in December on charges of embezzlement, though one newspaper close to Saif al-Islam, Gaddafi's son, said the case was concocted as part of infighting within the regime.
The role of the army remains unclear. One senior retired general, Suleiman Mahmoud al-Obeidi, said he was leading troops in defence of the protesters in Tobruk, while large numbers of other units have laid down their weapons.
But it is not known how many would actually fight against brigades that remained loyal, and there seemed to be no major attempts to form a front line.
Diplomatic missions around the world have gone over to the opposition en masse, including the ambassador to the United States and deputy ambassador to the United Nations and most of his staff, the ambassadors to India and Bangladesh, France and UNESCO, and the embassies in Austria and Malaysia.
In a blow to Saif al-Islam, a long-term associate and head of his personal cultural foundation, Youssef Sawani, said he had resigned in protest at the violence.
The role of the army remains unclear. One senior retired general, Suleiman Mahmoud al-Obeidi, said he was leading troops in defence of the protesters in Tobruk, while large numbers of other units have laid down their weapons.
But it is not known how many would actually fight against brigades that remained loyal, and there seemed to be no major attempts to form a front line.
Diplomatic missions around the world have gone over to the opposition en masse, including the ambassador to the United States and deputy ambassador to the United Nations and most of his staff, the ambassadors to India and Bangladesh, France and UNESCO, and the embassies in Austria and Malaysia.
In a blow to Saif al-Islam, a long-term associate and head of his personal cultural foundation, Youssef Sawani, said he had resigned in protest at the violence.
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