Libya: Obama defends war, insists US role is limited
US President Barack Obama has defended the first war launched under his presidency, insisting US military involvement in Libya will be limited.
He told Americans US intervention as part of the coalition had saved "countless lives" threatened by the forces of the "tyrant" Muammar Gaddafi.
But having led the initial campaign, the US would hand over to Nato allies on Wednesday, he said.
Meanwhile, the rebel advance inside Libya has been slowed down near Sirte.
While Nato insists it is impartial in the conflict, Russia has renewed its expressions of concern, saying intervention in an internal civil war is not sanctioned by UN Security Council Resolution 1973.
Some 40 delegations - from the coalition, the UN, Nato, the African Union and Arab League - are preparing to meet in London on Tuesday to discuss the way forward for Libya.
'Regime change' ruled out
"Tonight, I can report that we have stopped Gaddafi's deadly advance," Mr Obama said, speaking from the National Defense University in Washington DC.
But having led the initial campaign, the US would hand over to Nato allies on Wednesday, he said.
Meanwhile, the rebel advance inside Libya has been slowed down near Sirte.
While Nato insists it is impartial in the conflict, Russia has renewed its expressions of concern, saying intervention in an internal civil war is not sanctioned by UN Security Council Resolution 1973.
Some 40 delegations - from the coalition, the UN, Nato, the African Union and Arab League - are preparing to meet in London on Tuesday to discuss the way forward for Libya.
'Regime change' ruled out
"Tonight, I can report that we have stopped Gaddafi's deadly advance," Mr Obama said, speaking from the National Defense University in Washington DC.
But the lead in enforcing the no-fly zone "and protecting civilians on the ground" would now move to US "allies and partners".
"Because of this transition to a broader, Nato-based coalition, the risk and cost of this operation - to our military, and to American taxpayers - will be reduced significantly," Mr Obama said.
"We must always measure our interests against the need for action," the president continued.
"But that cannot be an argument for never acting on behalf of what's right...
"We were faced with the prospect of violence on a horrific scale. We had a unique ability to stop that violence: an international mandate for action, a broad coalition prepared to join us, the support of Arab countries and a plea for help from the Libyan people themselves."
He said that to broaden the aims of the military mission in Libya to overthrowing Col Gadaffi would be a mistake. The US, he said, had gone down that road in Iraq and could not afford the cost in lives, time and money again
Earlier on Monday, Mr Obama spoke by video conference with French President Nicolas Sarkozy, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and UK Prime Minister David Cameron as part of his regular consultations with European allies.
The leaders agreed that Col Gaddafi "had lost any legitimacy to rule and should leave power, and that the Libyan people should have the political space to determine their own future", a White House statement said.
Advance slows
Anti-Gaddafi rebels have seized a number of coastal communities and important oil installations in recent days, including Ras Lanuf, Brega, Uqayla and Bin Jawad.
However, repeated attacks by government troops have prevented them reaching Sirte, a symbolic target for the rebels as the birthplace of Col Gaddafi.
Bombardments of the road between Bin Jawad and Nawfaliyah reportedly sent the rebels fleeing back towards Bin Jawad.
Nato has denied its air strikes are meant to provide cover for a rebel advance.
Sir Emyr Jones Parry, a former British ambassador to Nato and the UN, dismissed concerns voiced by Russia as "puritanical".
"Fundamentally, you're protecting civilians and to do that, you've got to get at the sources of the attack and make sure that they are negated," he told the BBC.
Barack Obama defends US military intervention in Libya
US president gives speech to nation claiming US action has saved 'countless lives' – but rules out targeting Gaddafi
Barack Obama has addressed the American people on TV and said that military intervention by America had prevented a massacre in Libya.
The US president also called on those people still loyal to Muammar Gaddafi to desert him, and said that the end of the Libyan leader's rule was inevitable.
"We will deny the regime arms, cut off its supply of cash, assist the opposition, and work with other nations to hasten the day when Gaddafi leaves power," Obama said.
"It may not happen overnight, as a badly weakened Gaddafi tries desperately to hang on to power. But it should be clear to those around Gadaffi, and to every Libyan, that history is not on his side."
Obama had previously said that he wanted Gaddafi to leave power, even though such a goal appears to exceed the mandate of the UN resolution authoring a no-fly zone and the protection of civilians.
But Obama did say that the coalition would not target Gaddafi, and that regime change by armed force – especially by American ground troops – was not an aim. "To be blunt, we went down that road in Iraq. Thanks to the extraordinary sacrifices of our troops and the determination of our diplomats, we are hopeful about Iraq's future.
"But regime change there took eight years, thousands of American and Iraqi lives, and nearly a trillion dollars. That is not something we can afford to repeat in Libya," he said.
Instead Obama sought to justify the military attacks on Gaddafi's army by saying there was no doubt that a massacre of opposition forces and civilians had been prevented.
Obama pulled no punches in detailing what he believed would have happened had the rebel stronghold of Benghazi fallen into loyalist hands.
"Gaddafi declared that he would show "no mercy" to his own people. He compared them to rats, and threatened to go door to door to inflict punishment. In the past, we had seen him hang civilians in the streets, and kill over a thousand people in a single day. We knew that if we waited one more day Benghazi … could suffer a massacre that would have reverberated across the region and stained the conscience of the world," Obama declared.
The powerful language of Obama's speech was used in part to explain to the American public why the US is now involved in a third conflict in a Muslim country. The setting of the address – the National Defence University in Washington – was also a clear part of Obama's communication strategy. Normally when American presidents speak to the nation they use the Oval Office.
Obama has come in for a barrage of criticism from Republicans and some Democrats for a perceived slowness to speak clearly and publicly about why American forces are involved in Libya. Critics have accused him of not setting out concrete objectives and failing to justify another military intervention in the Muslim world.
Obama's own administration has appeared somewhat divided on the issue.
While Hillary Clinton, the secretary of state, has pushed for military action, others – like Pentagon chief Robert Gates – have seemed more reluctant.
On Sunday, Gates gave a television interview in which he said he did not think Libya was a "vital interest" to America. But during Obama's speech Gates was seated in the front row, perhaps as an attempt to show a unity of purpose.
Obama's speech sought to address the complexity of the changes sweeping through the Arab world. Some critics have wondered why military force has been used in Libya but not in other states, such as Syria, Yemen and Bahrain, where government crackdowns have cost scores of lives.
Obama said the US could not use its military in every situation, and would always seek to build and lead coalitions rather than act unilaterally. But, verbally at least, he signalled that his administration will embrace change across the region and those who espouse democratic ideals.
"The United States will not be able to dictate the pace and scope of this change. Only the people of the region can do that. But we can make a difference. I believe that this movement of change cannot be turned back, and that we must stand alongside those who believe in the same core principles that have guided us through many storms," he said.
The US president also called on those people still loyal to Muammar Gaddafi to desert him, and said that the end of the Libyan leader's rule was inevitable.
"We will deny the regime arms, cut off its supply of cash, assist the opposition, and work with other nations to hasten the day when Gaddafi leaves power," Obama said.
"It may not happen overnight, as a badly weakened Gaddafi tries desperately to hang on to power. But it should be clear to those around Gadaffi, and to every Libyan, that history is not on his side."
Obama had previously said that he wanted Gaddafi to leave power, even though such a goal appears to exceed the mandate of the UN resolution authoring a no-fly zone and the protection of civilians.
But Obama did say that the coalition would not target Gaddafi, and that regime change by armed force – especially by American ground troops – was not an aim. "To be blunt, we went down that road in Iraq. Thanks to the extraordinary sacrifices of our troops and the determination of our diplomats, we are hopeful about Iraq's future.
"But regime change there took eight years, thousands of American and Iraqi lives, and nearly a trillion dollars. That is not something we can afford to repeat in Libya," he said.
Instead Obama sought to justify the military attacks on Gaddafi's army by saying there was no doubt that a massacre of opposition forces and civilians had been prevented.
Obama pulled no punches in detailing what he believed would have happened had the rebel stronghold of Benghazi fallen into loyalist hands.
"Gaddafi declared that he would show "no mercy" to his own people. He compared them to rats, and threatened to go door to door to inflict punishment. In the past, we had seen him hang civilians in the streets, and kill over a thousand people in a single day. We knew that if we waited one more day Benghazi … could suffer a massacre that would have reverberated across the region and stained the conscience of the world," Obama declared.
The powerful language of Obama's speech was used in part to explain to the American public why the US is now involved in a third conflict in a Muslim country. The setting of the address – the National Defence University in Washington – was also a clear part of Obama's communication strategy. Normally when American presidents speak to the nation they use the Oval Office.
Obama has come in for a barrage of criticism from Republicans and some Democrats for a perceived slowness to speak clearly and publicly about why American forces are involved in Libya. Critics have accused him of not setting out concrete objectives and failing to justify another military intervention in the Muslim world.
Obama's own administration has appeared somewhat divided on the issue.
While Hillary Clinton, the secretary of state, has pushed for military action, others – like Pentagon chief Robert Gates – have seemed more reluctant.
On Sunday, Gates gave a television interview in which he said he did not think Libya was a "vital interest" to America. But during Obama's speech Gates was seated in the front row, perhaps as an attempt to show a unity of purpose.
Obama's speech sought to address the complexity of the changes sweeping through the Arab world. Some critics have wondered why military force has been used in Libya but not in other states, such as Syria, Yemen and Bahrain, where government crackdowns have cost scores of lives.
Obama said the US could not use its military in every situation, and would always seek to build and lead coalitions rather than act unilaterally. But, verbally at least, he signalled that his administration will embrace change across the region and those who espouse democratic ideals.
"The United States will not be able to dictate the pace and scope of this change. Only the people of the region can do that. But we can make a difference. I believe that this movement of change cannot be turned back, and that we must stand alongside those who believe in the same core principles that have guided us through many storms," he said.
Mother of Libyan woman who alleged rape says daughter still in custody
(CNN) -- The mother of a woman who burst into a Tripoli hotel to tell journalists that she had been beaten and raped by troops loyal to Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi said Monday that her daughter is still being held.
Her claim contradicts an earlier statement from the government, which has said that Eman al-Obeidy was released and is at home with her family.
"Yesterday, late at night at 3 a.m., they called me from Bab al Aziziya," Gadhafi's compound in Tripoli, al-Obeidy's mother told Al-Jazeera television Monday. "And they told me: Make your daughter Eman change her statement ... and we will release her immediately and whatever you ask for you will get, whether money, or a new apartment, or guaranteeing financial security for you and your children. But just tell Eman to change her statement."
A government spokesman said Sunday that al-Obeidy had been released and was with her family.
Spokesman Moussa Ibrahim said then that al-Obeidy and her family were asked if they wanted to be interviewed by "one or two, preferably female, reporters to verify that she's fine, she's healthy, she's free with her family." He refused to take further questions on the issue, repeatedly stating that Libyan society is "very conservative."
A group of lawyers and human rights activists tried to approach Al-Obeidy's sister's house Monday, but were blocked by security forces. The sister's mobile phone has apparently been turned off, a source with the opposition in Tripoli told CNN, and no one has seen her since the incident at the hotel.The family of al-Obeidy said she is a lawyer -- and not a prostitute or mentally ill as Libyan government officials initially said after the incident. The government has since changed its story, saying she is sane and pursuing a criminal case.
Al-Obeidy's father told Al-Jazeera that his daughter "has her full mental capabilities and she is a graduate of law school and a lawyer and she is pursuing higher education in Tripoli. And she was kidnapped by Gadhafi's tyrannical forces."
"I am not ashamed of my daughter," al-Obeidy's mother, who spoke from an undisclosed location in Libya, told the network. "I am proud of her because she has broken the barrier. She broke the barrier that no man can break. And those dogs there with him, Moammar, (are) the criminals!"
She urged the youth of Libya to take action.
Al-Obeidy burst into a Tripoli hotel as international journalists were having breakfast Saturday morning. Her face was bruised, as were her legs. She showed reporters blood on her right inner thigh.
Speaking in English, she said she was from the rebel stronghold of Benghazi and had been held against her will for two days and raped by 15 men.
Though her injuries appeared consistent with what she said, CNN could not independently verify al-Obeidy's story.
"Look at what Gadhafi's brigades did to me," she said. "My honor was violated by them." Al-Obeidy displayed what appeared to be visible rope burns on her wrists and ankles.
Government officials tried to stifle her, but she persisted. Security forces moved to subdue her, and even a member of the hotel's kitchen staff drew a knife. "Traitor!" he shouted. Another staffer tried to throw a dark tablecloth over her head.
One government official, who was there to facilitate access for journalists, pulled a pistol from his belt. Others scuffled with reporters and wrestled them to the ground in an attempt to take away their equipment. Some journalists were beaten and kicked. CNN's camera was confiscated and deliberately smashed beyond repair.
As security forces subdued the screaming woman and dragged her away, al-Obeidy warned, "If you don't see me tomorrow, then that's it."
Libyan rebels advance on Gadhafi's hometown
Government stronghold expected to put up fierce defence
Libyan rebel forces pushed closer Monday to Moammar Gadhafi's hometown of Sirte, a key government stronghold that lies between the rebel-held city of Benghazi and Tripoli, Libya's capital.The lightning rebel advance of the past few days, backed by international coalition airstrikes, has restored to the opposition all the territory lost over the past week and brought rebel forces to within 100 kilometres of Sirte, the bastion of Gadhafi's power in the centre of the country.
The rebel advance came to a stop, however, after encountering government fire along the exposed highway and the heavily mined approach to Sirte.
"Gadhafi is not going to give up Sirte easily because straightaway after Sirte is Misrata, and after that it's straight to Gadhafi's house [in Tripoli]," said Gamal Mughrabi, a 46-year-old rebel fighter. "So Sirte is the last line of defence."
Soldiers from a brigade led by Gadhafi's son al-Saadi and allied militiamen moved to defensive positions on the city's outskirts, and Sirte was hit by airstrikes Sunday night and Monday morning, witnesses said.
NATO says its airstrikes are designed to protect civilians and not to aid rebel ground operations, but it's apparent the outgunned opposition is benefiting from the air attacks to advance on the ground.
"Clearly [the rebels are] achieving a benefit from the actions that we're taking," U.S. Vice-Admiral William Gortney, staff director for the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said Monday in Washington, D.C.
Gortney said that over the weekend U.S. air force A-10 Thunderbolt aircraft, designed to provide battlefield support to friendly ground forces, flew attack missions for the first time in the conflict. Also joining the battle, he said, were air force AC-130 gunships, a low-flying aircraft armed with a 105mm howitzer and a 40mm cannon.
The airstrikes may have helped the rebels, Gortney said, but "the opposition is not well organized, and it's not a very robust organization, that's obvious. So any gain that they make is tenuous based on that."
U.S. President Barack Obamais scheduled to give an update on the situation in Libya on Monday evening in a televised speech.
The latest push comes a day after NATO said it would take command of all military operations in Libya.
The UN Security Council authorized countries to take all necessary measures to protect civilians in Libya, but some critics have said the military campaign goes beyond what was authorized.
On Monday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said the international air campaign breached the UN resolution and amounted to international interference in what he called Libya's civil war.
However, NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen told the BBC that NATO was "impartial" and sought only to protect civilians.
"We are there to protect civilians within the framework of the UN mandate — no more, no less," he said.
The commander of the NATO mission,Lt.-Gen. Charles Bouchard, told a press conference Monday that the military alliance was in the process of taking over command from the U.S.-led operation after NATO's 28 members agreed to the transition Sunday
Asked where NATO drew the line between protecting the civilians and aiding rebels, the Canadian commander said his mission was clear: "Our goal is to protect and help the civilians and population centres under the threat of attack," he said.
Rasmussen said that he hoped to see a ceasefire and a "political and peaceful solution" as soon as possible, but would not comment on how long that process might take.
Rebels push west
There were conflicting reports about how close the rebels were to Sirte, but Gen. Hamdi Hassi, a rebel commander in the small town of Bin Jawwad, said fighting was occurring just outside the small hamlet of Nawfaliyah, 100 kilometres from Gadhafi's birthplace."Sirte will not be easy to take," Hassi said. "Now, because of NATO strikes on [the government's] heavy weapons, we're almost fighting with the same weapons, only we have Grad rockets now and they don't."
Hassi added that the current rebel strategy was to combine military assault with an attempt to win over some of the local tribes loyal to Gadhafi overto theirside.
"There's Gadhafi and then there's circles around him of supporters; each circle is slowly peeling off and disappearing," Hassi said. "If they rise up, it would make our job easier."
In a joint statement Monday, British Prime Minister David Cameron and French President Nicolas Sarkozy said Gadhafi loyalists should abandon their leader and side with the rebel cause.
"We call on all his followers to leave him before it is too late," the leaders said. "We call on all Libyans who believe that Gadhafi is leading Libya into a disaster to take the initiative now to organize a transition process."
Cameron and Sarkozy repeated their call on Gadhafi to step down and said the opposition's Interim National Transitional Council should help begin a transition to democracy.
Call for ceasefire in Misrata: reports
The Libyan state news agency reported there had been airstrikes against the southern town of Sabha, which remains strongly loyal to Gadhafi and is a major transit point for ethnic Tuareg fighters from Mali and Niger fighting for the government.There were also reports that Libyan officials had made a unilateral call for a ceasefire in the embattled city of Misrata, the only place in rebel hands in the country's west, CBC'sNahlah Ayed said.
"We have heard these calls for a ceasefire before," Ayed said from the eastern city of Benghazi, noting that previous calls for ceasefires have been ignored.
Libyan soldiers loyal to Moammar Gadhafi are seen in the city of Misrata, 200 kilometres east of the capital Tripoli, Monday, where gunfire exchanges with rebels could be heard. Ahmed Jadallah/Reuters
On Monday, Libyan officials took foreign journalists on a tour of Misrata's outskirts but not into the centre, indicating government control did not extend far. Explosions and gunfire echoed through empty streets lined with burned out tanks and bullet-scarred buildings.
Turkey has confirmed that it has been talking with the government and the opposition, even as rebel forces advanced on Sirte.
"We are one of the very few countries that are speaking to both sides," Foreign Ministry spokesman Selcuk Unal said, without confirming whether Turkey had offered to act as mediator.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan told reporters his country will take over the running of the airport in Benghazi to facilitate the transport of humanitarian aid to Libya, but did not say when.
Meanwhile, the tiny Persian Gulf state of Qatar has formally recognized the rebels as the legitimate representatives of the country and promised to help them sell their crude oil on the international market.
Qatar has been well ahead of other Arab countries in embracing the rebels and is also participating in the UN-mandated no-fly zone over Libya.
On Monday, Libyan officials took foreign journalists on a tour of Misrata's outskirts but not into the centre, indicating government control did not extend far. Explosions and gunfire echoed through empty streets lined with burned out tanks and bullet-scarred buildings.
Turkey has confirmed that it has been talking with the government and the opposition, even as rebel forces advanced on Sirte.
"We are one of the very few countries that are speaking to both sides," Foreign Ministry spokesman Selcuk Unal said, without confirming whether Turkey had offered to act as mediator.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan told reporters his country will take over the running of the airport in Benghazi to facilitate the transport of humanitarian aid to Libya, but did not say when.
Meanwhile, the tiny Persian Gulf state of Qatar has formally recognized the rebels as the legitimate representatives of the country and promised to help them sell their crude oil on the international market.
Qatar has been well ahead of other Arab countries in embracing the rebels and is also participating in the UN-mandated no-fly zone over Libya.
Japan finds plutonium at stricken nuclear plant
(Reuters) - Plutonium found in soil at the crippled Fukushima nuclear complex heightened alarm on Tuesday over Japan's protracted battle to contain the world's worst atomic crisis in 25 years.
Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO) said the radioactive material -- a by-product of atomic reactions and also used in nuclear bombs -- had been found in soil in five places at the plant, hit by an earthquake and tsunami on March 11.
The drama at the six-reactor facility has compounded Japan's agony after the twin disaster left more than 28,000 people dead or missing in the devastated northeast.
"I apologize for making people worried," Sakae Muto, vice-president of under-pressure TEPCO, said at a briefing around midnight in Tokyo. Yet he stressed the traces of plutonium-238, 239 and 240 were not dangerous and work would not be stopped.
"It's not at the level that's harmful to human health."
Muto said the readings were similar to those found in the past in other parts of Japan due to particles in the atmosphere from nuclear testing abroad.
TEPCO said it was unclear where the plutonium was from, though it appeared two of the five finds were related to damage from the plant rather than from the atmosphere.
Experts believe that at least some of the plutonium may have come from spent fuel rods at Fukushima or damage to reactor No. 3, the only one to use plutonium in its fuel mix.
The United Nations' International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), said the find was expected due to known fuel degradation.
CONTAINMENT BREACHED
Japan's own nuclear safety agency was concerned at the plutonium samples, whose levels of radioactive decay ranged from 0.18 to 0.54 becquerels per kg.
"While it's not the level harmful to human health, I am not optimistic. This means the containment mechanism is being breached so I think the situation is worrisome," agency official Hidehiko Nishiyama was quoted as saying by Jiji news agency.
The plutonium discovery, from samples taken a week ago, was the latest bad news from the Fukushima plant, where engineers are resigned to a struggle of weeks or possibly months to re-establish cooling systems vital to control of the reactors.
On Monday, TEPCO said highly radioactive water had been found in concrete tunnels that extend beyond one reactor.
Fires, blasts and leaks have forced engineers to stop work at times, including at the weekend when radiation spiked to 100,000 times above normal in water inside reactor No. 2.
Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO) said the radioactive material -- a by-product of atomic reactions and also used in nuclear bombs -- had been found in soil in five places at the plant, hit by an earthquake and tsunami on March 11.
The drama at the six-reactor facility has compounded Japan's agony after the twin disaster left more than 28,000 people dead or missing in the devastated northeast.
"I apologize for making people worried," Sakae Muto, vice-president of under-pressure TEPCO, said at a briefing around midnight in Tokyo. Yet he stressed the traces of plutonium-238, 239 and 240 were not dangerous and work would not be stopped.
"It's not at the level that's harmful to human health."
Muto said the readings were similar to those found in the past in other parts of Japan due to particles in the atmosphere from nuclear testing abroad.
TEPCO said it was unclear where the plutonium was from, though it appeared two of the five finds were related to damage from the plant rather than from the atmosphere.
Experts believe that at least some of the plutonium may have come from spent fuel rods at Fukushima or damage to reactor No. 3, the only one to use plutonium in its fuel mix.
The United Nations' International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), said the find was expected due to known fuel degradation.
CONTAINMENT BREACHED
Japan's own nuclear safety agency was concerned at the plutonium samples, whose levels of radioactive decay ranged from 0.18 to 0.54 becquerels per kg.
"While it's not the level harmful to human health, I am not optimistic. This means the containment mechanism is being breached so I think the situation is worrisome," agency official Hidehiko Nishiyama was quoted as saying by Jiji news agency.
The plutonium discovery, from samples taken a week ago, was the latest bad news from the Fukushima plant, where engineers are resigned to a struggle of weeks or possibly months to re-establish cooling systems vital to control of the reactors.
On Monday, TEPCO said highly radioactive water had been found in concrete tunnels that extend beyond one reactor.
Fires, blasts and leaks have forced engineers to stop work at times, including at the weekend when radiation spiked to 100,000 times above normal in water inside reactor No. 2.
Fukushima's partial meltdown increases fears of contaminated seawater and soil
Japanese nuclear plant's operator makes new apology as Greenpeace says evacuation zone should be wider
High levels of radioactivity in water leaking from a reactor at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant resulted from a partial meltdown of fuel rods, Japanese officials have said, amid growing fears that radiation may also have seeped into seawater and soil.
Contamination in a pool of water in the turbine building of the No 2 reactor was found to be 100,000 times normal levels, the plant's operator, Tokyo Electric Power (Tepco), said.
On Sunday the firm said the figure was 10m times higher, a mistake the government's chief spokesman, Yukio Edano, said was "absolutely unforgivable".
Tepco was forced into another embarrassing apology after it admitted it had twice named the wrong isotope in its corrections about the levels of radiation.
"On one hand, I do think the workers at the site are getting quite tired," Edano told reporters.
"But these radiation tests are being used for making various decisions on safety … they are absolutely unforgivable."
In addition, radiation above 1,000 millisieverts per hour was found in surface water in trenches outside the No 2 reactor, Tepco said. It added that the trenches did not lead to the sea, but conceded it could not rule out that radioactive water had seeped into the ground.
Greenpeace, meanwhile, said that it had recorded radiation levels of up to 10 microsieverts per hour in Iitate, a village 25 miles from the plant, and urged authorities to expand the evacuation zone from its current 12-mile radius.
"It is clearly not safe for people to remain in Iitate, especially children and pregnant women, when it could mean receiving the maximum-allowed dose of radiation in only a few days," said Jan van de Putte, the group's radiation safety expert. "When further contamination from possible ingestion or inhalation of radioactive particles is factored in, the risks are even higher."
In a sign that Tepco is struggling to regain control of the reactors, it has reportedly asked the French nuclear sector for assistance. Tepco has sought help from Electricité de France, Areva and the Nuclear Energy Agency, a research body, Eric Besson, France's industry and energy minister, said.
Japan's nuclear and industrial safety agency (Nisa) said radioactive iodine-131 of 1,150 times the maximum allowable level had been detected in seawater near drainage outlets serving four of Fukushima's reactors.
Nisa spokesman Hidehiko Nishiyama said he suspected radioactive water from the plant was leaking into the sea. On Sunday he had denied any connection between the two.
Edano said that partial meltdown had probably occurred when the plant was hit by the 11 March tsunami, adding that there was no evidence of subsequent meltdown.
Four of the facility's six reactors are yet to be made safe, while efforts are continuing to pump in fresh water to prevent a far more dangerous full meltdown.
"The radiation seems to have come from fuel rods that were partially melted down and came into contact with the water used to cool the reactor," Edano said. "Steam may have condensed … carrying water from within the containment vessel."
Airborne radiation has been confined to the reactor buildings , and work to remove contaminated water from the structures continued on Monday.
Recent setbacks to attempts to cool the reactors, and the realisation the crisis is far from over, have added to the plight of tens of thousands of people living nearby.
Sakae Muto, vice-president of Tepco, said: "Regrettably, we don't have a concrete schedule at the moment to enable us to say how many months, or years it will take [to make the plant safe]."
About 70,000 people within a 12-mile radius of the Fukushima plant were evacuated soon after the disaster, while a further 130,000 people living in a 12-20-mile radius have been told to stay indoors.
The government said that it had no plans to widen the evacuation zone.
Fukushima prefecture authorities do not have any exact figures on how many people remain in the 12.7-18.6 miles rradius. Many have left voluntarily after days of living without essential supplies and services.
Media reports say that many truck drivers are refusing to enter the zone, fearing radiation exposure.
The government created confusion last week when it advised people within a 20-mile radius to consider leaving the area. It insisted the advice was given due to concern for their quality of life, not exposure to harmful levels of radiation.
According to the public broadcaster NHK, self-defence force personnel in the evacuation zone said 30 people had yet to leave the 12-mile evacuation zone, and 10 had indicated they wanted to remain in their homes.
Evacuees have been urged not to return to the area to collect belongings while the Fukushima plant remains unstable. Residents who return, even temporarily, would expose themselves to "great risk of radiation contamination", Edano said.
"It is very likely that the 20km area is contaminated and there is a significant risk to health," he added. Local authorities reported, however, that some people had already returned.
Others forced out of their homes are coming to terms with the possibility that they may never be able to return.
Even if they do, the many residents who depended on Tepco for employment accept that with the plant ruined, their chances of finding work in the area are close to nil.
A large number of evacuees have already moved twice since the nuclear crisis began, and could be forced to move on again if the situation worsens and the evacuation zone is expanded.
"We're assuming that in a worse-case scenario we might also be subject to evacuation," Norio Hattori, a disaster official in Nihonmatsu, said, adding that he had sent his own daughter to Tokyo.
Some of the refugees are already beginning to accept that a vast area surrounding the Fukushima plant could be condemned as a nuclear wasteland.
"If it had been an earthquake or a tsunami, we could have gone home again, but because it's radiation, we can't," said Tokuko Sujimoto.
Her home, in the village of Namie, was so close to the plant she heard the first reactor explosion on 12 March.
She said that her husband had watched from the roof of their house as a cloud of smoke rose from the reactor, before the couple decided to flee.
Yoshimoto Nogi, who had a job at the Fukushima plant until he retired last summer, said he had no hopes of going home this year.
"It's going to take a year or two. It is not a question of months," said Nogi. "Even if the nuclear plant is stabilised tomorrow, I don't think the government is going to tell us it is safe to go back any time soon."
Contamination in a pool of water in the turbine building of the No 2 reactor was found to be 100,000 times normal levels, the plant's operator, Tokyo Electric Power (Tepco), said.
On Sunday the firm said the figure was 10m times higher, a mistake the government's chief spokesman, Yukio Edano, said was "absolutely unforgivable".
Tepco was forced into another embarrassing apology after it admitted it had twice named the wrong isotope in its corrections about the levels of radiation.
"On one hand, I do think the workers at the site are getting quite tired," Edano told reporters.
"But these radiation tests are being used for making various decisions on safety … they are absolutely unforgivable."
In addition, radiation above 1,000 millisieverts per hour was found in surface water in trenches outside the No 2 reactor, Tepco said. It added that the trenches did not lead to the sea, but conceded it could not rule out that radioactive water had seeped into the ground.
Greenpeace, meanwhile, said that it had recorded radiation levels of up to 10 microsieverts per hour in Iitate, a village 25 miles from the plant, and urged authorities to expand the evacuation zone from its current 12-mile radius.
"It is clearly not safe for people to remain in Iitate, especially children and pregnant women, when it could mean receiving the maximum-allowed dose of radiation in only a few days," said Jan van de Putte, the group's radiation safety expert. "When further contamination from possible ingestion or inhalation of radioactive particles is factored in, the risks are even higher."
In a sign that Tepco is struggling to regain control of the reactors, it has reportedly asked the French nuclear sector for assistance. Tepco has sought help from Electricité de France, Areva and the Nuclear Energy Agency, a research body, Eric Besson, France's industry and energy minister, said.
Japan's nuclear and industrial safety agency (Nisa) said radioactive iodine-131 of 1,150 times the maximum allowable level had been detected in seawater near drainage outlets serving four of Fukushima's reactors.
Nisa spokesman Hidehiko Nishiyama said he suspected radioactive water from the plant was leaking into the sea. On Sunday he had denied any connection between the two.
Edano said that partial meltdown had probably occurred when the plant was hit by the 11 March tsunami, adding that there was no evidence of subsequent meltdown.
Four of the facility's six reactors are yet to be made safe, while efforts are continuing to pump in fresh water to prevent a far more dangerous full meltdown.
"The radiation seems to have come from fuel rods that were partially melted down and came into contact with the water used to cool the reactor," Edano said. "Steam may have condensed … carrying water from within the containment vessel."
Airborne radiation has been confined to the reactor buildings , and work to remove contaminated water from the structures continued on Monday.
Recent setbacks to attempts to cool the reactors, and the realisation the crisis is far from over, have added to the plight of tens of thousands of people living nearby.
Sakae Muto, vice-president of Tepco, said: "Regrettably, we don't have a concrete schedule at the moment to enable us to say how many months, or years it will take [to make the plant safe]."
About 70,000 people within a 12-mile radius of the Fukushima plant were evacuated soon after the disaster, while a further 130,000 people living in a 12-20-mile radius have been told to stay indoors.
The government said that it had no plans to widen the evacuation zone.
Fukushima prefecture authorities do not have any exact figures on how many people remain in the 12.7-18.6 miles rradius. Many have left voluntarily after days of living without essential supplies and services.
Media reports say that many truck drivers are refusing to enter the zone, fearing radiation exposure.
The government created confusion last week when it advised people within a 20-mile radius to consider leaving the area. It insisted the advice was given due to concern for their quality of life, not exposure to harmful levels of radiation.
According to the public broadcaster NHK, self-defence force personnel in the evacuation zone said 30 people had yet to leave the 12-mile evacuation zone, and 10 had indicated they wanted to remain in their homes.
Evacuees have been urged not to return to the area to collect belongings while the Fukushima plant remains unstable. Residents who return, even temporarily, would expose themselves to "great risk of radiation contamination", Edano said.
"It is very likely that the 20km area is contaminated and there is a significant risk to health," he added. Local authorities reported, however, that some people had already returned.
Others forced out of their homes are coming to terms with the possibility that they may never be able to return.
Even if they do, the many residents who depended on Tepco for employment accept that with the plant ruined, their chances of finding work in the area are close to nil.
A large number of evacuees have already moved twice since the nuclear crisis began, and could be forced to move on again if the situation worsens and the evacuation zone is expanded.
"We're assuming that in a worse-case scenario we might also be subject to evacuation," Norio Hattori, a disaster official in Nihonmatsu, said, adding that he had sent his own daughter to Tokyo.
Some of the refugees are already beginning to accept that a vast area surrounding the Fukushima plant could be condemned as a nuclear wasteland.
"If it had been an earthquake or a tsunami, we could have gone home again, but because it's radiation, we can't," said Tokuko Sujimoto.
Her home, in the village of Namie, was so close to the plant she heard the first reactor explosion on 12 March.
She said that her husband had watched from the roof of their house as a cloud of smoke rose from the reactor, before the couple decided to flee.
Yoshimoto Nogi, who had a job at the Fukushima plant until he retired last summer, said he had no hopes of going home this year.
"It's going to take a year or two. It is not a question of months," said Nogi. "Even if the nuclear plant is stabilised tomorrow, I don't think the government is going to tell us it is safe to go back any time soon."
