Syria denied on Thursday a claim by the United States that Iran was helping it to crack down on demonstrations for more freedom and political reforms that have left more than 100 people dead.

The Syrian foreign ministry denied as "totally false" the U.S. charge, challenging the U.S. State Department to publish any evidence in that regard, Syria's state-run news agency SANA reported.

Syria announced an amnesty Thursday for scores of prisoners detained since a wave of protests erupted on March 15 as it unveiled a new cabinet to replace the one that quit last month.

The promised release of prisoners came amid a growing international outcry over the authorities' crackdown on the demonstrations that have now spread from the provinces to the main cities of Damascus and Aleppo.

At least 13 people were killed and some 50 wounded Thursday in an attack by Moammar Gadhafi's forces on the port area of Libya's third city Misrata, a rebel spokesman said.

"At least 13 people died, including women and children and four Egyptians who had attempted to be evacuated from the port," the spokesman said on condition of anonymity.

U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon on Thursday called for a "political" solution and immediate ceasefire to the conflict in Libya, at an international conference hosted by the Arab League in Cairo.

"We call for a political process so that the Libyan people can reach their aspirations," Ban, who co-chaired the meeting, told a news conference at the end of the gathering.

Snipers shot dead a soldier and wounded another in Syria's flashpoint city of Banias Thursday, state news agency SANA said, a day after a deal was struck for the army to restore order there.

The killing comes nearly a month after nationwide protests broke out calling for greater freedom, political reform and the lifting of a draconian emergency law, which have been harshly suppressed by security forces.

Yemenis are preparing for rival demonstrations following the weekly Friday prayers after anti-regime protesters rejected any solution that does not see President Ali Abdullah Saleh out of office.

Anti-Saleh protesters are calling for the "Friday of Determination" while his loyalists have dubbed it a "Friday of Dialogue."

Tunisian prosecutors want to try toppled president Zine el Abidine Ben Ali on 18 different charges, including murder and drug-trafficking, according to the country's justice minister.

"The accusations include murder, conspiracy against the security of the state as well as trafficking and the use of drugs," Lazhar Karoui Chebbi said in an interview with national television late Wednesday.

Libya's foreign minister expressed hopes for a "political solution" to end the two-month conflict in his country, his Cypriot counterpart said after the pair held talks on Thursday.

Abdelati Laabidi reiterated a "commitment to the initiative of the African Union and the wish for a political solution to be achieved," Cypriot Foreign Minister Marcos Kyprianou told reporters in Nicosia.

World powers offered cash to Libya's rebels and the means "to defend themselves" as they issued fresh demands for strongman Moammar Gadhafi to relinquish power, at a meeting in Doha on Wednesday.

In a final statement after the day-long gathering, the international contact group on Libya decided to set up a "temporary financial mechanism" to aid the rebels seeking to oust Gadhafi.

Hosni Mubarak, in hospital after a heart attack, and his two sons were placed under detention Wednesday in a probe into violence against protesters who brought about the ouster of the ex-Egyptian president.

A statement on the public prosecutor's Facebook page said chief prosecutor Abdel Magid Mahmoud authorized the detention for 15 days "as part of an inquiry into the use of force against protesters during the unrest in January and February."