Gaddafi releases dozens of rebel supporters and sends them home to Benghazi

Libyan leader Colonel Muammar Gaddafi has released dozens of rebel supporters and allowed them to sail back to Benghazi yesterday in a move that could mark the beginning of broader talks between the adversaries.

In a transfer facilitated by the Red Cross, a ship carrying about 50 men detained by Gaddafi forces in western Libya docked in Benghazi's harbour alongside hundreds of other refugees.

"These are mainly civilians. Among them there are 51 people who were detained in Tripoli but were released by the government there so we brought them back," said Dibeh Fakhr, a spokeswoman for the International Committee of the Red Cross in Benghazi.

Pointing at the vessel, festooned with opposition flags and a Red Cross banner, she said a total of several hundred people, including 66 former detainees, were scheduled to come back from Tripoli in two trips. In the other direction, 110 Tripoli residents trapped in the east would be allowed to sail to the capital, she said.

Rebel sources said the swap underlined Col Gaddafi's weakness and willingness to discuss ways out of a war in the oil-rich North African nation that has been in deadlock since February. Rebels said yesterday they were having indirect talks with Tripoli on a possible political settlement under which Col Gaddafi would step down and pave the way for a new leadership.

"For Gaddafi, this release shows he is weak and ready to step down," said a rebel source.