Not much of a diary but it is important to keep in mind the carnage, death and suffering happening in Libya. The UN reports (Reuters) that
"an estimated 10,000 to 15,000 people have been killed on both sides in four months of fighting in Libya, according to Cherif Bassiouni, who led a U.N. Human Rights Council mission to Tripoli and rebel-held areas in late April."
The same UN panel found evidence of war crimes committed by the Gaddafi forces.
(Aljazeera's Libya Live Blog is a great source for current info on the Libyan conflict.)
From Al Jazeera
"The embattled regime of Muammar Gaddafi has vehemently denied accusations by a UN panel and Western nations that Libyan government forces have committed crimes against humanity and war crimes."
The chief prosecutor of the ICC Luis Moreno-Ocampo added rape to the war crimes charges against Muammar Gaddafi. There is evidence that rape is being used as a weapon upon women in the conflict.
Luis Moreno-Ocampo, says there is evidence Gaddafi ordered the violations as a form of punishment. He told reporters at the UN in New York last night there were strong indications that hundreds of women had been raped in the Libyan government clampdown on the popular uprising... The prosecutor said there was evidence that the government had been handing out doses of Viagra to soldiers to encourage sexual attacks. Moreno-Ocampo said rape was a new tactic for the Libyan regime. “That’s why we had doubts at the beginning, but now we are more convinced.
Though predictably Libya dismissed the charges.
Mustafa Shaban, the Libyan diplomat, told the UN Human Rights Council it is the government that is “the victim of a widespread aggression'' and blamed the news media, opposition and African and foreign mercenaries for human rights violations and even “acts of cannibalism.''.
Under the ICC multiple rapes constitute a crime against humanity.
The situation is of course horrible beyond words. One-sixth of the Libyan population has been displaced. A UNHCR spokesperson stated “An aid crisis could be looming…It is apparent that the combined impact of protracted conflict and sanctions are eroding the government’s ability to effectively deliver assistance.”