Cuba withdraws ambassador from Libya

Cuba has announced that it was withdrawing its diplomatic mission in Libya, reiterating that it does not recognize Libya's Transitional National Council. "The Republic of Cuba recognizes neither the Transitional National Council, not any other transitional authorities [in Libya]; it will only recognize the government that will be created in the country legitimately and without foreign interference," the country's Foreign Ministry said in a statement. The statement accused NATO of killing "thousands" of civilians during its airstrikes on Libya and violating UN resolutions by attacking civilian facilities and supplying arms to rebels in Libya. The alliance has been trying to create similar conditions for a military intervention in Syria, which has also been hit by a popular uprising, it said. The ministry urged NATO to immediately stop its military operation in Libya and let the Libyan people fulfill their right to "independence, self-determination and sovereignty over natural resources." After months of fierce battles between loyalists of Col. Muammar Gaddafi and opposition forces backed by NATO aircraft, Libyan rebels say they now control "90 to 95 percent" of Libyan territory. Gaddafi's whereabouts remains unknown, and the rebel authorities have set a Saturday deadline for his remaining loyalists to surrender or face a military assault. The Transitional National Council has already been recognized as the legitimate power in Libya by some 60 countries. During an international conference on Libya held in Paris on September 1, world leaders agreed to release $15 billion in frozen Libyan assets for the country's interim authorities to help Libya return to normal life after months of violence.