Ahmed Gaddaf al-Dam, a close aide and cousin of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, has resigned from "all his official functions," Egypt's official MENA news agency reported on Friday.

Quoting a statement from his office, MENA said al-Dam -- who has a permanent residence in Cairo and oversaw Libya's relations with Egypt -- quit on Thursday, "to protest against the handling of the Libyan crisis".

The statement went on to call for "a halt to the bloodbath (in Libya) and a return to reason, in order to preserve the unity and future of Libya," MENA reported, adding that al-Dam was last in Libya a week ago.

Al-Dam has requested political asylum from Egypt and according to Al-Jazeera, a source in his office said that he is preparing to send aid caravans to Libya.

Following al-Dam, more Libyan diplomats resigned their posts on Friday.

Tripoli's ambassadors to Paris and UNESCO resigned on Friday to condemn "acts of repression in Libya", they said in a statement read out on public radio, adding they "were joining the revolution".

"We strongly condemn the acts of repression in Libya. We declare our unity with the people and our support for the people's revolution," Paris ambassador Salah Zaren and UNESCO envoy Abdul Salam el Galali said.

"We are joining the revolution. We have resigned from our official posts," they said in a joint statement read out in front of Libya's Paris embassy, occupied by protesters on Thursday, and broadcast by France Inter.