Italy says 1,000 killed in Libya unrest

Muammar Qaddafi increasingly desperate attempts to quell the uprising against his rule, four decades killed 1000 people and divide Libya, Italy's foreign minister said Wednesday. As countries with strong business ties with the third-largest oil producer in Africa, were struggling to evacuate their citizens, and the fear of pro-Qaddafi the militants deserted streets of the capital Tripoli, France became the first state to call for sanctions. "I would like to suspend the economic, trade and financial relations with Libya until further notice," President Nicolas Sarkozy. But in the latest sign of the international division over how to deal with Gaddafi, the Prime Minister of Qatar, said he did not want to isolate Libya, where several senior officials expressed their support for the protest, which began about a week ago. Senior Assistant Gaddafi's son Saif influential was the last to the other side. "I resigned from the Gaddafi Foundation on Sunday to express concern at violence," Youssef Sawani, executive director of the foundation, said in a text message sent to Reuters. Gaddafi has called for mass demonstrations by his supporters on Wednesday to try to retain power. In the morning, only about 150 people gathered in the center of the green area of Tripoli, the Libyan flag carrying and holding up a portrait Gaddafi.