Refugee officials say more than 140,000 people have fled Libya to Egypt and Tunisia in a growing exodus from Moammar Ghadafi’s forces as they kill hundreds and block humanitarian aid to western Libya.

UN refugee agency spokeswoman Melissa Fleming said on “the situation is reaching crisis point” at the Libya-Tunisia border where authorities say up to 75,000 people have fled Libya since 20th February.

That includes 14,000 on Monday, the most to date.

Another 15,000 more are expected to cross Tuesday.

Egyptian authorities say 69,000 people have crossed over from Libya since 19th February.

Other aid officials say humanitarian aid workers are being blocked from reaching western Libya and patients reportedly are being executed in hospitals and struck by hidden gunmen in ambulances.

Libya suspended from UN Human Rights Council

The United Nations General Assembly has unanimously voted to suspend Libya from the UN Human Rights Council in the wake of continuing attacks on pro-democracy protesters there by Muammar Gaddafi’s regime.

“Expressing deep concern about the human rights situation” in Libya, the General Assembly “decides to suspend the rights of membership in the Human Rights Council” of the African nation, the brief resolution said.

US ambassador to the UN Susan Rice pointed that this is for the first time a country has been suspended by the General Assembly.

“This is a harsh rebuke, but one that Libya’s leaders have brought down upon themselves.”

“When the only way a leader can cling to power is by grossly and systematically violating his own peoples human rights, he has lost any legitimacy to rule,” she said.

“He (Gaddafi) must go, and he must go now.”

Last week, UN Human Rights Council in Geneva decided to suspend Libya’s membership from the 47-nation body.

However, this decision was needed to be approved by two-thirds of the 192-member General Assembly.

While it did not vote against the resolution, Venezuela was the only country to express reservations about the suspension.

“A decision such as this one could only take place after a genuine investigation,” Jorge Valero Briceno, Venezuelan envoy for the UN, told the General Assembly.

On Saturday, the Security Council unanimously passed a resolution ordering an arms embargo, a travel ban and assets freeze against Gaddafi and his supporters.

The 15-member body also referred the recent events in Libya to the International Criminal Court.

The United States and European Union have also approved sanctions against Gaddafi. In his speech, Briceno accused the US of having “imperialistic” designs in Libya.

“The Security Council resolution, however, has not authorized military intervention,” he said.

“Yet an imperialist country is unilaterally and visibly deploying its military and nuclear machinery in order to carry out an armed attack against Libya.”

In response, Rice called Briceno “delusional.”

“The Venezuelan Perm Rep’s comments were ugly and reprehensible and I think I dealt with them emphatically in the chamber,” she told journalists.

“And, you know, he can live in the fantasy world that he apparently does.”

On Monday, the US had repositioned its military forces around Libya and the American media was buzzing with the possibility of US military intervention in Libya.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has said “no option is off the table” in dealing with the Libya regime.

While the exact figures are not known, more than 1000 pro-democracy protesters have reportedly been killed in Libya and the UN reports that more than 110,000 people have crossed into Egypt and Tunisia.

“Time is of essence,” UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told the General Assembly.

“Thousands of lives are at stake.” Ban, himself, has indicated that the Security Council may have to take action beyond the sanctions passed last week.

“Tough as these measures are, however, further action may well be necessary,” he said.

Gaddafi, however, has vowed to stay in power.

The United States has applauded the move by the UN General Assembly to suspend Libyas membership rights in the Human Rights Council.

Welcoming the move, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton demanded an immediate halt to violence perpetrated by the Libyan regime led by Muammar Gaddafi against its own citizens.

“The General Assembly has made it clear that governments that turn their guns on their own people have no place on the Human Rights Council,” Clinton said.

“Todays historic action is the first time that any country serving on the Human Rights Council, or the Commission before it, has ever had its membership suspended,” she said, adding that the international community is speaking with one voice and the message is unmistakable: “these violations of universal rights are unacceptable and will not be tolerated.”