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Al Jazeera cameraman killed in Libya

13 March 2011 01:09 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. An Al Jazeera cameraman has been killed by unknown gunmen near Benghazi, a rebel-held city in eastern Libya, the TV channel has said, APA reports quoting RIA Novosti.
A car, in which Ali Hassan Al Jaber and his colleagues were travelling in, was attacked in what appears to have been an ambush, Al Jazeera said. Two people, including Al Jaber, were shot. Al Jaber, who was hit by three shots and was wounded through the heart, died on the way to hospital.
It is unclear who the attackers were. Al Jazeera director-general Wadah Khanfar has said the killing came after "an unprecedented campaign" against the network by Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.
He said the network "will not remain silent" and pledged to pursue those behind the ambush through legal channels.
Pro-Gaddafi forces continue pushing back rebels from their strongholds in the country’s east. In the past few days, they have regained control of many rebel-held cities and towns.
Thousands of people have been killed since the first protesters broke out demanding the end of Gaddafi’s 42-year rule in mid-February.
Meanshile, the Arab League voted on Saturday ask the UN Security Council to imposing a no-fly zone over Libya to prevent Gaddafi from carrying out airstrikes against rebels. The vote, at a special meeting in Cairo, was backed by all member states.
The European Union and NATO discussed the possible implementation of a no-fly zone over Libya during their meetings in Brussels last week.
Gaddafi has described the no-fly zone proposal as a "colonialist plot" by the West to steal Libyan oil.