Cairo: Latest developments in the unrest sweeping the Middle East and North Africa.

LIBYA

- Residents in the Libyan oil town of Ras Lanuf, the front line in a rebel uprising against ruler Moamer Gaddafi, began leaving early on Monday fearing an attack.

- An air strike on Monday targeted Libyan rebels east of Ras Lanuf, where fighters opened fire with anti-aircraft guns following an explosion, an reports said.

- Libyan rebels were not visible west of the front line town of Ras Lanuf, on the road towards the hamlet of Bin Jawad where they suffered casualties of at least seven killed and more than 50 wounded on Sunday, reports said.

- US President Barack Obama's administration has come under mounting pressure to arm Libyan rebels facing an emboldened and regrouping military, amid charges Washington missed recent chances to oust strongman Moamer Gaddafi.

- Gaddafi accused France of interference in his country's internal affairs and blamed Al-Qaeda for the revolt against his regime, in an interview aired on Monday by France24 television.

- US defence planners are preparing a range of land, sea and air military options in Libya in case Washington and its allies decide to intervene there.

- Britain said a 'small diplomatic team' had left the Libyan city of Benghazi after trying to contact opposition forces, as rebels there made it clear they had refused to talk to them.

- UN chief Ban Ki-moon persuaded Gaddafi's foreign minister to let a 'humanitarian assessment' team visit Tripoli and named a special envoy to deal with the regime, his spokesman said.

- The United Nations on Sunday demanded urgent access to the 'injured and dying' in the western Libyan rebel city of Misrata, which has been shelled by forces loyal to Moamer Gaddafi's regime.

EGYPT

- Armed civilians attacked hundreds of Egyptian protesters outside the state security headquarters in Cairo on Sunday, as the army fired warning shots and used sticks to disperse the crowd, witnesses said.

- Nabil al-Arabi, Egypt's former ambassador to the United Nations, was named foreign minister in the latest move to purge the cabinet of members of toppled president Hosni Mubarak's regime.

YEMEN

- The opposition vowed to intensify protests against the regime of President Ali Abdullah Saleh after the embattled leader refused to resign by the end of the year.

- Sixty-one anti-regime protesters were wounded after supporters of Yemen's ruling party armed with knives, rocks and batons stormed a protest in the city of Ibb, a leading activist said.

- Suspected Al-Qaeda gunmen killed six soldiers, including two officers, in three separate attacks around the country.

- Canada warned its citizens on late Sunday to avoid going to Yemen, citing an increased risk for foreigners there.

BAHRAIN

- Dozens of activists protested at the US embassy in Manama on Monday, calling for Washington to press Bahraini authorities for democratic reform after weeks of demonstrations.

IRAQ

- A roadside bomb targeting US forces instead hit a bus in the southern port city of Basra, killing six and wounding 12.

- A protest site in Iraq's Kurdish region was attacked overnight and the offices of an independent Kurdish radio station were ransacked, demonstrators and a press watchdog said.

PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES

- Hamas police detained several protesters calling for unity between the Islamist group and its bitter West Bank rival Fatah.

ALGERIA

- Algeria's government is studying ways to improve dialogue with the public including the use of social media, a minister said on Sunday, a day after police cracked down on anti-regime rallies.

JORDAN

- Around 300 Jordanian relatives of Salafist Islamist prisoners, including Abu Mohammed al-Maqdessi, the onetime mentor of slain Al-Qaeda in Iraq leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, demonstrated to demand their release.

TUNISIA

- Tunisia's interior ministry said nearly 2,000 people had been arrested in the past month as security forces seek to impose order after the country's popular uprising.

- Tunisia will hold an election on July 24 to choose an assembly to write a new post-revolution constitution, which was a key demand of government critics.

SAUDI ARABIA

- Saudi Arabia has released a Shiite cleric whose arrest last month provoked demonstrations and a Facebook call for a 'Day of Rage', a human rights activist said on Monday.

OMAN

- Omani protesters demanding a clampdown on corruption in the Gulf state maintained vigils on Monday despite the sacking of two ministers and pledges to create jobs.

SYRIA

- Activists are demanding political reforms be made a top priority as revolts rattle regimes across the Middle East, toppling Egypt's and Tunisia's leaders in less than a month.

MOROCCO

- Young activists are using Facebook to call for new demonstrations on March 20 'for dignity and large scale political reforms'.