EU mission to assess damage in Libya

The European Union (EU) has sent a high-level mission to troubled Libya to assess the needs of the people and monitor evacuation efforts.

The office of the EU foreign affairs chief said Sunday that it will be the first such mission to Libya since the anti-regime protests began Feb 14 against Muammar Gaddafi's 41-year rule.

The Libyan authorities are fiercely suppressing the riots, and at least 6,000 people have been killed, according to international organisations.

The EU experts will have to report on the humanitarian situation in the oil-rich north African country to the emergency EU summit on Libya to be held in Brussels March 11.