Libya accuses Nato of 700 civilian deaths

Libya today sought to exploit cracks in the Nato alliance caused by two air strikes in as many days which it is claimed killed civilian men, women and children.

Officials repeated propaganda claims that more than 700 civilians have died in Nato strikes, including one of Colonel Gaddafi's sons and three of his grandchildren, while Italian foreign minister Franco Frattini warned that the alliance's "credibility" was undermined by thedeaths.

Libyan TV showed images in the aftermath of yesterday's strike on the compound of Khweldi el-Hamedi, 68, a leading member of the regime. It is claimed 15 people, including three children, died there. Western reporters were shown 11 bodies at a hospital nearby.

Libyan authorities have not presented evidence to support their death toll claims and Nato insists it tries to avoid killing civilians. But the strike on El-Hamedi's compound, which Nato insisted was a "high-level command and control" centre, came 24 hours after a defective missile accidentally struck a house in eastern Tripoli, killing at least five civilians.

The alliance is flying dozens of sorties every day, 137 on Sunday alone. Mr Frattini spoke out as EU foreign ministers met in Luxembourg to discuss assistance to Libyan rebels.

Libya's opposition leader, Mahmoud Jibril, was expected to arrive in China today. China has recently stepped up efforts to promote a settlement to the civil war, which started in February.