‘Thousands’ dead in Libya unrest: UN diplomat

UNITED NATIONS: Thousands of people have been killed in the unrest in Libya as strongman Moamer Kadhafi cracks down on opponents, Libya's deputy UN ambassador said Friday.

"There are already thousands of people who have been killed, we expect more," the diplomat, Ibrahim Dabbashi, who has turned against the Kadhafi regime, told reporters at the Libyan mission.

His comments came ahead of a UN Security Council meeting on the Libya crisis. Western nations are pressing for international sanctions against Kadhafi's regime to force an end to the violence, which current accounts say have left hundreds dead. (AFP)