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Libya Update: Up to 6,000 Killed, Rebels Hold Eight British Soldiers, and Gadhafi Wants UN to Investigate Protesters

Late Saturday night and there are some startling bits of news out of Northern Africa.

Human rights groups are claiming that up to 6,000 citizens have been killed fighting in the streets of Libya.  Ali Zeidan, of the Libyan Human Rights League told reporters in Paris:

"Victims in the whole country were 6,000,  3,000 in the capital Tripoli, 2,000 in the rebel-held second city Benghazi and 1,000 in other cities."

There are also reports out of the region that as many as eight British Special Forces are being held by the rebels the eastern region of the country.  The Sunday Times of London states:

The soldiers were captured Saturday as they escorted a junior diplomat through rebel-held territory in eastern Libya.

Britain's Minister of Defense has released the following (non) statement:

"We neither confirm nor deny the story and we do not comment on the special forces."

And in a bizarre turn of events, embattled ruler Muammar Gaddafi has reportedly requested that the United Nations investigate the anti-government riots happening in his country.

The 68-year-old Gaddafi made the remarks in an interview with the French weekly Le Journal du Dimanche, AFP reported early on Sunday.

On Saturday, pro-Gaddafi forces backed by tanks launched an assault on Zawiyah, 50 kilometers (31 miles) west of the capital Tripoli, firing heavy mortar rounds at houses and attacking a hospital.

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