UK begins rescue mission from Tunisia

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TRIPOLI, Mar 4 (AP): Fighters loyal to Moammar Gaddafi set up checkpoints in Tripoli, searching cars, ahead of planned anti-government protests Friday, raising fears of new bloodshed in the Libyan capital where a heavy crackdown the past week has spread fear among residents. The opposition has called for protesters to march out of mosques after noon prayers in demonstrations demanding Gadhafi's ouster. Similar protests last Friday were met by brutal retaliation: Pro-regime militiamen opened fire immediately on the marches, killing and wounding a still unknown number. Internet services, which have been spotty throughout Libya's upheaval, appeared to be halted completely in Tripoli on Friday, as well as in Benghazi, the opposition's stronghold in the east. The extent of the cutoff was not clear. Also, Libyan authorities barred many foreign journalists from leaving their hotel in Tripoli, claiming it was for their protection because they had information "al-Qaida elements" plan to open fire on police to spark clashes. Several hours before prayers, streets were eerily empty, with few residents out. Security forces, however, began to take up positions. In Tajoura, an eastern district of the capital where protests a week ago were attacked, police set up two checkpoints on the main highway leading to downtown. They stopped cars to search them, check drivers' ID and ask where they were going or coming from. Another police car was set up not far from the district's main Murad Agha Mosque. The crisis has turned into something of deadlock between the two sides. Gadhafi's forces have been unable to take back significant ground from the rebellion - which has repelled repeated attacks on several opposition-held cities. At the same time, his opponents, made up of ragtag citizen militias backed by mutinous army units, don't seem to have the capabilities to make a military move against territory still in regime hands. Meanwhile, BBC adds: British flights have begun rescuing people who are stranded on the Libyan-Tunisian border and fleeing violence. Some 800 people have already been picked up from Djerba airport in Tunisia and flown to Cairo by three UK-chartered planes. It comes as Foreign Secretary William Hague is due to hold talks over Libya and the Middle East with his French counterpart. Meanwhile, UK charities are warning of a "potential humanitarian crisis". Prime Minister David Cameron announced the evacuation flights in the House of Commons on Wednesday. He also said Department for International Development (DfID) teams had been sent to the border area.