The US took a step closer to providing financial assistance to the Libyan rebels May 11, as Sen. John Kerry announced he is drafting legislation to free up some of the $34 billion in the Tripoli regime's assets frozen by the White House. Rebel leaders arrived in Washington to press the Obama administration on the plan, saying they are down to less than two weeks of cash reserves and are hard-pressed to pay for food, fuel, and medicine. "I needed something yesterday," Ali Tarhouni, finance minister for Libya's Transitional National Council, said in an interview. "The issue for me is running a war economy with no resources."

Amnesty International (AI) accused forces loyal to Moammar Qaddafi of committing war crimes in Misrata in a report issued May 5. According to the report, Qaddafi's troops have employed excessive use of lethal force against unarmed protesters, turned sniper fire on civilians in residential areas of the city, and deliberately used civilians as "human shields." "Shielding," AI asserted, "is a violation of international humanitarian law and constitutes a war crime." Additionally, according to AI, Qaddafi's forces used cluster munitions, which are heavily criticized by international observers and have been the subject of international eradication efforts. Misrata appears to be targeted as a result of its declaration in February of allegiance to opposition forces. While many have been able to escape the widespread violence, those left behind continue to suffer:

On May 6, Moroccan authorities announced the arrest of three suspects in last week's bombing of a Marrakesh cafe frequented by tourists. The Interior Ministry said in a statement carried by the state-run Maghreb Arabe Presse that the group was "the main perpetrator" behind the attack and that at least one member had "swore allegiance to al-Qaeda." (Bloomberg, May 6)

At a meeting in Rome on May 4, the international Contact Group on Libya agreed to establish a fund that the rebels can access, ostensibly to provide services in their areas of control. British Foreign Secretary William Hague said it will be "an international fund in which nations can make their contributions in a transparent way." US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the Obama administration is trying to free up some of the more than $31 billion it has frozen in Libyan assets. The administration has already authorized up to $26 million in non-lethal military assistance to the rebels, and has pledged $55 million in humanitarian aid. Britain has so far provided $21 million in similar aid the rebels. Italy, which hosted the meeting, recently joined the NATO air campaign against Moammar Qaddafi's regime. (VOA, May 5)

Moammar Qaddafi's forces resumed shelling of the rebel-held Libyan port of Misrata April 29, as NATO said its warships intercepted pro-Qaddafi forces trying to lay mines in the city's harbor. The harbor has been a lifeline for ships ferrying the injured to hospitals in the rebel stronghold, Benghazi, and for aid entering the city. The US also charged that Qaddafi's regime is giving viagra to troops to carry out rapes. NATO warplanes meanwhile bombed unnamed sites in the southern Ain Zara district of Tripoli, a frequent target of air-strikes in the campaign. One targeted compound apparently included the state television building, which was not damaged. Italy's military took part in its first air-strikes on Libya, with a pair of Tornado jets taking off from Sicily to strike what a defense ministry official called "selected targets." (The Guardian, April 30; Middle East Online, BBC News, April 29)

Authorities in Morocco say al-Qaeda is suspected in the April 28 remote-controlled bomb blast that killed 16, including 12 tourists, at a cafe on the Djemaa el-Fna, the central square of Marrakesh. A video posted on the Internet three days before the attack, attributed to al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), included a threat to Morocco, authorities said. (MEO, April 29) The attack came four days after thousands of Moroccans marched nationwide to demand sweeping reforms before a new constitution is unveiled in June by King Mohammed VI. The march was organized by the Facebook youth movement Fevrier 20. The group said its members would not accept the present draft constitution drawn up by the monarchy. (CNN, April 24)

After pulling back from besieged Misrata, Moammar Qaddafi's forces have reportedly been pouring into Libya's western Nafusah Mountains, surrounding and shelling villages of the Berber minority. The offensive in the remote region follows the seizure of a border post near Wazen by rebels last week. Some 30,000 have fled the region into Tunisia, according to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees. "He has been trying to starve us," said Jamal Maharouk, a Berber rebel fighter in a Tunisian hospital told the New York Times. He insisted that rebel actions in the region were purely defensive. "By my god, these are peaceful people fighting against an evil regime," he said.

Forces loyal to Moammar Qaddafi reportedly retreated from the besieged western city of Misrata April 23—as the US military confirmed the first strike by a Predator drone aircraft in Libya. "Misrata is free, the rebels have won," rebel spokesman Gemal Salem told Reuters. "Of Qaddafi's forces, some are killed and others are running away." A US Defense Department statement confirming the drone strike did not say where the strike occurred. A spokesman for the rebels' Interim Transitional National Council (ITNC) praised the deployment of the drones, while expressing skepticism on reports of a Qaddafi retreat. (VOA, DW-World, April 23)