Libyan residents in Malta who are opposed to the Gaddafi regime said today they were planning to hold a protest over the presence in Malta of Yahya Ibrahim Gaddafi, a senior official of a Libyan state-owned oil company.

They claim that he is in Malta to secure oil shipments to Libya from private sources. He arrived yesterday.

The residents claim he is staying at the Hilton.

Col Gaddafi's forces are said to have suffered oil shortages when rebels captured the oil rich east of the country, including many storage tanks. Those areas, however, are now back under governemnt control.

However, a tanker said to be on its way to the Gaddafi forces was also intercepted by the rebels on Tuesday.

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