Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat criticized on Monday the West’s “suspicious” silence over the developments in Libya that are similar to the confusion it felt when confronting the anti-regime protests in Egypt.

He said in his weekly editorial in the PSP-affiliated al-Anbaa magazine that the silence stems from the West’s interest in the oil wealth, “which remains the main drive behind most of western policies that turn a blind eye to human rights and democracy once their interests are jeopardized.”

British energy giant BP was on Monday making preparations to evacuate some of its staff from Libya amid escalating unrest in the country, a spokesman told Agence France Presse.

"We're just monitoring the situation and making preparations to evacuate some of the families, and some non-essential staff in the next day or two," said the spokesman.

Anti-regime protests spread closer to the Libyan capital Sunday amid new fighting in the flashpoint city of Benghazi, as Human Rights Watch said it feared a catastrophe with more than 170 people dead in an iron-fisted crackdown.

As the death toll continued to rise, world leaders stepped up their pressure over strongman Moammar Gadhafi's response to the unprecedented challenge to his four-decade rule of the oil-rich North African country.

Hizbullah on Sunday called on Lebanese authorities to take measures to protect Lebanese satellite TV networks from jamming.

"The attack that some Lebanese satellite TV networks have been suffering is not the first of its kind, although it represents a dangerous precedent after the broadcast of NBN TV network has been totally blocked," said a statement released by Hizbullah's Media Relations Unit.

Austria announced Sunday it was sending a military plane to Malta in view of evacuating Austrian and European citizens from Libya or other Arab countries, following recent unrest in the region.

"Due to the security situation in Libya, which has worsened in the last few hours, the government has decided to send a C-130 Hercules from the Austrian army, as well as special relief units, to southern Europe," the defense ministry said in a statement.

Internet service was cut off in Libya on Friday as the regime evidently moved to strip anti-government protestors of ways to organize and communicate, according to Arbor Networks.

Libya "abruptly disconnected" from the Internet at 4:15 pm.(00:15 GMT Saturday), according to the U.S. based tracker of online traffic.

Moammar Gadhafi's regime vowed on Friday to snuff out attempts to challenge the Libyan leader, after an opposition "day of anger" became a bloodbath and two policemen were reported hanged by protesters.

According to a toll compiled by Agence France Presse from different local sources, at least 41 people have lost their lives since demonstrations first erupted on Tuesday.

Libya said an Arab League summit set for March 29 has been put off, but Iraq, which is hosting the event, denied the claim, saying on Friday that postponement was not "an individual decision."

The official Libyan news agency Jana reported on Thursday that the presidency of the Arab League summit had decided to push back the Baghdad meeting in light of turmoil across the Arab world.

Libyan security forces killed at least 24 people in a violent crackdown on anti-regime demonstrations during a "Day of Anger" against strongman Moammer Gadhafi, Human Rights Watch said Friday.

The New York-based rights group, citing witnesses, said 24 protesters were killed and scores injured during Thursday's assaults on protests in two Libyan cities.

At least four people were killed in clashes with Libyan security forces, opposition websites and NGOs said on Thursday, as the country faced a nationwide "Day of Anger" called by cyber-activists.

The websites monitored in Cyprus and a Libyan rights group based in London said the clashes with demonstrators opposed to the regime of Libya's leader Moammer Gadhafi took place on Wednesday in the eastern town of al-Baida.