Tripoli: Libya's powerful interior minister resigned in support of protesters who are demanding an end to Muammar Gaddafi's 41-year rule while a senior Libyan diplomat said he has information that "genocide" has started and the UN expressed concern over Gaddafi's call to his supporters to take to the streets.

Interior Minister Abdul Fattah Younis al Abidi quit on Monday after hearing that some 300 civilians have been killed in Libya's eastern city of Benghazi. He accused Gaddafi of planning to attack civilians on a wide scale, CNN reported.