A view on Saturday of the buildings ravaged by fighting in Sirte, Libya. Revolution leaders say they'll declare liberation today after months of bloodshed and the death of dictator Moammar Gadhafi. / MANU BRABO/Associated Press
One of the rebel fighters is greeted upon return to Benghazi. The next steps are to set up a provisional government within a month and then hold elections within eight months, leaders say. / FRANCOIS MORI/Associated Press
5 killed in Syrian raids as police, soldiers search house-to-house
BEIRUT -- Thousands of Syrian security forces fanned out through suburbs of the capital Damascus on Saturday in search of regime opponents, while five other members of the opposition were killed in raids across the country, activists said.
The Britain-based Syrian Observation for Human Rights said about 5,000 soldiers and policemen set up checkpoints and conducted house-to-house searches in Damascus suburbs.
Other activists said five people were killed Saturday in other cities and regions.
The raids come a day after 25 people were reported killed across the country when security forces fired on protesters who poured into the streets, energized by the death of Libya's Moammar Gadhafi.
The United Nations says more than 3,000 people have died since the uprising against Syrian President Bashar Assad began in mid-March.
Arab League officials say the 22-nation organization would dispatch a delegation to Syria this week to persuade it to stop firing on protesters.
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TRIPOLI, Libya -- Libya's new leaders said Saturday that they will declare liberation today, a move that will start the clock for elections after months of bloodshed that culminated in the death of longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi.
The long-awaited declaration of liberation will come more than two months after revolutionary forces swept into the capital Tripoli and seized control of most of the oil-rich north African nation. It was stalled by fierce resistance by Gadhafi loyalists in his hometown of Sirte, Bani Walid and pockets in the south.
Sirte was the last to fall, but Saif al-Islam, Gadhafi's son, and many of his fighters have apparently escaped, raising fears they could continue to stir up trouble, officials said Saturday.
The victory has been clouded by questions over how Gadhafi was killed after images emerged showing he was found alive and taunted and beaten by his captors.
With Gadhafi gone, the governing National Transitional Council is moving forward to transform the country that was ruled by one man for 42 years into a democracy.
The transitional leadership has said it would declare a new interim government within a month of liberation and hold elections for a constitutional assembly within eight months, then to organize a parliamentary and presidential vote within a year after that.
On Saturday, acting Prime Minister Mahmoud Jibril said he plans to resign today after liberation and said the interim government "should last until the first presidential elections."
Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Jordan, he said the NTC must move quickly to disarm rebels who helped to overthrow Gadhafi's regime. He said it was a priority to ensure huge caches of weapons are turned in within the next few days.
Gadhafi's blood-streaked body remained on display Saturday in a commercial freezer at a shopping center in Misrata as Libyan authorities argued over the burial site.
Fathi Bashagha, a spokesman for the Misrata military council, said a burial decision will be made soon but he ruled out an autopsy unless demanded by an international committee or the transitional government, "and so far there have been no requests."
At least four groups of doctors have examined the body and determined Gadhafi died of a bullet to the head and stomach, Bashagha said. "So there is no need to cut his body up," he said.