The Libyan Crisis

**StrontiumDog** · 23-02-2011, 12:20 AM

N. Africa, Mideast protests: Gadhafi asks supporters to round up protesters

Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi addresses a crowd of supporters Tuesday in Tripoli.

February 22nd, 2011
12:08 PM ET

[LIBYA 12:07 p.m. ET, 7:07 p.m. local] Gadhafi wrapped up his speech after about 70 minutes, saying, "Let's go forward." He immediately got into a golf cart and was driven away, chased by about 25 cheering men, some carrying weapons. No other audience was evident from the video.

[LIBYA 12:05 p.m. ET, 7:05 p.m. local] He called for a march across the country to round up opposition activists.

"We will march together in order to purify Libya. I am supported by millions and God, which is a great power. From Sahara to Sahara, millions will march with me."

[LIBYA 11:59 a.m. ET, 6:59 p.m. local] An hour into his speech, Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi said protesters in Benghazi are under the influence of "hallucination pills."

Loyal citizens should detain protesters and turn them over to authorities, he said.

"No one can allow his country to fall apart and fall into the hands of mad persons," he said.

[LIBYA 11:46 a.m. ET, 6:46 p.m. local] Peaceful demonstrations about issues in other countries are acceptable, but complaints about Libya should be aired with public committees, Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi said.

Youthful protesters would not be held responsible, because they were led astray by "parasites," he said.

"They were cheated, so they are not to be blamed," he said.

[LIBYA, 11:21 a.m. ET, 6:21 local] Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi, defending his regime, said power has been in the hands for the people for decades.

He said he caused the world to notice Libya and to respect it and its people.

"If I had a position in the government, I would have resigned. I would have thrown the resignation in your faces."

He said a "small, sick group" of outsiders infiltrated the country and provoked protests.

Gadhafi called on Libyans who "love and support" him to go out on the streets and demonstrate for him.

"Do you want to be slaves of the Americans?" he said.

He gave protesters until Wednesday to remove all placards and barricades. After that, the police and army will move forcefully against them, he said.

Opposition activists will be executed without mercy, he said.

"The will beg for pardon, but they will not be pardoned," he said.

Gadhafi aligned himself and his regime with al Qaeda leaders Osama bin Laden and Ayman al Zawahiri, praising them for wishing to establish Islamic governments.

[LIBYA, 11:07 a.m., 6:07 p.m. local] Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi says he will not leave his country, but will die as "a martyr" if necessary. he denounced Arab satellite TV channels for distorting what he calls the real image of Libya.

[LIBYA, 10:58 a.m. ET, 5:58 p.m. local] Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi is delivering a defiant speech to supporters in Tripoli, blaming demonstrations on intelligence agents from other countries intent on returning Libya to colonial status.

"This is my country, the country of my grandfathers, of your grandfathers. We have irrigated it with our blood," he declared.

**StrontiumDog** · 23-02-2011, 12:58 AM

http://content.usatoday.com/communit...eforms-on-tv/1

Gadhafi on state TV: 'I will fight to the last drop of my blood'

Libya state TV, AP

Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi is shown in this image broadcast on Libyan state television today. as he addresses the nation.

Update at 12:02 p.m. ET: While Gadhafi blames the unrest on a small number of young people who have been given drugs and alcohol, he says Libyan youth will not follow "agents of foreign intelligence and Muslim fundamentalists."

At one point he asks: "If you won't follow Gadhafi, who would you follow -- someone with a beard? Impossible."

Update at 11:54 a.m. ET: British foreign secretary says warship is being redeployed closer to Libya to aid in evacuation effort.

Al Jazeera says multiple reports confirm that military airplanes are bombing protesters in Tripoli.

In his speech, which has gone on for more than an hour, Libya's Moammar Gadhafi vows to fight on against protesters demanding his ouster and die as martyr.

He says protesters want to transform Libya into an Islamic emirate. "We reject to be ruled by followers of bin Laden," he says.

Gaddafi orders police and army to crush the uprising, saying, "I will not let Libya be like Fallujah," a reference to an Iraqi city that was taken over by al-Qaeda-backed forces.

Update at 11:32 a.m. ET: Gadhafi says Libyans can have whatever constitution or legal system they want and can decide how to spend the country's oil riches.

Update at 11:25 am. ET: Gadhafi says he has not yet started to use force and violence against protesters, but is willing to do so.

Update at 11: 23 a.m. ET: Gadhafi says anyone taking up arms against the state will face the death penalty.

Update at 11:16 a.m. ET: In a rambling speech on state TV, Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi says, "I will fight to the last drop of my blood with all the LIbyan people behind me."
"If you love Moammar Gadhafi, go out and secure Libya's streets," he says.

Update at 11:14 am. ET: Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi vows to fight on against protesters demanding his ouster and die as martyr.

Update at 11:12 a.m. ET: "All the legislative power is in the hands of the Libyan people," Gadhafi says. "The Libyan people will decide."

At another point in his rambling speech, Gadhafi tells Libyans that unnamed forces are trying to mainpulate young people with drugs and alcohol.

Update at 11:05 am. ET: Opponents are "trying to copycat Tunisia and Egypt," he says. He says he is "not a president to step down."

Update at 11:01 a.m. ET: In his televised remarks, Gadhafi, who is standing, shouts and gestures frequently, saying at one point that "friendly Arab nations are betraying you. They want chaos (and) ... have tarnished your image."

Update at 10:55 a.m. ET: Gadhafi has begun to speak on state TV, saying his opponents "want to insult you" by criticizing what is happening in the country and says it it time for Libyans to "respond with action on the ground, on the square."

**StrontiumDog** · 23-02-2011, 09:19 AM

Live Blog - Libya Feb 22

By Al Jazeera Staff
on February 22nd, 2011.

Alleged mercenaries deployed by Gaddafi in Tripoli, the Libyan capital.

(All times are local in Libya GMT+2)
February 22
11:53pm: Tripoli resident Khaleed urges Nato and others to send peacekeeping troops.

Right after his speech, mercenaries were sent into the street. There were gunshots in every direction you could hear automatic, semi-automatic, high-powered rifles. You cuold hear them, you could hear the different types and the different bursts of fire. It sounded like something out of Chechnya in all honesty.

11:40pm: Reuters reports Libyan troops deployed at Sabratha town, 65km west of Tripoli

11.35pm: Clashes reported in the Sarman district of Tripoli

11.29pm: You must watch this.

The family of Mohamed Bouazizi, the young Tunisian from Sidi Bouzid whose act of self-immolation triggered the Tunisian Uprising, has a message for the families in Libya who have lost their loved ones to the violent repression of the protests.

Bouazizi, a 26-year-old street vendor, set himself on fire on December 17 after police abused and humiliated him. He died of his burns on January 4. The protest movement that began in Sidi Bouzid swelled to become a nationwide phenomenon, and spread to other countries in North Africa and the Middle East. Most recently, it reached Libya.

Hundreds of Libyans have been killed as Muammar Gaddafi attempts to petrify the protests against his regime. Menobia Bouazizi, Mohamed’s mother, recorded this message for their families. Her family sent the video to Al Jazeera. Read this excellent report from Al Jazeera's Yasmine Ryan, who recently returned from the birthplace of Tunisia's uprising - by clicking here: The tragic life of a street vendor

11.27pm: Reports the Irish air corps is heading to Malta to help evacuate Irish citizens from Libya tomorrow.

11.25pm: Is Younis positioning himself to take over? He concludes:

From my knowledge of Gaddafi, he won't leave, he will stay to the end, but he will stay alone. Who will aid him? Everyone has abandoned him. The Eastern & Central Provinces have abandoned him. To Gaddafi I tell him: Please end your life by praying for the martyrs, ask for God's forgiveness and the people's.

To Libyan people, you are a brave people, stand courageously, Libya will become a strong country. What I know is that the Free Officers of Libya have stopped their support of Gaddafi, his Security Battalion remain. Stand courageously, people of Libya, and those in Tripoli and Zawya and all over the country.

11.20pm: Younis adds: "Gaddafi's speech was very clear to any one who has a brain. He is nervous, he is stubborn. He may commit suicide. Gaddafi won't leave. He may commit suicide or will be killed. I didn't wish for him to face such an end."

11.13pm: Former Gaddafi No.2, Abdul Fatah Younis being interviewed on Al Arabiya. Here's a rough translation of some of his comments, provided by [at]SultanAlQassemi:

The Libyan people have suffered too long. We have so much oil, the people could have lived as in a 5 star hotel.

Al Arabiya asks him: What happened?

There was a crowd of people outside my office, I was with my cousin. A bullet then went next to my right cheek, it hit my cousin who is in a very bad case now.

Gaddafi, that dirty man, wanted to say that I was killed by protesters so that my tribe, the Obeidat, will stand by him.

"You were a Minister of Interior but you only choose to speak now?" Younis: "I spoke to him 2 weeks before the revolution."

I told Gaddafi, we have too many unemployed youth. I want that dirty person who shot my cousin to face justice .

I am not a two-faced man. I worked with Gaddafi for 42 years, I was shocked at his speech today.

I wish Gaddafi had instead said a prayer for the fallen youth in his last days in office.

Our plan now it to support the youth in Tripoli so that it is liberated like Benghazi was.

I offer my condolences to the fallen martyrs (reads a statement of support for the youth revolution).

I begged Gaddafi not to send planes, I called him. Now of course we don't speak, I have joined the revolution.

Citizens collected weapons & brought them to me, we put them in a massive (airplane) hanger for safekeeping.

I gave orders to my men in Benghazi not to shoot at protesters, not one of my men shot at protesters, those who shot belong to the Security Battalions. I guarantee that none of my men shot at protesters.

11.09pm: Libyan state TV says "honourable citizens" continue to apprehend "vandals".

11.06pm: Al Jazeera's Rawya Rageh tweets that Libya's state TV broadcasts names of military officers joining pro-Gaddafi demonstrations, describing them as "free officers".

11.03pm: Libyans tell Al Jazeera the scariest part of Gaddafi's speech was when he spoke of not using force "yet" - given reports over the past few days of mercenaries, airstrikes and photos of burnt corpses and protesters hacked apart.

11.01pm: Al Jazeera's Sherine Tadros tells us eyewitnesses report police going through Tripoli and removing barricades put in place by residents to protect their homes from attack during the past few days. Residents reported to be panicking.

10.55pm: Libya's state TV urges "those who like to film with their cell phones" to email in footage of pro-Gaddafi demos

10.53pm: More on that shoe throwing... Al Jazeera brings you the reaction as provided by state TV, with enthusiastic crowds greeting Gaddafi's lengthy, rambling speech. Meanwhile, the crowds in the eastern city of Benghazi - site of the beginning of the uprising - give a somewhat different reaction, as evidenced by a webcam stream:

10.51pm: The UN Security Council is putting together a final statement on Libya, but Al Jazeera's Scott Heidler commented on a first draft he had seen, saying it contained "nothing unpredictable".

Heidler said the draft statement condemned the violence used, it urged investigations, and it advised foreign nationals to leave Libya if they so wished. Details of the final statement will follow.

10.43pm: Disturbances rocking Libya have killed 300 people, including 58 soldiers, according to figures provided at the venue of a press conference to be given by Gaddafi's son, the AFP news agency reports.
10.39pm: The Reuters news agency reports that Saif Gaddafi is to give a press conference in Tripoli.

10.30pm: After growing unrest and violent crackdowns in Libya, a group of hackers has launched a way navigate the censors and route information to those affected in the north African nation. Red more here.

10.29pm: While Libyan state TV shows footage of a pro-Gaddafi rally somewhere in the country, our colleagues over at Al Jazeera Arabic have just screened very different footage - of the crowd's reaction to Gaddafi's speech in the eastern city of Benghazi. The shoe-throwing starts 12 seconds in...

10.27pm: The emergency UN Security Council meeting on Libya has just begun in New York.

10.22pm: In his telephone call with Gaddafi, Italy's Berlusconi urged a peaceful solution to the political crisis in Libya and told the embattled leader Italy was not arming protesters as was stated in his speech earlier on Tuesday, Italian news agency ANSA said.

10.11pm: Libya's defected interior minister has urged the Libyan army to join the people and respond to their "legitimate demands" echoing the language used by defecting Egyptian military leaders before the fall of president Hosni Mubarak.

10:04pm: "Gaddafi's No.2" Abdul Fatah Younis, Libyan minister of interior and army general - resigns.

10.00pm: Gaddafi spoke to Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi via telephone, telling him that Libya is fine and the truth about events in the country are being shown on state media.

"The brother leader reassured during (the) telephone conversation the friend Berlusconi that 'Libya is fine, its people are ... holding on to its security, stability and national unity'," the official JANA news agency said.
9.56pm: Cal Perry adds that Italian air force sent jet fighters to establish visual contact with Libyan warship reportedly floating in Maltese waters.

9.55pm: Reporting in Malta, Al Jazeera's Cal Perry said employees of the Libyan embassy there joined protesters demonstrating outside on Tuesday. "We are seeing this government dissolve in its overseas postings," he noted.

9.47pm: Nicaragua's president, Daniel Ortega, says he has telephoned Muammar Gaddafi to express his solidarity with the embattled leader.

9:39pm: Business leaders appear to be ready and waiting to move into a post-Gaddafi Libya. George Kanaan, CEO of the Arab Bankers Association in London, says reform will be "hugely positive" for the country - unlike Egypt, which already had a fairly open and "liberal" economy, change in Libya will encourage massive outside investment.

9.34pm: "This bloodshed is completely unacceptable," Hillary Clinton, US secretary of state said about the events in Libya, adding that it was the responsibility of governments to protect their citizens.

She also expressed concern over the violence in Yemen. Clinton urged middle eastern governments to "engage peacefully and positively" with their people in achieving desired ends.

"Our thoughts and prayers are with those whose lives have been lost," she said.

9.20pm: In case you missed it, a chilling warning from Gaddafi as he reads from his copy of the Green Book.

9.16pm: The Toronto Globe and Mail has produced an interesting graphic showing Gaddafi’s influence across Africa. Check it out by clicking here. Al Jazeera can’t be held responsible for the content of external websites.

9.00pm: Online reports say Benghazi "remains calm" despite claims it is being shelled by warships.

8.55pm: Anoushka Kurkjian, a Middle East consultant told Al Jazeera the address was "a typical Gaddafi speech". She said "Gaddafi's resiliance is not in doubt" and it can't be ruled out that he will stay in power for as long as he can.

She added: "The structures of the state are disintegrating. There is that shift from Gaddafi towards an alternitive, but that hasn't yet taken shape."

Regarding the Arab League expelling Libya, she said "The Arab League has been muted by saying that it's suspending Libya. If the death toll does mount, reactions will become more thoughtful."

8:46pm: Anita McNaught, Al Jazeera's correspondent in Istanbul, says, contrary to earlier agency reports, some Turkish flights were able to land in Tripoli and evacuate some Turkish citizens. So far, 2,141 Turks have been airlifted home - though more than 23,000 remain stuck in Libya.

A pair of Seacat ferries have still not docked, but "are close to Benghazi" - though there is no guarantee they will be able to dock there. At least 3,000 Turks are reportedly waiting in a nearby sports stadium. Two further ferries remain on standby, one of which filled with medical supplies, she says.

8:45pm: German chancellor Angela Merkel says Gaddafi's speech was "very, very frightening" - and she is in favour of sanctions against his administration. Further international reactions currently emerging include Chile speaking of its "extreme concern for the evolution of the political situation and the use of force in Libya".

8:42pm More on US senator John Kerry's statement - during which he said Gaddafi's actions were "beyond despicable". Libya's "use of deadly force against its own people should mean the end of the regime itself. It's beyond despicable, and I hope we are witnessing its last hours in power." He said all international oil companies "should immediately cease operations in Libya until violence against civilians ceases".

United Nations leadership is on the line. Libya's mission to the UN bravely condemned their own government. Now UN action is critical.

8.40pm Libya's UN ambassador tells reporters:

I spoke to him [Gaddafi]. I told him: "Muammar, we are getting old, let's give our children a chance." He said: "We give our children plenty of chances." I told him: My children are not with us, they want change." He said: "My children want change, too."

8.38pm: Al Jazeera's Lawrence Lee filed this report about Tuesday's events in Libya:

8.34pm: Al Jazeera's White House correspondent Patty Culhane noted that Barack Obama has himself been silent about Libya for a few days, even though he had made public statements during Egypt's similar unrest.

8.32pm: John Kerry, a US politician, called the Libyan government's use of force "beyond dispicable". He called on Barack Obama to reconsider sanctions against Libya, and said he hoped these were Gaddafi's last hours in power.

Kerry said the international community must send a message to Gaddafi that his "cowardly actions will have consequences".

8:29pm: PJ Crowley, US department of state spokesman, calls on Libya to respect rights of the "thousands" of US citizens in the country. He said the White House has "grave concerns" over the Libyan government's response to protests.

8.27pm: Videos emerge on file-sharing website LiveLeak of mobs lynching two people, understood to be mercenaries operating in Libya. Also, a video appears of a demonstrator shot in the head by a sniper.
8.24pm: UNHCR - the UN's refugee agency - says it is "gravely concerned" or the safety and security of asylum seekers and refugees in Libya.

8.22pm: William Hague, British foreign minister, said there are many indications that Gaddafi's government is headed towards collapse, with diplomats resigning and the government in crisis. He says theHMS Cumberland, a Type 22 frigate warship, will be deployed to international waters off the Libyan coast - "in case it is required to play a role assisting British nationals".

8.20pm: The Brazilian government called on Libyans to seek a solution to the crisis through dialogue and reiterated its repudiation to the use of violence.

8.18pm: Oliver Miles, the former British Ambassador to Libya, told Al Jazeera Gaddafi's speech was "meant to make our blood run cold". He said he would not rule out Gaddafi sticking it out to the very end.

8.15pm: Al Jazeera's Jamal Elshayyal at Sidi Barani, a town on the Egyptian side of the border with Libya, said Egyptians were still returning home. He also said doctors carrying blood and other medical aid were crossing the border carrying supplies over into Libya.

8.11pm: German Chancellor Angela Merkel has called Gaddafi's speech "very very frightening" and said he had declared war on his own people..

8.08pm: The Arab League put out an official statement condemning the events in Libya, but Al Jazeera's Sherine Tadros reported from Cairo that leading Egyptian political figure Mohamed ElBaradei said he was disappointed that the League did not take a stronger stand against the injustices.

8.02pm: In his defiant speech, Gaddafi said he will "cleanse Libya house by house" if protesters did not surrender.

7.59pm: Libyan state television is still showing pictures of government supporters following Gaddafi's speech:

7:57pm: Libya is suspended, immediately, from the Arab League. More details to follow.

7:51pm: We're expecting a closed UN meeting at 8pm GMT. Any UN member can attend - and the plan is/was for Libya's Deputy Ambassador to also give a briefing. However, the surprise appearance of Libya's ambassador - who has been remarkably absent in the past few days - at late notice could cause a problem, our UN correspondent tells us.

UN protocol suggests they would have to defer to the ambassador for a briefing, whose position is in sharp contrast to the deputy ambassador, who told us yesterday that Gaddafi should face trial. Ambassador Abdel Rahman Shalgam to an earlier press conference:

I am with Gaddafi but I want the bloodshed to stop. I am not calling on him to step down. If one Libyan has been killed - not ten or 20 - but one- this is a crime. Gaddafi is brave, he will make a decision. There is confusion - I have spoken to a relative in Libya and there has been no airbombing.

7.49pm: Reports from our contacts on the ground tell us military vehicles and helicopters are headed toward towns outside Tripoli. Jeeps started rolling immediately the speech ended, we understand.

7.46pm: Gaddafi called on "all those who love Gaddafi" to come out and demonstrate in his support tomorrow. State TV shows uhge crowds waving green flags and holding pictures of Gaddafi. Much as with the YouTube videos we've been sent over the past few days, with limited media access to the country, there's no way to independently verify when or where the pictures were recorded.

7.44pm: More reports emerging of protesters, quite literally, torn limb from limb durnig the past few days.

7.34pm: In case you missed it - the backdrop to Gaddafi's speech - a piece of artwork showing a clenched fist crushing a US fighter jet, in front of the words "Allahu Akbar" [God is the greatest].

7.30pm: After the EU suspends its Libya Framework Ageement, and amid international condemnation of Gaddafi, where is President Obama? Rosalind Jordan, Al Jazeera's correspondent in Washington DC explains:

You didn't need the translation to see how much Gaddafi was trying to blame this on the US, among others. So the White House doesn't want to make any public speeeches - they're very aware of how that could be seen across the country.

Gaddafi asked, in his speech: 'Do you want the Americans to come and occupy you like in Afghanistan and Iraq?' If the president weighs in now, the Libyan authorities may well use that against the protesters.

US senator John Kerry wants the UN to step in - and for the African Union to investigae alleged use of mercenaries.

7.29pm: Analyst Ashur Shamis tells Al Jazeera: "There is no doubt Gaddafi will follow through on his threats against the people of Libya." Looking over the past 24hours of our Live Blog updates, we've had some incredibly violent reports already.

7.27pm: Following Gaddafi's speech, online reports of gunfire being heard throughout Tripoli.

7.25pm: Earlier on Tuesday, Al Jazeera spoke to Yasmine, a Libyan student in the UAE. She said she had spoken to a friend who lives in Benghazi:

As we were speaking, she said there was an old lady that just walked out onto her balcony that was immediately shot at and died. She didn't do anything, she didn't protest, she didn't even open her mouth and she was shot immediately.

People are very very scared and they are still out in the streets protesting because everybody is angry and they are fed up and they want a change and they don't want this guy to lead the country anymore, neither him or his sons, nobody wants them anymore.

They have been suffering for 43 years in silence. this is out of fear and now they have had enough. They are angry they are willing to risk everything, their lives, absolutely everything to get this guy out of the country.

7.21pm: Ashur Shamis a Libyan journalist told Al Jazeera that Gaddafi will go down fighting. He saidthere was no way the Libyan people would take note of Gaddafi's speech. "I don't think people are frightened anymore, but those were serious threats of force," he said.

In his speech, Gaddafi said "when they are prosecuted they will be begging for mercy".

7.19pm: All eyes are now on the Libyan military. Will we see another situation as we did in Egypt? Tonight?

7.18pm: He offered a new constitution, to be put in place from tomorrow. Offers the pople "whatever form of government they want".

7.16pm His main point was an attempt to blame "drugged youth" and foreign imperialists. He used the chilling example of the 1989 massacre at Tianenman Square: "The integrity of China was more important than those in Tianenmen Square.

7.14pm So, he's not stepping down - and will "die a martyr", he says.

7.12pm: Gaddafi's speech has finally finished. He gets his hand kissed by a loyalist and waves to what appears to be about half a dozen senior officers still listening. State TV now showing thousands of people cheering...

7.07pm: Talking about Gaddafi's address on state television, Ibrahim Jibreel, a Libyan political analyst told Al Jazeera "we just watched a lunatic rant and rave for the last hour and a half".

"There was no substance to this [speech].. There was really no message to this besides the threats".

"The interesting thing is that Libya has no constitution but he has threatened the death penalty for people who fail to follow the constituion," Jibreel said.

6.55pm: Carlos Latuff posted this image of "courageous Libyan people" on Twitpic:

6.52pm: Britain said it planned to send a charter plane to Libya to bring out British nationals and was dispatching a Royal Navy frigate to waters off Libya in case it was needed to help Britons.

6.50pm: French Prime Minister Francois Fillon on Tuesday said he was "horrified by the explosion of violence" in Libya.

6.48pm: Al Jazeera's Nazanine Moshiri reports from Tunisia that 4000 people crossed the border at Ras Jedir on Tuesday, according to Tunisian border police, the majority of them Tunisians.

6.20pm: In his second television address since the start of the current unrest, Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi says he will not leave Libya and will die a martyr. He criticised 'Arab media', saying it painted an insulting picture of Libyans.

Gaddafi says Libya has resisted Britain and the US previously, and it will not surrender now.
He also said:

Muammar Gaddafi is not the president, he is the leader of the revolution. He has nothing to lose. Revolution means sacrifice until the very end of your life

We challenge America with its mighty power, we challenge even the superpower

Muammar Gaddafi is not a normal person that you can poison.. or lead a revolution against

I will fight until the last drop of blood with the people behind me

I haven't even started giving the orders to use bullets - any use of force against authority of state will be sentenced to death

They are just imitating Egypt and Tunisia

Protesters want to turn Libya into an Islamic state

If you love Muammar Gaddafi you will go out and secure Libya's streets

5.59pm: Muammar Gaddafi gives a speech on Libyan State Television:

5.32pm: Libyan soldiers in Tobruk told Reuters news agency that protesters are now in control of the city.

This map, posted on yfrog apparently shows other areas under citizen control:

**StrontiumDog** · 23-02-2011, 09:41 AM

http://english.aljazeera.net/indepth...341136101.html

The King of King's speech

Al Jazeera's senior policy analyst says Gaddafi's threats were no different from those of any foreign occupier.

Marwan Bishara Last Modified: 22 Feb 2011 19:25 GMT

Gaddafi has ruled Libya for the past 42 years with an iron fist, but insists he has no official role [EPA]
Muammar Gaddafi is dangerously in denial. Alas, he's been that way for a long time.

Gaddafi has ruled Libya for the past 42 years with iron fist, but insists he has no official role and therefore couldn't resign. Otherwise, he would have done that long ago!

He thinks of himself as Zaim - a guru leader - or the king of kings of Africa as referred to himself repeatedly the last couple of years.

How do you resign from greatness, he wondered! After recounting his heroism, sacrifice and courage over the last few decades.

In reality, he wasted his country's fortunes, misused its sources and violated its people. He misspent hundreds of billions of dollars in revenues from oil.

He commands the state budget along with his family, and yet he insists he has no money, no fortune and no belonging to give away.

Why would he need any of that when he de facto had claim on the whole country.

One is speechless listening to him telling Libyans: Go ahead take back your oil.

Like father like son

Gaddafi senior, like Gaddafi junior before him on Monday, went on rambling endlessly in Tuesday's televised address, with little coherence, many threats and more political blackmail.

Speaking to both domestic audience and Western decision makers, he raised the spectre of civil war, bloodbath and the threat of al-Qaeda takeover in various parts of the country.

He warned he would use all or any means to prevent the breakdown of Libya.

Over the last few days, his regime has killed hundreds and reportedly using his air force to bomb Libyan cities, but insists he hasn't ordered the use of force yet.

But he did threaten to kill all those participating in the ongoing upheaval, in accordance with the Libyan law, as he put it.

Worse, he threatened to burn the land, behaving as if his rule was a foreign occupation.

For many years, Qaddafi, his family and tribe have maintained their rule through the maintenance and deformation of the very tribal order he's been warning against.

He's used political blackmail and financial bribes and unveiled threats of force to stay at the helm of the regime.

In the process, much of the country's wealth was wasted. And so was any chance of development as his dictatorship suppressed pluralism, creativity and freedom of expression.

Meanwhile, unemployment in this "rentier economy" has shot from one-fourth to one-third unemployment year after year.

Gaddafi has turned a country rich in oil to a poor country in more than one way.

Dangerous call to arms

While Gaddafi admitted that the police has refused to confront or shoot at the demonstrations, he called on his loyal and violent "popular committees" to defend his "revolution", either individually or by joining forces with members of their tribes.

Certainly, the most deadly and dangerous force in the coming days will be those popular committees and their association with the private militias of Gaddafi's regime, his sons, cousins and tribe.

It seems that these well-armed and well-financed militias have been carrying out the worst violence against the peaceful demonstrators. Possibly aided by mercenaries from various neighbouring countries.

Unless the Libyan army puts an end to the violations and violence of the militias, the ongoing confrontation might continue to escalate.

Alas, there is little information as to today's relationship between the army and the militias, but one suspects it shouldn't be a good one as the militias have been used primarily to keep the army in check.

That's why Arab and international decision makers must try and deter the escalation of violence by making it clear that those committing the crimes against the Libyan people will have no future in their country, but would eventually be punished for their crimes.

And that the army has a responsibility to protect the people and the unity of the country.

**StrontiumDog** · 23-02-2011, 09:45 AM

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011...afi?CMP=twt_fd

UN ambassadors clash over condemnation of Gaddafi

Russia and China show reluctance to join other security council members' plan to put pressure on Libyan leader

Ed Pilkington in New York
The Guardian,
Wednesday 23 February 2011

Abdurrahman Mohamed Shalgham, Libya's ambassador to the United Nations, speaks to the media in New York. Photograph: Seth Wenig/AP

The UN security council has called for an immediate end to the violence in Libya and demanded that Muammar Gaddafi lives up to his responsibilities to protect his own people.

A few hours after the Libyan dictator issued his defiance of the international community, the security council hit back with a unanimous statement from the 15 members of the security council that condemned the violence and deplored the repression of peaceful demonstrators.

The statement called for the immediate lifting of restrictions on all forms of the media and for the safety of foreign nationals to be ensured.

Libya's deputy ambassador to the UN, Ibrahim al-Dabashi, who has joined a number of Libyan diplomats who have defected from the Gaddafi regime, said the UN's position did not go far enough. "It is not strong enough, but any message to the Libyan government at this stage is good."

Dabashi said that he had received reports that "genocide" had begun in the west of the country, with ground attacks occurring from Libyan forces working alongside "mercenaries from many African countries".

The US and British governments welcomed the security council statement. Mark Lyall Grant, the UK ambassador to the UN, said its strength came in its contents "and the fact that it is a united message".

The US mission to the UN said it provided a "clear and unified voice that the violence must end immediately".

The statement has no instant teeth – it will lead to no action on the part of the international community. That would require the forging of a resolution that would take days, if not weeks, to accomplish.

Its issuing was preceded by hours of confusion over the Libyan representation at the UN. In farcical scenes, the Libyan ambassador to the UN, Abdurrahman Mohamed Shalgham who still supports Gaddafi, and deputy Dabashi, both claimed to be speaking for their nation.

In the end Shalgham addressed the security council, telling the five permanent members – the US, Britain, France, Russia and China – and 10 non-permanent members that the Libyan public prosecutor had begun to investigate the killings in the unrest so far. The ambassador denied that there had been any aerial bombardments of demonstrators, though he did concede that the eastern side of the country had fallen and was no longer in government control.

Shalgham's appearance surprised observers as he had been absent for several days.

He said he had been holding discussions with senior members of the government, including the foreign minister, trying to persuade them to stop the bloodshed. "I am still trying to speak to the leader [Gaddafi]. We have to stop attacking Libyans," Shalgham said.

Asked who was to blame, he answered: "All the regime is responsible. I am one of them – we are all responsible."

Shalgham told reporters at the UN that he continued to support Gaddafi, calling him a childhood friend. "I can criticise him, but I cannot attack him."

Lynn Pascoe, a senior UN official, said that the world body had begun to evacuate its staff from Libya.

He said that they had reported seeing "many planes flying overhead and helicopters buzzing the population" but he could not confirm incidents of aerial bombing.

Pascoe said the situation in Libya was "dangerous and deteriorating".

**Muadib** · 23-02-2011, 10:47 AM

Originally Posted by harrybarracuda

There was a Libyan on World Service earlier, and boy did he get angry. He was virtually screaming at the hypocrisy of the west, and making it clear that the Libyans for one will not forgive them standing by while Gaddafi used their arms to massacre his own people.

They get pissed off when the west interferes and they get pissed off when we don't... Can't have it both ways...

**Lancelot** · 23-02-2011, 11:21 AM

Originally Posted by harrybarracuda

There was a Libyan on World Service earlier, and boy did he get angry. He was virtually screaming at the hypocrisy of the west, and making it clear that the Libyans for one will not forgive them standing by while Gaddafi used their arms to massacre his own people.

What's the old saying "Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely..."

The K seems like he is on drugs, delusional but still capable of taking a lot of people down with him. If I had to bet, I'd say it will get very bloody...

**Mid** · 23-02-2011, 12:39 PM

From an intermediary, Al Jazeera has received mobile phone footage from a "young Libyan in Tripoli". The footage allegedly was taken in the Zawid Dahmani neighborhood on Tuesday night amid an ongoing security crackdown.

The explosions were at the "TV building" in the neighborhood, our intermediary says.

"(Troops) were patrolling the streets and shooting at random at anyone that was outside, even those on rooftops," he says. "They came in big patrol cars and with no number plates. The patrol and shooting started at 7:00 and continued until 11:00 last night."

Casualties:

Residents of Benghazi told Al Jazeera that at least 200 people had died, while the New York-based Human Rights Watch put the country wide death toll at a "conservative" 104 on 19 February, while a update on 22 February stated that there were at least 62 casualties. They also suggested the actual deaths in Benghazi had probably passed 100 on 20 February. Other sources list the number of deaths to be 220 in Benghazi alone. The unrest had left at least 233 people dead in Libya, according to Human Rights Watch, citing various Libyan hospital sources on 22 February.

The International Coalition Against War Criminals reported 519 deaths, 3,980 wounded protesters and possibly over 1,500 missing during the protests.

21 February:

Saif al-Islam Muammar Al-Gaddafi called for a "general assembly" to discuss grievances.

In Benghazi, protesters took control of the streets, and looted weapons from the main security headquarters. Demonstrators also lowered the Libyan flag from above the main courthouse and replaced it with the flag of the country's old monarchy. Air Force warplanes and attack helicopters launched airstrikes on protesters, reportedly targeting a funeral procession and a group of protesters trying to reach an army base. Two senior mutineering air force pilots flew their Mirage F1 fighter jets to Malta and requested political asylum after defying orders to bomb protesters. Two civilian helicopters also landed in Malta, carrying seven passengers who claimed to be French oil workers.

Reports indicated the People's Hall in Tripoli, which serves as the meeting place for the General People's Congress, had been set on fire. There were also reports that the state television building had been smashed up by protesters and that at least one Tripoli police station was burned down. Navy warships were reported to have begun bombardment of residential areas causing an unknown number of casualties. Banks and other government buildings were looted throughout the day as the city's death toll rose to at least 61.

Some people alleged that they were offered money to turn up for pro-Gaddafi rallies outside Libya. Within Libya, state-run television showed pro-Gaddafi rallies, though the international media doubted the authenticity of these protests as possibly having been staged.

There were reports that Gaddafi had fled Tripoli after the People's Hall and the state television headquarters were overrun and burned by protesters -- according to rumours he had fled either to the town of Sebha or to Venezuela. British Foreign Secretary William Hague also said that he had received information that Muammar al-Gaddafi had left Libya and was travelling to Venezuela. Venezuelan government officials denied reports that Muammar Gaddafi had left Libya and was on a plane bound for Caracas.

BBC News reported that the Libyan Army is "fighting forces loyal to [Colonel] Gaddafi, who appears to be struggling to hold on to power." A group of army officers also called upon their fellow soldiers to "join the people" and remove Gaddafi from office. Islamic leaders and clerics in Libya urged all Muslims to rebel against Gaddafi. The ambassador to Poland stated that the flood of defections by elements of the Army and Air Force, as well as by government ministers, cannot be stopped and that Gaddafi days in power are numbered. He also said that firing on the protestors was only increasing the unrest and that it is the sign of a dying regime. Libyan ambassadors to Indonesia, Bangladesh, the EU, and India also resigned in protest of the actions of the Gaddafi regime.

LTT Wimax internet, Al Madar mobile phone service, and text messaging services were restored in the Tripoli area at 01:30.

Hactivist group Anonymous issued a second statement calling on the international community to confirm within 24 hours an intent to close Libyan airspace to protect civilians, and to "provide secured transport of medical supplies to major population centers."

youtube.com

**StrontiumDog** · 23-02-2011, 07:29 PM

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-midd...medium=twitter

23 February 2011 Last updated at 11:17 GMT

Libya protests: Pressure mounts on isolated Gaddafi

Col Gaddafi's angry speech on Tuesday was greeted with anger and derision by protesters

Pressure has mounted on isolated Libyan ruler Col Muammar Gaddafi after a chorus of international condemnation and resignations by top officials.

The man considered the colonel's number two, Interior Minister Abdel Fattah Younes al-Abidi, is among senior figures who have joined the opposition.

The UN Security Council demanded an end to the violence on Tuesday, while the Arab League suspended Libya.

Protesters greeted an angry speech by the veteran leader with defiance.

The BBC's Jon Leyne, in eastern Libya, says people there believe the government now controls just a few pockets of territory including parts of the capital Tripoli and the southern town of Sabha.

At least 300 people have been killed so far in the uprising, which has spread from the east of the country, although Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini told reporters in Rome that a more realistic death toll was 1,000.

Mr Frattini also told Corriere della Sera newspaper he feared an immigrant exodus on a "biblical scale" if Col Gaddafi was toppled, predicting up to 300,000 Libyans could flee.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy called for the European Union to adopt "swift and concrete sanctions" and to suspend ties with Libya.

He spoke as France's Total became the latest oil company to announce that it was suspending its operations in the North African nation.

Meanwhile, European countries have been evacuating their citizens from Libya.

Planes and frigates from Turkey, France and Russia have been sent to pick up thousands of their stranded nationals.

A UK warship, HMS Cumberland, has been sent to the Libyan coast ahead of a possible evacuation.

The UN Security Council's statement in New York late on Tuesday came amid reports that foreign mercenaries have been attacking civilians and warplanes bombing protesters.

The council's 15 members said the Libyan government should "meet its responsibility to protect its population", act with restraint, and respect human rights and international humanitarian law.

The statement said the Libyan authorities should also hold accountable those people responsible for attacking civilians, and respect the rights of its citizens.

Libya's deputy permanent representative to the UN, Ibrahim Dabbashi - who called on Monday for Col Gaddafi to step down - said the statement was "not strong enough".

Meanwhile, Interior Minister Mr al-Abidi - head of the powerful Thunderbolt commando brigade - read a resignation statement from his desk, urging the army to support the people and their "legitimate demands".

The Libyan ambassador to Indonesia, Singapore and Brunei became the latest figure to quit on Wednesday, in protest at the crackdown on demonstrators in his country.

A senior aide to Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, a son of the Libyan leader, has also quit, Reuters news agency reports.

The BBC's Jon Leyne, in eastern Libya, says people there reacted with anger and derision to Col Gaddafi's speech on Tuesday in which he referred to the protesters as rats and cockroaches.

During the rambling 75-minute address on state TV, Col Gaddafi - who has ruled the country since taking power in a 1969 military coup - vowed to crush the revolt and die as a martyr.

Bursts of gunfire and blaring of car horns were heard in Tripoli after the speech, although it is not clear if protesters or Gaddafi loyalists were responsible.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Col Gaddafi's speech was "very, very appalling" and "amounted to him declaring war on his own people".

Analysis

Jon Leyne
BBC News, eastern Libya

Libyans here reacted with anger and derision to Colonel Gaddafi's defiant speech. They fear he's out to destroy the country before he's finally deposed.

There are reports that some forces loyal to the Libyan leader, possibly foreign mercenaries, have attacked an airbase in the east of the country.

But apart from that, he's lost complete control of this area, which is now patrolled by local militias. The belief here is that government control is now down to a few pockets, including parts of the capital Tripoli and other strongholds including the southern town of Sabha.

As well as Col Gaddafi's interior minister, many senior generals have also defected, including General Mahmud, the commander here in the east and a veteran of the 1969 revolution.

Col Gaddafi's support is down to an inner core but he's clearly not going to give up the fight.

**StrontiumDog** · 23-02-2011, 10:41 PM

http://www.france24.com/en/20110223-...-laundry-libya

Latest update: 23/02/2011

WikiLeaks cable airs Gaddafi family's dirty laundry

A fresh batch of diplomatic cables released by WikiLeaks Wednesday have revealed the lavish and sometimes corrupt lifestyles of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi's family, many of which have been described as being fit for a "Libyan soap opera".

By News Wires (text)

AP - The children of Moammar Gaddafi were increasingly engaged in recent months in covering up scandals fit for a “Libyan soap opera,” including negative publicity from extravagant displays of wealth, such as a million-dollar private concert by pop diva Beyonce, according to a new batch of secret diplomatic cables released Wednesday.

The assessments by U.S. diplomats were published by the secret-spilling web site WikiLeaks as Gaddafi vowed to fight to the “last drop of blood” to put down an uprising against his 42-year rule of the North African nation. At least 300 protesters are believed to have been killed by pro-government forces in the past week of clashes.

LIBYA
The Gaddafi family tree

Growing anger over crass behavior by Gaddafi’s offspring, such as son Hannibal’s 2008 arrest for beating servants in a hotel in Switzerland, may have helped spark the current uprising. “The family has been in a tailspin recently,” a cable assessed a year ago said.
The diplomats at the U.S. Embassy in the Libyan capital of Tripoli describe how Gaddafi’s children have carved out spheres of influence, seemingly treating the country as their personal fiefdom.

Muhammad, the oldest son, dominated telecommunications, another son, Muatassim, was National Security Adviser, Hannibal was influential in maritime shipping, Khamis commanded a top military unit, while daughter Aisha ran a quasi-governmental organization. Another son, Saadi, was given the job of setting up an Export Free Trade Zone in western Libya.

Seif al-Islam Gaddafi cultivated a respectable image as Libya’s face to the West, and had locals rallying for him to be heir-apparent, the 2010 cable said. However, that image may well have been destroyed in a single instant earlier this week when he went on TV to threaten anti-government protesters with civil war if they persisted.

The family’s unchecked control in Libya is highlighted in a July 2008 embassy report that Muatassim put pressure on the chairman of the National Oil Corporation Chairman Shokri Ghanem to give him $1.2 billion in cash and oil shipments. Ghanem told a confidant at the time he was considering resigning because he feared Muatassim could seek revenge if he wasn’t paid, a 2008 cable said.

The confidant described Gaddafi’s children as thugs, saying that “no one can cross or refuse such people without suffering consequences, particularly when the matter is to do with money,” the cable said.

Another 2008 dispatch noted that government funding was used to capitalize Hannibal’s maritime transportation company. The “close integration of private and public interests in many of Libya’s key economic entities” became apparent when Libya quickly halted oil shipments in response to his detention in Geneva over the alleged beating of the servants.

Two years later, a cable cited reports that Hannibal physically abused his wife, Aline.

In 2009, Aline had threatened to leave Hannibal and fled to London, the cable said. “Hannibal pursued Aline in London, and the encounter ended in assault,” the cable said. Hannibal’s mother, Safiya, and sister, Aisha, then persuaded Aline to report to police that she had been hurt in an accident and not mention abuse, according to the diplomats.

Saadi was described as having a troubled past, including run-ins with police in Europe, drug and alcohol abuse, and excessive partying, a 2009 cable said. It was an important objective for the regime to create “the appearance of useful employment” for Gaddafi’s children, the report said.

Flaunting of wealth was starting the hurt the family’s image, the diplomats said. They noted that Muatassim “kicked off 2010 the same way he spent 2009 - with a New Year’s Eve trip to St. Bart’s - reportedly featuring copious amounts of alcohol and a million-dollar personal concert courtesy of Beyonce, Usher, and other musicians.”

“The family has provided local observers with enough dirt for a Libyan soap opera,” the 2010 cable concluded.

The diplomats also noted “acute discord” among the Gaddafi siblings. The growing rivalries in the absence of a succession mechanism and amid rumors of Gaddafi’s health problems“could play an important, if not determinative role, in whether the family is able to hold on to power after the author of the revolution exits the political scene,” a 2009 dispatch said.

Still, Gadhafi still remains very much in control, despite his carefully crafted image as an aloof philosopher-king, a cable said.

The dictator is intimately involved in the most important work, such as vetting business deals involving public funds to “ensure that opportunities to extract rents from those contracts are distributed to key regime allies,” the diplomats observed.

**StrontiumDog** · 23-02-2011, 10:42 PM

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/41734924.../?ocid=twitter

Report: Gadhafi ordered Lockerbie bombing

Recently resigned Libyan justice minister tells paper he has 'proof'

updated 20 minutes ago 2011-02-23T15

51
breaking news

STOCKHOLM — Swedish tabloid Expressen says Libya's ex-justice minister claims Moammar Gadhafi personally ordered the Lockerbie bombing that killed 270 people in 1988.

Expressen on Wednesday quoted Mustafa Abdel-Jalil as telling their correspondent in Libya that "I have proof that Gadhafi gave the order about Lockerbie." He didn't describe the proof.

Abdel-Jalil stepped down as justice minister to protest the violence against anti-government demonstrations.

He told Expressen that Gadhafi gave the order to Abdel Baset al-Megrahi, the only man convicted in the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, which killed all 259 people on board and 11 on the ground.

"To hide it, he (Gadhafi) did everything in his power to get al-Megrahi back from Scotland," Abdel-Jalil was quoted as saying.

Al-Megrahi was granted a compassionate release from a Scottish prison in August 2009 on the grounds that he was suffering from prostate cancer and would die soon. He is still alive.

Expressen spokeswoman Alexandra Forslund said its reporter, Kassem Hamade, interviewed the ex-justice minister at "a local parliament in a large city in Libya." She didn't want to name the city, citing security concerns.

**HermantheGerman** · 24-02-2011, 04:44 AM

Looks like Kaddafi is next to fall. Wonder which country is going to give him asylum. Maybe Italy with its greaseball Berlusconi ?

**StrontiumDog** · 24-02-2011, 01:46 PM

http://www.alarabiya.net/articles/20...24/138986.html

Opposition forces prepare to “liberate” Tripoli

Gaddafi losing ground as Libya revolt spreads

Thursday, 24 February 2011

Several cities in western Libya have reportedly fallen to the opposition

Benghazi, LIBYA (Agencies) The grip of Muammar Gaddafi on Libya loosened further on Thursday as major cities and towns closer to the capital fell to the rebellion against his rule. In the east, now all but broken away, the opposition vowed to "liberate" Tripoli, where the Libyan leader is holed up with a force of militiamen roaming the streets and tanks guarding the outskirts.

In a further sign of Gaddafi's faltering hold, two air force pilots - one from the leader's own tribe - parachuted out of their warplane and let it crash into the eastern Libyan desert rather than follow orders to bomb an opposition-held city.

International momentum was building for action to punish Gaddafi's regime for the bloody crackdown it has unleashed against the uprising that began Feb. 15.

President Barack Obama said the U.S. is examining all options for pressuring Libya to end a violent crackdown on anti-government demonstrators, and he is dispatching Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to a meeting in Switzerland to work with her counterparts from other nations on a coordinated response.

In his first remarks on the uprising that has split the North African country and prompted a deadly response from Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi and his loyalists, Obama described the suffering and bloodshed as outrageous and said those responsible must be held accountable.

In Tripoli, Gaddafi's stronghold, protest organizers called for new rallies Thursday and Friday, raising the potential for a more bloody confrontation.

Militiamen and Gaddafi supporters - a mix of Libyans and foreign African fighters bused in - roamed the capital's main streets, called up Tuesday night by the Libyan leader in a fist-pounding speech in which he vowed to fight to the death. The gunmen fired weapons in the air, chanting "Long live Gaddafi," and waved green flags. With a steady rain, streets were largely empty, residents said.

In many neighborhoods, residents set up watch groups to keep militiamen out, barricading streets with concrete blocks, metal and rocks, and searching those trying to enter, a Tripoli activist said.

Gaddafi's residence at Tripoli's Aziziya Gates was guarded by loyalists along with a line of armed militiamen in vehicles, some masked, he said. The radio station building downtown was also heavily fortified. In one western neighborhood, security forces stormed several homes and arrested three or four people, a witness said, while tanks were deployed on the eastern outskirts, witnesses in at least one neighborhood said.

"Mercenaries are everywhere with weapons. You can't open a window or door. Snipers hunt people," said another resident, who said she had spent the night in her home awake hearing gunfire outside. "We are under siege, at the mercy of a man who is not a Muslim."

But below the surface, protesters were organizing, said the activist. At night, they fan out and spray-paint anti-Gaddafi graffiti or set fires near police stations, chanting, "The people want the ouster of the regime," before running at the approach of militiamen, he said. The Tripoli residents, like other witnesses around the country, spoke on condition of anonymity because of fear of retaliation.

In opposition-controlled Benghazi, the eastern city where the uprising began, residents held a mass rally outside the city's main courthouse, vowing to support protests in the capital, said Farag al-Warfali, a banker. They also called a one-day fast in solidarity with them. Afterward, young men went into the courthouse to register to obtain weapons, which had been looted from police stations and military bases and then turned over to the city's new rulers, he said.

The idea is to "take their weapons and march toward Tripoli," al-Warfali said, although Benghazi lies 580 miles (940 kilometers) east of the capital, and territory still loyal to Gaddafi lies between them.

There were similar calls in Misrata - several hours' drive from Tripoli, the closest major city to the capital to fall to anti-government forces. A mosque called residents to come to "jihad," or holy war, in support of the anti-Gaddafi camp, said one resident, Iman.

"We are going to join forces with our brothers in Tripoli," she said.

The extent of Gaddafi's control over the country he has ruled for 41 years had been reduced to the western coastal region around Tripoli, the deserts to the south and parts of the center.

After Gaddafi's speech Tuesday night, militiamen flooded into Sabratha, a town west of Tripoli famed for nearby ancient Roman ruins, and battled government opponents who had taken over, said one resident. Around 5,000 militiamen from neighboring towns, backed by army and police units, clashed with the rival group and drove them from the streets, he said.

But his territory was being eroded.

The opposition said Wednesday it had taken over Misrata, Libya's third-largest city.

Residents honked horns in celebration and raised the pre-Gaddafi flags of the Libyan monarchy after several days of fighting that drove militiamen from the city, about 200 kilometers (120 miles) east of Tripoli, said Faraj al-Misrati, a local doctor. He said six people had been killed and 200 wounded in clashes that began Feb. 18.

Residents had formed committees to clean the streets, protect the city and treat the wounded, he said. "The solidarity among the people here is amazing, even the disabled are helping out."

An audio statement posted on the Internet reportedly from armed forces officers in Misrata proclaimed "our total support" for the anti-Gaddafi movement.

New videos posted by Libya's opposition on Facebook also showed scores of anti-government protesters raising the pre-Gaddafi flag on a building in Zawiya, 50 kilometers (30 miles) west of Tripoli. The city is located near a key oil port and refineries on the Mediterranean. The footage couldn't be independently confirmed.

Government opponents were also in control in Zwara, a town about 50 kilometers (30 miles) from the Tunisian border in the west, after local army units sided with them and police fled, said one resident, a 25-year-old unemployed university graduate. "This man (Gaddafi) has reached the point that he's saying he will bring armies from Africa. That means he is isolated," he said.

Gaddafi long kept his army weak and divided for fear of challenge, so in the fierce crackdown his regime has waged on the uprising, he has relied on militia groups, beefed up by fighters hired abroad. Meanwhile, army units in many places have sided with the rebellion.

On Wednesday, two air force pilots jumped from parachutes from their Russian-made Sukhoi fighter jet and let it crash, rather than carry out orders to bomb opposition-held Benghazi, Libya's second-largest city, the website Qureyna reported, citing an unidentified officer in the air force control room.

One of the pilots - identified by the report as Ali Omar Gadhafi - was from Gaddafi's tribe, the Gaddadfa, said Farag al-Maghrabi, who saw the pilots and the wreckage of the jet, which crashed in the desert outside the key oil port of Breqa, about 710 kilometers (440 miles) east of Tripoli.

The anti-Gaddafi forces and the mutinous army units that have joined them were consolidating their hold on nearly the entire eastern half of the 1,000-mile Mediterranean coastline, stretching from the Egyptian border to Ajdabiya, about 800 kilometers (480 miles) east of Tripoli, encroaching on key oil fields around the Gulf of Sidra.

Across their territory, they have been setting up their own administrations. In many places, committees organized by residents, tribes and mutinous army officers were governing, often collecting weapons looted from pro-Gaddafi troops to prevent chaos.

"There is now an operating room for the militaries of all the liberated cities and they are trying to convince the others to join them," said Lt. Col. Omar Hamza, an army officer who had allied with the rebels in Tobruk. "They are trying to help the people in Tripoli to capture Gaddafi."

At the Egyptian border, guards had fled, and local tribal elders have formed local committees to take their place. "Welcome to the new Libya," proclaimed graffiti spray-painted at the crossing. Fawzy Ignashy, a former soldier now in civilian clothes at the border, said that early in the uprising, some commanders ordered troops to fire on protesters, but tribal leaders stepped in and ordered them to stop.

"They did because they were from here. So the officers fled," he said.

A defense committee of residents was even guarding one of Gaddafi's once highly secretive anti-aircraft missile bases outside Tobruk. "This is the first time I've seen missiles like these up close," said Abdelsalam al-Gedani, one of the guards, dressed in an overcoat and carrying a Kalashnikov rifle.

Evacuations

The U.S. is rushing to evacuate its citizens from Libya. A ferry scheduled to leave Tripoli yesterday with U.S. diplomats and family members was delayed by bad weather.

State Department spokesman Philip J. Crowley said, “Assistant Secretary of State Jeffrey Feltman has spoken with Libyan officials in recent days and requested the Libyan government’s cooperation as we remove our citizens and our diplomats and their families from Libya.”

Once U.S. personnel are safe, the White House should move against the Gaddafi regime, said Elliott Abrams, a deputy national security adviser under President George W. Bush.

Abrams, now a fellow with the Council on Foreign Relations in Washington, said U.S. actions might include freezing the country’s bank accounts so Gaddafi loyalists can’t raid them, imposing an international arms embargo on Libya and creating a no-fly zone over the country enforced by the U.S. and NATO or European Union air forces.

I don’t see any reason for us not to begin that discussion, Abrams said. You may run into Russian and Chinese vetoes, but the discussion itself would show how much we are concerned about this use of violence against the population.

**StrontiumDog** · 24-02-2011, 01:48 PM

^^ Yep, looks as the though the anti-government forces are in control of large swathes of the country. This looks like it may go on for a while though. I doubt Gaddafi is going to give up easily. He did say he'd fight to the end.

**forreachingme** · 24-02-2011, 01:53 PM

Well Mubahrak was richest in the world with 82 billion, now comes kadahfi with over 100 billion...

That all money could give a good kick back on world economy if it goes the their people and invest a bit wisely in infrastructures and social stuff...

No arms please...

**Butterfly** · 24-02-2011, 03:14 PM

a shame it didn't happen in Iraq yet, that would kick out the Americans

**Panda** · 24-02-2011, 05:51 PM

[quote=forreachingme;1690260]Well Mubahrak was richest in the world with 82 billion, now comes kadahfi with over 100 billion...
quote]

Could ring a few bells with some here.

**Panda** · 24-02-2011, 06:06 PM

Originally Posted by Butterfly

a shame it didn't happen in Iraq yet, that would kick out the Americans

Farkin ell, Iraq is going to be in a perpetual state of civil war until they get another strongman dictator like Hussein to tie the factions together by brutal force, -- if ever that happens again at all. The yanks had the place tied up with their man in charge until they killed him off and tried to put in a new puppet government. Its all backfired on them very badly now. The country is a complete mess. Worst of all, the new government is taking the democracy thing seriously and trying to pull it all together without selling out to the Yanks. This was NOT the way things were supposed to go.

**StrontiumDog** · 24-02-2011, 06:44 PM

Provisional Government Forming In Eastern Libya : NPR

Provisional Government Forming In Eastern Libya

by Lourdes Garcia-Navarro

February 23, 2011 As forces loyal to Libyan President Moammar Gadhafi reportedly held on to control of the capital city Tripoli and continued a crackdown on protesters Wednesday, the eastern part of the country was in the hands of the rebels — who are now trying to organize themselves.

In eastern Libya, in the city of Bayda, a provisional government was being formed. The new leadership also is holding some Gadhafi loyalists hostage.

As the first Western journalists many of the residents of Bayda had ever seen were led into the meeting, the crowd gave a standing ovation — quickly followed by cries of "Freedom, Freedom!" and "Libya, Libya!"

This building had been a symbol of Gadhafi's regime — where his revolutionary council would meet to discuss local affairs.

A new revolution was finding its voice in Bayda, and its fighters were vowing to end Gadhafi's reign. Some people were crying, others pumping their fists in the air.

"Ordinary people, doctors, lawyers are talking about how we can coordinate with all other cities in Libya who are now under the protesters' control," says Ahmed Jibril, a former diplomat at the Libyan mission at the United Nations.

He says this is the beginning of a new government.

"We have a former minister of justice who just resigned three or four days ago," Jibril says. "He's among us and people agreed ... he would be one of the people in control."

In eastern Libya, it's still chaotic. On the streets, heavily armed and masked young men man checkpoints. There are tanks and anti-aircraft guns that have been looted from military bases positioned around towns and cities — and they are all in the hands of the rebel forces.

Jibril says that eastern Libya will defend itself, but they want a united country. "We will not divide Libya. We will not accept a division of Libya," he says.

Libya is a country of huge oil wealth, but also great poverty. Abdullah Mortady, an architect who hasn't built anything for 15 years, says the people here want to use Libya's riches for the people, not just for the enrichment of one family.

"We want to build our country," he says. "Infrastructure is nothing. Building is nothing. Our morality is completely destroyed. Today I can't speak because for 42 years we didn't speak, even our voice completely disappeared."

The new leadership is asserting itself. An elementary school has been converted into a prison, where around 100 pro-Gadhafi fighters are being kept in detention. They are what remains of a group of fighters who had holed up at a nearby airport and then were forced to surrender after a bloody battle that left a dozen people dead on Tuesday.

Many of the men are wounded, but they've been given blankets and medical attention. They are clearly scared. Most of the men say they are Libyans from the south. Among them are four men from Chad who look weak and malnourished. They declined to talk.

There have been rumors of foreign mercenaries being shipped in by the planeload to fight for Gadhafi in the east, but there is scant evidence of them here.

A Libyan soldier in detention, Ismael Salem Abu Salah, acknowledges that he was sent in to quell the initial unrest. He says he was fired upon first by the pro-democracy forces and that is why the troops fired back.

He adds that he's been treated well since he's been in detention.

The fate of these men is unclear. There is no court to try them and many in the city have been calling for their execution, especially among the younger men.

The older generation, which is now trying to form a government, is ensuring they are protected.

"The leaders, the wise people ... they had a meeting and they said they should stop these youth from, you know, from revenge, you know, because some of the youth have two or three brothers killed from the same family," says Dr. Masoud Abdullah, a professor of management science. "I was there in that meeting. It all comes down to the older generation who stopped the youth from taking revenge and ... killing them."

But he adds that they haven't been released yet because "the uprising hasn't finished. We don't know what will happen to this area. They might stop electricity; they might stop sending gas here, milk, food. We don't know."

They will use them as a way to negotiate with the regime, he says, if it should come to that.

**Rural Surin** · 24-02-2011, 06:55 PM

Originally Posted by Panda

Originally Posted by Butterfly

a shame it didn't happen in Iraq yet, that would kick out the Americans

Farkin ell, Iraq is going to be in a perpetual state of civil war until they get another strongman dictator like Hussein to tie the factions together by brutal force, -- if ever that happens again at all. The yanks had the place tied up with their man in charge until they killed him off and tried to put in a new puppet government. Its all backfired on them very badly now. The country is a complete mess. Worst of all, the new government is taking the democracy thing seriously and trying to pull it all together without selling out to the Yanks. This was NOT the way things were supposed to go.

Blowback. Couldn't have happened to a nicer buncha kunts. Som Nom Na.

**StrontiumDog** · 24-02-2011, 09:25 PM

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/wor...116804323.html

France says Libyan regime might have to face international justice

By: Angela Doland, The Associated Press
Posted: 02/24/2011 5:48 AM

PARIS - Libya's regime might have to face international justice for its deadly crackdown on protesters, France's Foreign Ministry said Thursday, as the world's diplomats debated how to pressure Moammar Gadhafi to halt the attacks on his countrymen.

The French Foreign Ministry said Libya's fierce crackdown on pro-democracy protesters "may constitute crimes against humanity." Meanwhile, French Defence Minister Alain Juppe said, "I sincerely hope that Gadhafi is in his final moments as chief of state."

France has been criticized for its initial cautious response to the rash of protest movements sweeping the Arab world, and two powerful French government figures faced criticism for vacations they took in Tunisia and Egypt weeks before protesters toppled authoritarian regimes there. The French prime minister's family getaway in Egypt was partly paid for by the Egyptian government.

Trying to make up for such diplomatic embarrassments, France has taken a tough tone on Libya in recent days and has been pushing for European Union sanctions against the North African country.

The French Foreign Ministry said that "all options should be studied, including bringing the case before the international justice system." The ministry's response did not mention Gadhafi or any other figures by name.

France's defence minister told France Inter radio that it is worth considering the creation of a no-fly zone over Libya, a suggestion gaining ground lately. But he said the option of a foreign military intervention was not on the table.

British Prime Minister David Cameron warned Gadhafi that continued violence against protesters in Libya was "completely unacceptable."

"It must stop and, as I am absolutely clear, if it does not stop there will be consequences," Cameron said, speaking in Doha on a tour of the Middle East and Gulf.

Meanwhile, European Union President Herman Van Rompuy, visiting Romania, called for an immediate end to the violence. He added that Libyans should decide the political future of their country, with the EU offering help.

After a meeting of EU ambassadors Wednesday, the bloc did not announce sanctions, but EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said the EU stood "ready to take further measures." Details were still being negotiated, amid concerns about getting up to 10,000 EU citizens out of Libya safely. The United States has also said it is considering sanctions.

Italy's foreign minister has said estimates of some 1,000 people killed in the violence in Libya were "credible," although he stressed that information about casualties was incomplete. The New York-based Human Rights Watch has put the death toll at nearly 300, according to a partial count.

____

Associated Press writers across Europe contributed to this report.

**StrontiumDog** · 24-02-2011, 10:25 PM

http://www.alarabiya.net/articles/20...24/139092.html

Says he has "moral authority" in the country

Gaddafi accuses Qaeda of being behind Libya revolt

Thursday, 24 February 2011

TRIPOLI (Agencies) Muammar Gaddafi blamed a revolt against his rule on al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden on Thursday and said that as Libyan leader he only had "moral authority".

Gaddafi, speaking by telephone to Libyan television, offered his condolences for those who were killed in the bloodshed and called for calm amongst people he said were fighting amongst themselves and taking hallucinogenic drugs. Saying bin Laden was "the real criminal", Gaddafi urged Libyans not be swayed by the al-Qaeda leader.

"Bin Laden ... this is the enemy who is manipulating people," Gaddafi said, adding: "Do not be swayed by bin Laden."

Gaddafi also accused the protesters of being on drugs.

"You in Zawiyah turn to bin Laden," he said. "They give you drugs."

This was the embattled leader's second television appearance since protests broke out against his 41-year-old rule on Feb. 15.

"Those armed youngsters, our children, are incited by people who are wanted by America and the Western world."

The "situation is different from Egypt or Tunisia ... Here the authority is in your hands, the people's hands. You can change authority any way you wish. It's your call. You are the elderly, the head of the tribes, the professors."

"I only have moral authority," he said, who has long sought to present himself as a leader of a revolution that is led by the people, rather than a traditional executive head of state.

"No sane person" would join the protests against his rule, Gaddafi said and called on citizens to take weapons from those who were protesting.

On Tuesday, in a defiant, sometimes rambling speech on television, Gaddafi vowed to remain in Libya as head of its revolution, saying he would die as a martyr in the land of his ancestors and fight to the "last drop" of his blood.

He ordered the army and police to crush the popular uprising against his iron-fisted four-decade rule that has left hundreds dead.

Referring to violent clashes taking place in the town of Zawiyah, about 50 km (30 miles) from the capital Tripoli, Gaddafi said, "What is happening in Zawiyah is a farce. ... Sane men don't enter such a farce."

"Leave the country calm," he told Libyans.

**StrontiumDog** · 24-02-2011, 11:34 PM

Live Blog - Libya Feb 24

By Al Jazeera Staff in

Africa

on February 23rd, 2011.

Photo by Reuters

As the uprising in Libya enters its tenth day, we keep you updated on the developing situation from our headquarters in Doha, Qatar.

February 24, 2011

5:45pm - France's top human rights official told Reuters that up to 2,000 people could have died by now in Libya. Francois Zimeray also said there was clear evidence to suggest the Libyan leader had committed crimes against humanity.

The question is not if Gaddafi will fall, but when and at what human cost ... For now the figures we have ... more than 1,000 have died, possibly 2,000, according to sources.

5:13pm As this Tweeter puts it:

Great question. Where was Gaddafi calling from? Intially, word was that the Libyan leader would appear live and make his statement from Az Zawiyah, but then, a phone call, which ended rather abruptly. We'll Youtube that and embed it here for you shortly.
4:45pm From Tobruk, a simple request (via AFP):

4:15pm Gaddafi's speech, broadcast on state television, was a phone-in affair, in which he said that like Queen Elizabeth II, he was only a symbolic leader of Libya. Gaddafi also blamed the unrest on al-Qaeda arming drugged teenagers.

He said that married people with families and good jobs weren't participating in the protests, saying that no one over the age of 20 was involved and that "people with any brains won't take part in these protests".
He also said that "It's obvious now that this issue has been lead by al-Qaeda ...get control of your children, keep them at home".

4:00pm An eyewitness named Ali from Az Zawiyah tells Al Jazzera that soldiers fired at protesters with heavy fire arms for five hours this morning. Some of the protesters, he said were armed with hunting rifles, others were unarmed.

"The shooting was direct to the people. They shot the people in the head or in the chest. They were trying to kill the people, not just terrify them," said Ali.

He added that at least 100 people had been killed and that around 400 injured were taken to the hospital in Az Zawiyah.

3:24pm There are multiple reports of gun battles taking place between security forces and protesters in the town of Az Zawiyah, 50 km west of Tripoli, on Thursday. Reuters reports that gun fire has broken out there, while sources tell Al Jazeera that the army attacked the town this morning, firing shots at protesters for roughly four hours.

The death tolls vary greatly - from 16 to 100, and Reuters is unable to confirm any numbers. The agency reports that the army attacked the Souq Mosque where protesters had been camped out for several days:

The soldiers opened fire with automatic weapons and hit the mosque's minaret with fire from an anti-aircraft gun, he said. Some of the young men among the protesters, who were inside the mosque and in a nearby lot, had hunting rifles for protection.

The witness said that earlier in the day, a Gaddafi "envoy" had come to Az Zawiyah and told the protesters in the mosque to leave or "you will see a massacre". He also said, "Those who attacked us are not the mercenaries, they are the sons of our country".

3:15pm The US state department has issued a statement saying that in a meeting between two US diplomats and the senior Libyan officials, the US diplomats were told that while some journalists were allowed to report from Libya, others who had entered the country illegally (presumably through the country's broken eastern border) were considered "al-Qaeda collaborators" by the Libyan government.
The statement continues:

The Libyan government said that it was not responsible for the safety of these journalists, who risked immediate arrest on the full range of possible immigration charges. Foreign journalists already in Libya who are not part of the approved teams were urged to immediately join the approved teams in-country.

Be advised, entering Libya to report on the events unfolding there is additionally hazardous with the government labeling unauthorized media as terrorist collaborators and claiming they will be arrested if caught.

3:07pm Al Jazeera's Jamal Elshayyal reporting from Saloum, Egypt, reports that things are slowing down at the eastern border crossing with Libya, where, he said, the situation has been "quite chaotic". He said roughly 20,000 have crossed the border in two days.

Elshayyal also said people continue to get injured or killed in attempting to cross the border.

2:52pm Reuters also reports that Britain has urged greater pressure on Gaddafi, while the European Union might be sending humanitarian intervention into Libya:

British Foreign Secretary William Hague said an international investigation should be launched into Libyan state violence, while Gaddafi's forces continued their week-long struggle to crush armed and unarmed anti-government protesters. ...

'We will be looking for ways to hold to account the people who are responsible for these things and they should bear that in mind before they order any more of them,' he said.
'We will want some kind of international investigation ... We are finding a lot of support from other countries,' he said.

In Brussels, senior officials said the European Union was weighing a range of options to evacuate 5,000-6,000 EU citizensstill in Libya, many of them oil company employees, and said one possibility was a military humanitarian intervention force.

2:37pm Reuters wire agency is starting to move some images from Libya - here's a shot out of Tobruk, where we can see burnt security vehicles in the background.

2:11pm Another caller from Misurata tells Al Jazeera that up to 1,000 members of Gaddafi forces - the "Hamza Brigade" - mounted an attack on protesters near the city's airport and were repelled, but later launched an attack on the centre of the city, and fighting continues. He says anti-Gaddafi protesters are holding their ground.

2:07pm Chinese citizens fleeing across the border into Tunisia confirm to Al Jazeera's Nazanine Moshiri in Ras Ajdir that there was fighting in the nearby Libyan cities of Az Zawiyah and Zuwarah.

2:01pm Miftah Mohamed, a caller from Misurata, tells Al Jazeera "the revolutionary forces have driven Gaddafi's forces from Misurata".

1:51pm Sherine Tadros, Al Jazeera's correspondent in Cairo, gives us more information on Ahmed Kaddaf el-Dem - Gaddafi's cousin and former Libya-Egypt security co-ordinator. We understand he's on his way to Syria, after the statement which AP reported - condemning Gaddafi's use of violence - was issued by his Cairo office.

Kaddaf el-Dem denied he was asked to recruit Egyptian bedouin tribes to fight in Libya - a charge reportedly brought against him by a group of Egyptian lawyers yesterday.

1:31pm Saudi Arabia says it is "ready and willing" to make up for any shortfall in oil production caused by the uprising in Libya, says Reuters.

1:23pm Several reported dead in the latest attack on Misurata, Reuters reports.

1:15pm A cousin of Gaddafi, and one of his closest aides, has arrived in Cairo, says AP. Kaddaf el-Dem reportedly says the crackdown has seen "grave violations to human right and human and international laws".

1:11pm Gaddafi forces attack crowds near Misurata, which was earlier reported to have been taken over by protesters, eyewitnesses tell Reuters.

1:09pm Gaddafi is soon to address residents of Az-Zawiyah, where troops attacked protesters this morning, Al Arabiya reports. If it happens, we'll be covering it on our TV feed. You can watch it - live - by clicking here.
1:06pm Former minister of justice tells meeting of tribal elders:

No negotiation, no solution - until Gaddafi and his sons leave.

1:03pm The president of Chad tried to send troops into Libya to support Gaddafi, says Al Arabiya.

12:59pm A group of 34 Filipino citizens are being held by armed men in Libya, ABS-CBN reports. No further details yet available.

12:55pm A friendly chant rings out round the meeting of tribal elders, held in Al Baida, home to the former justice minister:

Oh Al Jazeera, oh Al Jazeera: We swear by Allah, you are not vile!

12:50pm Here's that video of Al Jazeera's James Bays, fresh off the plane from Libya, telling us about the scenes of chaos in Tripoli airport - and of Gaddafi's police beating people trying to get in.

12:48pm Turks arriving back in their home country tell Al Jazeera's Anita McNaught:

Gaddafi didn't give us a drop of water - but the Libyan people gave us everything. Three cheers for the people's revolution!

12:44pm Gaddafi's former minister of justice attends meeting of tribal leaders in eastern Libya.

12:40pm This video has emerged on YouTube, claiming to show protesters in Tripoli running for cover amid heavy gunfire in Libya's capital.

12:35pm Mobile phone messages are reportedly circulating in Tripoli, calling for mass protests against Gaddafi following Friday lunchtime prayers.

12:30pm Gaddafi's forces have reportedly kidnapped two daughters of the Libyan leader's former aide, Noura al-Masmari, after he spoke on Al Jazeera yesterday. They were allegedly forced to denouce their father on Libya's state TV. His lawyer told the AFP agency:

Two of Mr al-Masmari's daughters have just been abducted by men working for Mr Gaddafi - and forcibly taken to the television [station] to deny their father's statements. They are still in the hands of Muammar Gaddafi's men, which shows there's a will for reprisals.

12:24pm Chinese oil company CNPC says on its website its Libyan facilities have been attacked, and it is evacuating workers.

12:19pm Saif al-Islam Gaddafi appears on Libyan state TV. He speaks of a conspiracy perpetrated by "Arab brothers" and mentions that the media "spread lies" - though not mentioning any network by name.

He asks Egyptians, particularly, not to participate in the "conspiracy". Egypt's army has already been ordered to evacuate its citizens from Libya, after authorities there took Saif Gaddaffi's earlier speech as incitement to violence against Egyptians.

He also said that he would invite media and international organisations to tour Tripoli tomorrow - though he did not specify a time.

"Life in Tripoli is normal," he says.

12:10pm Gaddafi forces blast a mosque minaret with anti-aircraft weaponry in Az Zawiyah during ongoing attack on protesters, says the AP news agency.

12:04pm More on that initial reaction from Al Jazeera's James Bays, fresh back from Tripoli airport. He adds:

Signs of the decay and the end of regimes that I've seen elsewhere is happening now. People are asking for bribes. If you want to do anything in the airport, it will cost you. A $20 taxi ride to Tripoli airport now costs $200.

Check out our live TV stream, by clicking here. If you're in the US, don't forget, you can Demand Al Jazeera on your cable provider.

11:55am In a Q&A session with Al Jazeera and YouTube, British Prime Minister David Cameron threatens Libya with "consequences":

What Libyan authorities are doing is completely unacceptable - it must stop. I back what President Obama said about this - these actions must have consequences ... We should look at our full range of options.
All of our minds are focused on Libya. What we've seen is unacceptable. It must stop - and if it doesn't there will be consequences.

Question: If you could ask any world leader anything, what would it be?

My question would be to Colonel Gadaffi right now: What on earth are you doing? Your people deserve democracy, your people deserve better.

11:53am Nigeria is latest country to evacuate citizens from Libya, with aircraft due to depart in coming hours.

11:44am London School of Economics, where Saif Gaddafi completed his PhD, issues a new statement.

11:34am Eyewitnesses confirm to Al Jazeera that demonstrators have taken control of Zuwarah city, 120km west of Tripoli.

11:30am Seven reported killed and 40 injured by "Gaddafi Brigade" in Az Zawiyah

11:27am These pictures were sent to us by Antoine Kienlen, who works for an oil company operating in Libya. He says they were taken in Tripoli on Monday morning.

11:19am Egyptian workers fleeing Libya say anti-Gaddafi militia control the town of Zuwarah, 120km west of Tripoli, Reuters reports.

11:15am Libyan diplomats at the Libyan embassy in the Moroccan capital announced they are joining "the people's revolution" and the end of Gaddafi's rule. A video showed Libyan diplomats lowering a flag in the embassy's courtyard to half-mast, taking down a large picture of the Libyan leader, and then smashing it.

11:13am Reports are coming in that Gaddafi forces are attacking Az Zawiyah city in north-west Libya, where thousands are currently demonstrating. An eyewitness phoned Al Jazeera, saying 50 injured people were taken to hospital in the city after the "Gaddafi Brigade" used anti-aircraft weapons in the assault. Several protesters were reportedly killed.

11:11am James Bays, Al Jazeera correspondent, tells us of the scene of panic he witnessed just hours ago at Tripoli airport. Video of the interview coming soon.

The airport has become logjammed. Some have been there for three days in pretty awful conditions, though many more are outside. Police are beating people with clubs, stopping them getting into airport, saying it is full.

Flights are leaving and they are not full, because people can't get into the airport.

People are telling horrifying stories - one woman told me about watching soldiers shooting people in front of her, then shooting at them, as they do not want witnesses.

The authorities in control of the airport don't like international media, and they certainly don't like Al Jazeera

The airport is still very much in control of Gaddafi's forces. He appears to be consolidating his support.

10:58am The families of IRA victims have pledged solidarity with the victims of Gaddafi's recent violence.

Gaddafi supplied Semtex to the Provisional IRA so that it could be used to commit acts of terrorism throughout Great Britain and Northern Ireland. It was and with devastating effect. Gaddafi bears a responsibility for the deaths of our loved ones ...

Our dialogue with the regime has now been terminated, though our campaign has not.

Looking to an optimistic future without the Gaddafi dictatorship, we believe that UK victims and Libyan victims of Gaddafi can be at the forefront of creating a new and prosperous relationship between the UK and the new Libyan government which will be built on solid foundations rather than on the sand of the previous inter-govermental raproachment. The current victim initiative can form the key foundation stone for the future; progressive and forward thinking on the one hand whilst being respectful of the past on the other.

Until such a day, our prayers are with the good people of Libya.

10:56am The first Chinese citizens to be evacuated from Libya are expected to arrive in Beijing at 1800GMT. The China Daily says more than 30,000 Chinese citizens were in Libya when the unrest began.

10:52am Lebanese authorites confirm they refused to allow a Libyan plane to land in Beirut yesterday - because its pilot would not identify its passengers. Online reports suggest the passengers included the wife of one of Gaddafi's sons.

10:50am Lebanon's Manar TV reports "sources" told the family of Shia leader Musa Sadr, who disappeared in Libya in 1978, that he may still be alive and in a Libyan prison. His family and the government are reportedly re-opening his case. Libyan officials had previously said Sadr was killed more than 30 years ago.

10:42am This video was posted on YouTube - and claims to show anti-Gaddafi protesters burning down a police station in Tripoli. Once again, Al Jazeera can't independently verify the veracity of this video - or where or when it was filmed.

10:03am More on international solidarity between struggles for autonomy in the Middle East and those in the West. After Egypt sends pizza to protesters in Madison, Wisconsin, rock star, guitar hero and all-round troublemaker Tom Morello reads a message from Egyptian protesters at a gig to support the rights of workers in the US.

To our friends in Madison, Wisconsin:

We wish you could see first hand the change we have made here. Justice is beautiful, but justice is never free.

The beauty in Tahrir Square you can have everywhere - on any corner, in your city, or in your heart.

So hold on tightly and don't let go, and breathe deep Wisconsin - for our good fortune in on the breeze, in the midwest and in the Middle East. So, breathe deep Wisconsin, because justice is in the air - and the spirit of Tahrir Square be in every beating heart in Madison, Wisconsin.

Check it out:

9:55am Alain Juppe, French defence minister, calls for sanctions on Gaddafi's administration, telling France Inter radio:

I hope wholeheartedly Gaddafi is living his last moments as leader.

9:11am Youcef Bouandel - a Professor of International Affairs at Qatar University - tells Al Jazeera: "The fact that Gaddafi no longer controls these areas in the west of the country will give encouragement to those closer to the capital and in Tripoli."

9:00am With Libyan oil production reportedly down by 25%, Western nations consider economic sanctions against the Gaddafi family. US says it is "looking at full range of options".

8:45am An Algerian man, who like the others reported below, asked not to be identified, tells us of discrimination at Tripoli airport:

We suffered so much at the airport. Shame on the Arabs, but Europeans were treated better. Arabs were badly treated. I am so tired and I will never set foot in Libya again. We are so grateful to the Libyans for their hospitality when the situation was peaceful - but thank God that we are back, safe and sound in our country.

8:40am Another Algerian tells Al Jazeera, having fled Libya:

I feel like crying, I am so happy to be back in Algeria. Thank God I escaped the carnage.

Did you see Baghdad? It was like being in Baghdad. They used planes, helicopters. People, women, were screaming, as they were slaughtering people. There were about 60 dead people in Green Square in the centre of Tripoli, these 60 people were slaughtered.
High buildings, the ministry of justice, were burned down. We were just working there, trying to make a living. Thank God, our president - bless him - has helped us. It took us four days to get to the airprort. You need too many papers to get in and leave the country.

8:30am Algerians returning home from Libya speak to Al Jazeera. One man who was in Tripoli tells us, as foreigners, they were targeted: "It was just crazy. It did not make sense. There were so many mercenaries shooting at people." Our reporter asked if he saw the mercenaries with his own eyes.

Yes, I did. Of course I did. They entered houses - but even the Libyans used violence against the foreigners - Moroccan, Tunisian, all Arabs - under the pretext they were against the regime.

8:12am A Libyan woman in Ras Lanuf, 400km west of Benghazi, tells us she is scared of Libyan airstrikes, as she lives near an oil refinery. "We are terrified every time they say they will attack something," she says.

8:09am Charles Levinson of the Wall Street Journal tweets:

Meeting of Bayda elders gave us standing ovation today. 1st time meeting wstrn journos in 42yrs. Gadhafi says foreign journos = al qaeda

7:55am More from the western Libyan city of Misurata. This photo was published by Feb17.info, and purports to show protesters having taken over a tank in the city.

**StrontiumDog** · 25-02-2011, 10:54 AM

BREAKING: Eyewitness account from doctor in Libya | Libya February 17th

BREAKING: Eyewitness account from doctor in Libya

Posted on February 25, 2011 by admin

“I recently spoke on BBC news but unfortunately I was on my way back from Gatwick airport to Sheffield on the train and my battery died.

I have spent the last weeks in Tripoli. There are a few things I would like to make clear:

Firstly: A massacre and a crime against humanity are currently going on in Libya. There has been Deaths of at least 50-70 civilians arriving to different hospitals in Tripoli every night. I am a Doctor at Sheffield Northern General Hospital and have personally seen bodies with bullet wounds to the head, neck and chest.

Eyewitness reports from people I have spoken to personally are that Security forces are turning up in hospitals, threatening doctors and forcing them to treat pro-government supporters and neglect demonstrators, at gun-point. There are incidents where blood bags have been ripped prior to transfusions so that injured supporters don’t receive treatment. There are cases of sabotage. Corpses are being removed from hospital before being identified and not being returned. There are reports that ambulances carrying the injured are being stopped and patients being executed.

Since Saturday night Tripoli has felt like a battlefield. The streets are mostly deserted and shops are closed during the day and there is continuous gunfire at night.

Secondly: There is no civil war in Libya. Demonstrators are shouting slogans supporting Benghazi describing them as “cousins” and calling for the bloodshed to stop. Everyone I have spoken to from the east, west or south wants Libya to remain united. Nobody wants Gaddafi to remain in power.

Thirdly: These demonstrations are not based on any kind of Islamic extremism or anything religious. They are purely calling for a tolerant, secular and democratic government that is free from corruption.

I would like to end this by saying how fantastic the RAF has been in evacuating us from Tripoli. Although I did have trouble contacting the British embassy in Tripoli and was unable to get through on both phone numbers provided, they were very efficient and helpful once I arrived at the airport.”

Doctor that arrived from Tripoli a few hours ago

**StrontiumDog** · 25-02-2011, 11:26 AM

The rest of the 24th blog. Lots of videos worth watching.

Live Blog - Libya Feb 24 | Al Jazeera Blogs

February 24, 2011

11:58pm As Tweets were coming indicating that there was some violence in Misurata today, we got a video via the Sharek platform, showing an 8-year-old girl named Fatima who says she was shot near her home - she's in a hospital in Misurata:

11:10pm AJE reports:

Ahmed Gadhaf al-Dam, one of Gaddafi's top security official and a cousin, defected on Wednesday evening, saying in a statement issued by his Cairo office that he left the country "in protest and to show disagreement" with "grave violations to human rights and human and international laws"

Sources tell Al Jazeera that Al-Dam was travelling to Syria to Cairo via private plane and that ge webt ti Egypt in protest against the violence deployed by the government in Libya.

10:57pm From our lead story on Libya tonight:

Mustafa Abdel Galil, who resigned three days ago from his post as the country's justice minister, spoke to Al Jazeera at a meeting of tribal leaders and representatives of eastern Libya in the city of Al Baida.

He warned that Gaddafi has biological and chemical weapons, and will not hesitate to use them.

'We call on the international community and the UN to prevent Gaddafi from going on with his plans in Tripoli,' he said.

'At the end when he’s really pressured, he can do anything. I think Gaddafi will burn everything left behind him.'

10:45pm A video, showing several wounded men in what the person who posted the video claims to be Az Zawiyah on February 24m when the Libyan army reportedly fired at protesters for up to five houres. Witnesses say that as many as 100 people were killed and 400 were injured.

10:09pm We're starting to get some images out of Libya from what appear to be violence in Tripoli and Az Zawiyah. We can't confirm that these are from today, but they seem to comport with reports we've had from the area throughout the day. Some of the videos are too graphic or contain strong language.

Here is a still shot from a video showing a man who says he's lost a female relative (possibly a wife), He's comforted by those around him as shouts that the victim's "head was blown off with a bullet".

9:44pm A new video on Youtube, claiming to show the Libyan army taking control of the Misurata airport - it's unclear what the poster means by "mercenaries" as our correspondent in Al Baida reported earlier tonight that the term is used to refer to both hired guns from other countries as well as Libyans taking arms to support Gaddafi.

9:03pm And here it is - Gaddafi's speech, uncut:

8:45pm Randa Fahmy Hudome, the former US Associate Deputy Secretary of Energy, tells Al Jazeera that Obama is being "characteristically quiet' on Libya.

She says Western countries have little leverage on Libya, given years of cold relations.

"We have to look at the history about what our relationship has been with Libya," she said.

The Libyan elite, she notes, has done well since their country came in from the cold, after Gaddafi agreed to give up his WMD in 2003 in a deal with the Bush Administration. In return, Libya was removed from the "terrorist" list and international sanctions were lifted.

He managed to hold on to some chemical weapons, she comments.

But does Gaddafi care about sanction threats, given his pledge to fight to the bitter end?

8:32pm Patty Culhane, Al Jazeera's correspondent at the White House, says Obama's comments on Libya - that "this must stop" – are "striking".

Yet the White House is not considering any action, she reported, and sanctions are the only likely action in the foreseeable future.

"So far, however, the only action they're talking about is talking," Culhane said.

8:23pm The Swiss government has announced that it will freeze Gaddafi's assets.

7:57pm Interesting bit of graffiti in Tobruk...

7:55pm Via Reuters news agency:Libyan television airs video of weapons and foreign passports allegedly seized by Gaddafi loyalists..

7:24pm The first issue of a Benghazi newspaper is out:

7:12pm Jazeera's Jamal Elshayyal reporting from Saloum, Egypt, at the Libyan border, says that Egyptians living in Libya are still flowing back into Egypt on a very cold night.

"There is no United Nations, there is no shelter for these people who are trying to escape the violence in Libya," said Elshayyal, who adds that the Egyptians living in Libya felt that they were being targeted by mercenaries.

6:35pm Noted: Audioboo, the call-to-tweet site that allows people to call in messages from Libya, has been silent for 17 hours.

6:09pm Al Jazeera's correspondent in Al Baida reports says that the situation can be described as a "nervous quietness" - with most of the town being under the control of the residents as they've taken over the military barracks and all the weapons there.

"Shops are closed - life is at a standstill - schools are closed, local tribal leaders are trying to take things into their own hands...still, in the area, they say there are mercenaries," said our correspondent. The mercenaries, she said, are either Libyans working for the government or foreign fighters.

She added that in Al Baida, most people are staying indoors, and that residents there rejected any claims made by Gaddafi that they were following al-Qaeda and that they were on drugs.

She also said that people there feel like they've reached "a point of no return",

Thread: The Libyan Crisis

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