CRISISBOOM

WASHINGTON — The United States said on Friday it was imposing unilateral and multilateral sanctions on Libya in a bid to halt and punish Moamer Kadhafi’s crackdown on protests.

Washington also said that it has closed its embassy in Tripoli for security reasons, and warned that US intelligence assets were monitoring events for evidence of atrocities committed by Kadhafi’s forces.

The announcements from White House spokesman Jay Carney came as a US-chartered ferry carrying more than 300 evacuees reached safety in the Mediterranean island of Malta, and a chartered flight carrying more US citizens left Tripoli, destination Turkey.

Carney said that Kadhafi had “lost the confidence” of his people, but stopped short of saying that he should go, saying it was up to the Libyans to decide his fate.

The White House had decided with its partners to “move forward” with unilateral and multilateral sanctions against Libya, Carney said, adding that Washington was cutting off limited military assistance and had put financial Read more…