Libya Live Blog

The Lebanese navy intercepted three containers of weapons destined for Syrian rebel forces on board a ship originating from Libya, a security official told AFP news agency on Saturday.

The cargo contained heavy machineguns, artillery shells, rockets, rocket launchers and other explosives, the official said.

A second security official said the Sierra Leone-flagged Lutfallah II had previously obtained a permit to enter the port of Tripoli in northern Lebanon before being stopped by the navy on Thursday night.

The vessel was towed to Selaata, a small port some 50 kilometres (30 miles) north of Beirut.

News reports said the ship had called at the Egyptian port of Alexandria en route from Libya.

An AFP reporter saw three army trucks leave Selaata for Beirut with the seized containers, escorted by eight jeeps and a helicopter.

A resident told AFP that the ship weighed anchor in the morning, escorted by the navy to an unknown destination.

The security source said that the captain and crew were handed over to military intelligence officers in Tripoli for further questioning.

Syrian authorities have repeatedly charged that weapons are being smuggled from Lebanon to rebels fighting to overthrow President Bashar al-Assad.

According to the Associated Press news agency, security officials say thousands of weapons are flooding into Egypt from post unrest Libya.

The officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, tell the AP 576 weapons including modern sniper rifles have been seized by police in the last three months. The seizures were made in the Egyptian oasis of Siwa near the border with Libya.

The number of weapons that reached buyers undetected is believed to be five times the number seized.

Residents of southern Egypt are said to be the main buyers of the Libyan weapons, according to the officials.

Libya urged Niger on Saturday to extradite Muammar Gaddafi's son Saadi, saying his call for Libyans to prepare for a "coming uprising" threatened bilateral ties.

Niger responded that it could not hand over Saadi, who fled south to the West African state in September as Libyan forces gain the upper hand over his father's forces, because he would face execution in Libya.

But officials in Libya and Niger told Reuters that the Niger authorities had placed tighter restrictions on Saadi's movements and agreed that the Libyan foreign minister, Ashour Bin Hayal, would meet his Niger counterpart to discuss the issue.

Syria has told Libya and Tunisia to close their embassies in Damascus within 72 hours, a foreign ministry spokesman said on Saturday, after the two North African countries announced similar measures against Syria.

Libya said on Thursday it had given Syria's charge d'affaires and his staff in Tripoli three days to leave the country, and last week Tunisia said it had started procedures to expel the Syrian ambassador and withdraw recognition of the Syrian leadership under President Bashar al-Assad. [Reuters]