Libyan oil minister said to defect

TRIPOLI, Libya, May 18 (UPI) -- The Libyan oil minister, Shukri Ghanem, has left the country amid reports he defected, a spokesman for the country's rebel leaders said.

Ghanem, Libya's National Oil Corporation chief and a former prime minister, was seen crossing into Tunisia before departing for the island of Djerba, the BBC reported Tuesday.

The Libyan government said Ghanem had been on official business in Tunisia, but that Tripoli had lost contact with him.

Jumaa el Gamaty, a British-based spokesman for the rebel Transitional National Council, told the BBC, "Mr. Shukri Ghanem has defected. I think as we speak he's in [a] transitory European country."

Since the start of the uprising seeking the ouster of Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi began in February, several senior officials have fled the strongman's regime, including former Foreign Minister Musa Kusa, former Interior Minister Abdul Fattah Younis, former Justice Minister Mustafa Abdul-Jalil and a number of ambassadors.

Even if Tripoli has lost touch with Ghanem, Libyan government spokesman Moussa Ibrahim told The New York Times the government's fight against the rebels "doesn't depend on individuals, even if they are high-ranking officials."

Libyan state TV reported Tuesday a NATO warship off the coast near the besieged port city of Misurata was hit by Libyan forces, but NATO called the claim a "totally fabricated allegation."

NATO aircraft conducted 159 sorties and 53 strike sorties Tuesday, NATO posted on its Web site Wednesday. Targets in and around Tripoli included several tanks and armored personnel carriers, surface-to-air missile launchers and target acquisition radar. In Misurata, NATO operations hit a command-and-control bunker, a rocket launcher and several truck-mounted guns.