Gaddafi forces laying land mines: Human Rights Watch

Militia loyal to Colonel Muammar Gaddafi laid land mines on the edge of the city of Ajdabiya in eastern Libya, Human Rights Watch said yesterday.

Mr Peter Bouckaert, a researcher for the group working out of the rebel stronghold of Benghazi, said that both antivehicle and antipersonnel mines had been found in the ground. Twenty-four antivehicle mines and more than 30 antipersonnel mines have been removed, he added. No injuries were reported.

The Gaddafi government has defended its right to employ land mines to defend Libya's long borders, as it did in a war with Chad in the 1980s. THE NEW YORK TIMES

(2011-3-31/todayonline)