Libyan oil minister defects to Tunisia: security official

Libyan rebels fighting to end the leader's 41 years in power also said they had information that Shokri Ghanem, 68, had defected, a move that if confirmed would be a blow to Gadhafi in his drive to crush a three-month-old rebellion.

“He is in a hotel with a group of other Libyan officials,” the Tunisian source told Reuters.

Rebels have taken Benghazi and the oil-producing east of the North African country, their insurgency helped by a NATO bombing campaign sanctioned by the United Nations to protect civilians. The military victory rebels had once sought seems a distant prospect and many pin their hopes on a collapse of central power in Tripoli, driven by defections and disaffection.

Rebels and Arab media reported on a previous occasion that U.S.-educated Ghanem had stepped down, but he later re-appeared and said he was in his office and working as usual.

Rebel finance and oil minister Ali Tarhouni told Reuters on a visit to Doha that he understood Ghanem had left his post.

Tarhouni said he hoped to represent Libya at an OPEC meeting in June. Since the start of unrest, Libya is estimated to have lost two thirds of its oil output.

The International Criminal Court's prosecutor sought on Monday an arrest warrant for Gadhafi, accusing him of killing protesters. Gadhafi says his military campaign is directed only against Islamist militants, mercenaries and criminals.

Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo also asked judges for the arrest of Gadhafi's son Saif al-Islam and his spy chief brother-in-law Abdullah al-Senussi.

Russia hosted a representative of Gadhafi's government in Moscow on Tuesday. It called on Tripoli to stop using force against civilians, comply fully with U.N. Security Council resolutions and withdraw armed groups from cities.

“The answer we heard cannot be called negative,” Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told reporters; but he suggested Gadhafi's government was conditioning such steps on NATO and rebels calling a halt to the use of force.

Libya was ready to look at peace proposals based on those suggested by the African Union and to comply with Security Council resolutions, he said.

Prosecutor's Evidence

Moreno-Ocampo said Tripoli attacked residential buildings, suppressed protests with live ammunition, used heavy artillery against funeral processions and deployed snipers to kill people leaving mosques after prayers.

Libyan officials have denied killing civilians, saying they were forced to take action against criminal gangs and al-Qaida militants. They say the NATO bombing campaign is an act of colonial aggression aimed at grabbing Libya's oil.

In central Tripoli, NATO airstrikes hit two buildings on Tuesday, including one which a Libyan spokesman said contained files detailing corruption cases against government officials who had defected to the rebels.

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