Libyan Ambassador to UN: It's 'Genocide'

(Newser) – Libyan ambassadors in at least seven countries—including the UK and India—as well as Libya's Justice Minister have resigned in protest over the hundreds of deaths caused by the Gadhafi regime as it attempts to cling to power, reports the Guardian. "What's going on in Libya is a real genocide," says the country's deputy UN ambassador, who has not resigned, but has urged Moammar Gadhafi to step down and called for an urgent meeting of the Security Council today.

The death toll after six days of protests has reached at least 250, with some human rights groups estimating as high as 400. With two military officers in fighter jets defecting to Malta and a group of army officers calling on the military to "join the people" and help remove Gadhafi, observers say the leader's grip on power is crumbling. "There is nowhere for him to go in the Arab world—the Saudis hate him," said a London-based consultant. "It would have to be somewhere like Zimbabwe or Venezuela. It may take 24 hours or a couple of months—no one really knows. But the end is nigh." Gadhafi appeared on state TV early Tuesday morning to deny reports that he has already fled the country.