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>> and now "bbc world news." as libya's opposition takes on the gaddafi regime, hundreds have died in violence. president obama says it must and. >> suffering and bloodshed is outrageous and unacceptable. orders to peaceful protesters and punish those people of libya is also unacceptable. a >> thousands half lead. welcome to "bbc world news," broadcast on pbs in america and around the globe. also, hundreds still missing and the search efforts continue following new zealand's powerful earthquake.

welcome. the crisis in libya is becoming increasingly volatile. there are reports of up to 600 dead and the army being used against its own people. thousands have fled the feared bloodbath. president obama has described the violence as outrageous. speaking in washington, he said his administration was looking at a full range of options for dealing with the crisis. >> we strongly condemn the use of violence in libya. the american people extend our deepest condolences to the families and loved ones of all who have been killed and injured. the suffering and bloodshed is outrageous and unacceptable. so are threats and orders to shoot peaceful protesters and further punished the people of libya. these actions violate international norms and every standard of common decency.

this violence must stop. >> in a moment, analysis from our correspondent in washington, but first this report from libya. >> government buildings on fire in eastern libya. this area is not completely under opposition control. militiamen direct the trafficked. shops and businesses are closed, but local people are still delighted to be rid of colonel gaddafi's rule. at an airfield in the northeast of the country, we found evidence of how tough the fight was, the runway carpeted with used ammunition. this was used to ferry and special forces and african mercenaries, sent in to shoot on demonstrators, but this is all that is left behind after local

villagers took them on and won. local protesters say people armed with sticks and stones fought off well-armed government troops. it shows the damage -- the determination to get rid of the government of colonel gaddafi. young people surged forward, unarmed at first, slowly finding crude weaponry from somewhere. at least four people died here, but the protesters who filmed the scenes said they did not hesitate to take on the government. >> it is a war. we must protect our homes and families. we had to do something. >> this he told us was the moment a helicopter gunships opened fire on them, and he also filmed that colonel gaddafi sent his out there forced to bomb its own people. near the airfield, this building

was destroyed. you could see aircraft, air planes bombing the protesters? >> yeah, they tried to save some people. >> now the runway has been blocked. these old russian fighter jets are going nowhere. government troops can no longer be flown in to terrorize protesters. it is a story repeated across libya as the opposition faced down the military might that is the only thing keeping colonel gaddafi in power. >> the massive evacuation operation is gathering pace as the international community tries to rescue tens of thousands of people from the chaos and golfing at libya. the united states, china, and military -- and european

countries have been trying to rescue their people. the british government has been criticized for not doing enough. >> those who can escape are on their way out. hundreds streamed through the border with tunisia today. most cannot leave fast enough. they clutched few possessions and told stories of what is happening inside the country in turmoil. is the government in control? >> yes, government controlled. all of the roads are government controlled. >> thousands have descended on tripoli airport. tonight, britain stands accused of abandoning u.k. citizens. >> the british embassy, all he did was call me two days ago, three days ago, to say we recommend that women and children leave. then two days ago he called and recommended everybody goes. i said, how?

he said, that is your problem. >> this oil worker was stranded in the desert, not able to escape. >> we are living in fear of our lives, as the local people were protesting. the british government is ignoring us. >> the french airforce has already rested its people. two landed in tripoli -- to airplanes landed in tripoli last night. british airlines have canceled all of their flights, but germany has run commercial and military planes to evacuate people from libya. turkey has used planes and boats to get people to safety. hundreds of british people have been leaving successfully from tripoli, many of them assisted by the foreign office. what happened this morning was to airlines that are meant to

fly planes refused to do so or failed to do so, and now we have this additional capacity tonight and tomorrow morning. >> those who have managed to get out paint a grim picture. this man was beaten by soldiers simply because he cannot sing the libyan national anthem. the picture emerging from the country is one of chaos. the families who are leaving are relieved to be out of the country, but they also know many thousands are left behind, desperate and afraid to leave. an emergency flight chartered by the british government to rescue its nationals in libya has landed in tripoli, a second flight arranged by oil companies is also bringing people home from the libyan capital. the british oil worker brian roberts was on a flight that just arrived in warsaw, and he

joins us from his hotel. how did you get out? was it a specially chartered airplane? >> we went to the british embassy yesterday morning. they told us to go to the airport and look for british embassy people. we get there, they said, ok, we're getting on an airplane that should be arriving at 6:00 p.m. after that they said it is not arriving, it has been delayed. it then it was not arriving at all. british airways canceled because of technical difficulties. so we had now been in the airport six hours, plus, and it is raining, cold, we have no shelter. we cannot get into the terminal building because there are thousands, tens of thousands of people who are cramped and the

airport. we then heard there were a few airplanes, and it turned out to be the polish president's budget. does anybody want to go? yes, me, and that was it. within two hours, we were shepherd it through, process took a long while because it is absolute mayhem. i was with a small group going through, and i got caught in a fight that started between the security forces, security guards, whatever you want to call them, and the airport, fighting with whatever nationality. it with absolute mayhem. these guys had at night sticks. they were beating, randomly.

women, children, young, old, did not matter. but that was because they were at the breaking point. it is absolute chaos. after that, you past thousands of people trying to get to the airport. they stopped just about all of the transports trying to get to the airport. nobody can get to that. and again with that, is night time, it is raining. >> ok, briefly, brian, tell me where you got to the airport from and what was that journey like? >> i was in accommodation 1 kilometer from the square, and i left at midday. tripoli was a ghost town. normally it is filled with traffic, and it was nothing. it took us 20 minutes to get to the airport.

that normally takes an hour. >> thank you very much. >> just one thing, please. >> yes? >> i need to emphasize, they are not being targeted. the libyans are very concerned that we are safe. >> thank you very much, brian. president obama has ordered international security teams to prepare a full range of options in libya. >> he says his administration will look into the full range of options that it could take. at the moment, he is not making clear what those options are. my understanding is it could mean some kind of sanctions, u.s.-imposed, also in conjunction with allies, possibly a freeze of colonel gaddafi's assets, but the administration did not want to go further than that in public,

because they are still concerned about the fate of their own citizens, some 5000 americans believed to still be in libya. they are concerned they could be a target of reprisal if they take tougher measures. >> many libyans say the sanctions will only hurt them and not the regime. it appears the united states is fairly helpless. >> the u.s. has very few levers. even if sanctions are imposed, it is not likely they would have much immediate effect on the ground, especially when colonel gaddafi has said it and appears to make clear through his actions that he will fight until the end, using the military against protesters and so on. the u.s. does not have a lot of influence, it does not have the same level of commercial ties as the british and european nations, even if sanctions were to work closely -- work quickly.

some are talking about no-fly zones. it is very much a situation where the offense on the ground will decide the outcome. while we hear a lot of words, it is not clear that anyone is miss it -- is listening or that will make much difference to the events on the ground. >> looking at the situation in libya and across north africa out on our website. there are also links to get in touch with us here at the bbc. the price of oil has risen sharply in reaction to the continuing crisis in libya, several european nations contemplating sanctions. that follows a call from french president nicolas sarkozy for the u to suspend economic ties until further notice. here is our business reporter, damien. >> french president nicolas

sarkozy has called on europe to suspend economic relations with libya what gaddafi is in charge, back in the u.s. by senator john kerry. since sanctions were lifted in 2005, world leaders including italy's silvio berlusconi have rushed to establish relations with colonel gaddafi. last year, several companies were joined by investors from gazprom, bp, and royal dutch shell. their contracts may be at risk. but it will still have the biggest impact on italy. >> they can no longer count on libya for the time being for oil and natural gas deliveries. in addition, the libyan central bank which holds a significant share of italy's largest bank credit has pretty much gone

missing. >> mr. sarkozy is also keen for sanctions on the gaddafi family, saying they are involved in major construction projects. his brother, an heir apparent, it is alleged to have financial interests in oil. leaders elsewhere in the region are rushing to secure their positions. in saudi arabia, the kaine gave out billions in handouts to prevent further problems -- the king gave out billions in handouts. this is out "bbc world news." the crisis in libya grows increasingly volatile. the reports up to 600 dead and the army being used against its own people. a mass evacuation of libyan nationals and tens of thousands of foreigners tried to flee the chaos.

let's stay with libya. earlier, i got analysis from the university of texas, a professor who is saying that gaddafi has to go. >> he has heard the libyan people say, we don't want you, we don't want your constitution, we don't want your father, we don't want you, we want you out of here. we want to develop our own constitution and be free. this is a last attempt on his part to try to get to the undecideds, but the majority of libyans have decided and the country now is being taken from gaddafi's rule. why would they go back with him? there is no logic there.

if you look at the bbc and others, gaddafi is around, he has no where to go. libya is free of him. it will not go with his son. >> tell us about the importance of tripoli to gaddafi. >> tripoli is the heart of libya. it is the biggest city in libya, 2 million people, the industrial center, and that is where much of their money has gone. which is ok, but if he loses tripoli, he loses libya. as long as he has control of tripoli, he could still cause problems, but each day at tripoli is slipping out of his grasp. several towns are free of him, but just tripoli is free of

him, and he is caught in an area outside of tripoli. it is over. it just has not sunk in yet. it is over. he has to leave. >> is the army strong enough to tilt the balance either way? >> i think against him, but i don't think it will be in his favor. so much of the army has deserted. gaddafi pause power now rests with the mercenaries and the committees that are still loyal to him. he has made clear to them, if i fall, you will fall with me. because they have committed so many atrocities this time, they have no choice but to stay with gaddafi and not leave him. i asked another person if he was planning on leaving the city.

>> what we are staying. we're not leaving. >> i understand that you went to the hospital to give blood. what did you see? >> today it was very quiet and tripoli because the weather is so cold and it is raining. that kept the protesters inside their houses, and even the army, which has kept the city quiet. but that was today. when i went to the hospital to give blood, there were a lot of people giving blood. we tried to investigate the situation, how many people were killed. there are a number of unknowns. we cannot get accurate numbers. a lot of people are giving blood. the hospital is packed with people trying to give blood as much as possible. we don't know what the medical condition, treatment, medical

supplies, we tried to ask and we try to see what we could do or offer, run to the pharmacies, something we could do. the situation today in tripoli, i can say, is quite unclam. >> did you believe if tripoli falls to the protesters that is the end for gaddafi? >> definitely. definitely. excuse me, if you could give me one of opportunity, i would like to use this great opportunity to the bbc, to president obama, that four days is just like four years for us. each day that goes by, it -- it is like a year. each day is like a year for us. one day is way too long. about what would you like the international community to do? >> do something, because i may

civilian person. i am a person who is seeing people hurt, killed. people need help, supplies. i mean, what can i do as a civilian? we're trying to help, what we can do, but the united nations, they have to do something. they have to use their power, we need more pressure to stop the killing and bombing spree that -- and the bombings. hundreds of people remain missing in the aftermath of tuesday's powerful earthquake in new zealand. no more survivors have been reported to have been found overnight. at the official death toll is now 76, and the prime minister has warned that figure is likely to rise. >> as the sun rises over christ church, the devastation is plain to see, buildings reduced to rubble, shaken to the ground. unable to fight the force of

nature's wicked hand. dozens have died, others buried in the debris, against the odds, pulled out alive. but new zealand's prime minister warned the the death toll is likely to rise. >> it is a process of matching up those who have been notified as missing, and as we get a more clear picture. >> the search effort is delicate. the scale of the work is huge. foreign rescue workers are arriving to help, but fears that buildings could collapse at any moment are hampering the efforts. aftershocks are adding to the problems. the center of christ church is completely cordoned off and a national state of emergency has been declared. one city is holding out hope that people could still be alive in the wrecked buildings. and that we will do everything

we can to get to people as quickly as we can, but let's remember people survive for long. times and we just want to get to people quickly. we will have systems in place to do that as quickly and efficiently as we can. >> cadbury television, one of the worst hit buildings. more than a dozen members and staff have been missing. the rescue work has been called off, with officials saying there are no signs of life. about 120 people have been pulled out of the rubble and christchurch. amputations have had to be performed on some of the victims. the city has been shaken to the court, a city in mourning, scarred by new zealand's worst national disaster in 80 years. i have been speaking with matt mcclain, a reporter for television news zealand, could the sot -- described the scene. >> i am outside of what remains

of the christ church cathedral, absolutely in ruins. the police have confirmed that 76 people have died so far as a result of the earthquake, but those are just the people who have been identified. they say that number will definitely rise. we are watching that situation. the police have driven the media through the cordon darrius, but the cordons remain through the majority of the central business district. we have seen some of the major league hit areas and it is devastating. the majorly hit areas and it is devastated. it is horrific to see what it has become. we arrived at the television building, which was one of the worst hit, and they have called off the rescue operations. it is not a recovery operation.

they say if they have not told anyone out, there will be none left. another major building that has been affected, they are hopeful they could find people alive. they pulled out four people yesterday, none as of yet today. but they have dogs, audio equipment, and they're going through the building is trying to see if they can hear any signs of life. >> that was matt mcclain from television news the land. this is "bbc world news out." up to 600 are feared dead after a week of violence in libya. the east of the country seems largely to belong to local militia, while the picture is not clear in the west. this is "bbc world news." get lots more on all of the stories on our website.

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