U.S. steps up anti-Gaddafi campaign

American diplomats have begun visiting several African countries to urge leaders to demand that Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi give up power.

As the United States launches its diplomatic offensive against the head of the African nation, it accused NATO of a "massacre" of 85 villagers in air strikes in support of rebels, Agence France-Presse reports.

Libyan state television broadcast images of a man it says is Gaddafi's youngest son, Khamis Gaddafi, visiting wounded people in hospital on Tuesday, undermining rebel claims of his death last Friday, Reuters reports.

The Libyan government has denied Khamis, commander of one of Gaddafi's most loyal and best-equipped units, had been killed by a NATO air strike near Zlitan, it says.

Gene Cretz, the US ambassador who left Libya's capital, Tripoli, after Gaddafi's bloody crackdown on the opposition started in February, and Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Donald Yamamoto arrived Monday in Addis Ababa, headquarters of the African Union, State Department deputy spokesman Mark Toner said.

They "are in Africa to meet with African Union members to discuss the crisis in Libya and the need for Gaddafi to relinquish power now", he told AFP.

African leaders – having benefited from the Gaddafi regime – have been reluctant to call for him to step down, and instead have been critical of the NATO-led military campaign in Libya.

Gaddafi, meanwhile, said world powers would be held responsible for the "ugly massacre committed by NATO" on the village of Majer where 85 people were killed, Libya's official JANA news agency reported.

NATO has said the air strikes were legitimate and no civilians were killed, AFP reports.

AFP reports:

Majer, east of Tripoli, was attacked late on Monday to try to help rebel fighters enter the government-held city from the south, government spokesman Mussa Ibrahim said.

"After the first three bombs dropped at around 11pm on Monday, many residents of the area ran to the bombed houses to try to save their loved ones. Three more bombs struck," he told reporters on an organized visit.

Thirty-three children, 32 women and 20 men from 12 families were killed in the "massacre", Mussa said.

Reporters attended the funerals of victims and saw 28 bodies buried at the local cemetery where hundreds of people vented their anger against NATO.

"We do not have evidence of civilian casualties at this stage," the NATO spokesman for the alliance's Libya campaign, Colonel Roland Lavoie, said from his Naples headquarters.

The NATO raids were against two former farms used for military purposes by Gaddafi forces, he said.

"This was a military facility clearly … NATO takes extreme precaution not to harm innocent civilians living or working nearby."