France expels 14 Libyan diplomats loyal to government of Muammar Gaddafi

France on Friday expelled 14 Libyan diplomats loyal to the government of Muammar Gaddafi, the French foreign ministry said.

"France has declared persona non grata 14 Libyan ex-diplomats posted in France," the ministry said in a statement, indicating that Paris no longer recognized their diplomatic status. "Depending on their case, those concerned have a deadline of 24 to 48 hours to leave French national territory."

The ministry accused them of "activities incompatible with the relevant UN resolutions ... and contrary to the protection of Libyan civilians," citing the UN mandate under which international forces are bombing Gaddafi’s strategic sites.

France was the first foreign power to formally recognize the Transitional National Council, the political leadership of the revolutionists who are battling Gaddafi’s forces.

A French diplomatic source was quoted by Reuters as saying that the decision to expel the 14 Libyan diplomats had been taken some time ago, but there was a process to follow. "Many of these people were using their status as diplomats as a cover," said the source, who declined to be named.

Meanwhile, Gaddafi’s regime reacted angrily on Friday to a NATO-led decision to provide funding to the three-month-old rebellion against his rule in Libya, describing as "piracy" plans to tap its assets frozen abroad.

A coalition of Western and Arab countries agreed on Thursday to provide Libya's eastern revolutionists, based in Benghazi, with millions of dollars in non-military aid to help them keep services and the economy running as well as try to topple Gaddafi, in power since 1969.

"Libya still, according to the international law, is one sovereign state and any use of the frozen assets, it's like piracy on the high seas," deputy foreign minister Khaled Kaim told a Tripoli news conference.

Kaim said there would no let-up in the government's attempts to block off the maritime lifeline to the besieged city of Misrata - the revolutionists' last bastion in the west. "We will not allow those ships to bring arms to the city and then to evacuate some criminals," he said.

Amnesty International said on Friday that indiscriminate attacks on Misrata, including the use of snipers, cluster bombs and artillery in civilian areas, might amount to war crimes. "The scale of the relentless attacks that we have seen by Gaddafi forces to intimidate the residents of Misrata for more than two months is truly horrifying," said Donatella Rovera, Amnesty International's senior adviser in Libya. "It shows a total disregard for the lives of ordinary people and is in clear breach of international humanitarian law."