Evacuees speak of massacre by Gaddafi

FORCES loyal to Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi are staging a “massacre” in the besieged city of Misrata, evacuees said Monday, as Turkey said it was trying to broker a ceasefire to halt the bloodshed.

An official in neighbouring Algeria told Reuters that al-Qaida was exploiting the conflict to acquire weapons, including surface-to-air missiles.

The US State Department said it had raised concerns with the Libyan rebels about the Islamist group obtaining arms in the east of the country, where they are battling Gaddafi’s forces.