| uammar Gaddafi, Libya's long-standing ruler, has reportedly lost control of more cities as anti-government protests continue to sweep the African nation despite his threat of a brutal crackdown. Protesters in Misurata said on Wednesday they had wrested the western city from government control. In a statement on the internet, army officers stationed in the city pledged "total support for the protesters". The protesters also seemed to be in control of much of the country's east, and an Al Jazeera correspondent, reporting from the city of Tobruk, 140km from the Egyptian border, said there was no presence of security forces. "From what I've seen, I'd say the people of eastern Libya are the ones in control," Hoda Abdel-Hamid, our correspondent, said. She said there were no officials manning the border when the Al Jazeera team crossed into Libya. 'People in charge' "All along the border, we didn't see one policeman, we didn't see one soldier and people here told us they [security forces] have all fled or are in hiding and that the people are now in charge, meaning all the way from the border, Tobruk, and then all the way up to Benghazi.
Major-General Suleiman Mahmoud, the commander of the armed forces in Tobruk, told Al Jazeera that the troops led by him had switched loyalties. "We are on the side of the people," he said. "I was with him [Gaddafi] in the past but the situation has changed - he's a tyrant." Benghazi, Libya's second largest city, was where people first rose up in revolt against Gaddafi's 42-year long rule more than a week ago. The rebellion has since spread to other cities despite heavy-handed attempts by security forces to quell the unrest. With authorities placing tight restrictions on the media, flow of news from Libya is at best patchy. But reports filtering out suggest at least 300 people have been killed in the violence. But Franco Frattini, the Italian foreign minister, said there were "credible' reports that at least 1,000 had died in the clampdown. Defiant Gaddafi Amid the turmoil, a defiant Gaddafi has vowed to quash the uprising. He delivered a rambling speech on television on Tuesday night, declaring he would die a martyr in Libya, and threatening to purge opponents "house by house" and "inch by inch". He blamed the uprising in the country on "Islamists", and warned that an "Islamic emirate" has already been set up in Bayda and Derna, where he threatened the use of extreme force. Several hundred government loyalists heeded his call in Tripoli, the capital, on Wednesday, staging a pro-Gaddafi rally in the city's Green Square. Fresh gunfire was reported in the capital on Wednesday, after Gaddafi called on his supporters to take back the streets from anti-government protesters. But Gaddafi's speech has done little to stem the steady stream of defections from his side. Libyan diplomats across the world have either resigned in protest at the use of violence against citizens, or renounced Gaddafi's leadership, saying that they stand with the protesters. Late on Tuesday night, General Abdul-Fatah Younis, the country's interior minister, became the latest government official to stand down, saying that he was resigning to support what he termed as the "February 17 revolution". He urged the Libyan army to join the people and their "legitimate demands". On Wednesday, Youssef Sawani, a senior aide to Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, one of Muammar Gaddafi's sons, resigned from his post "to express dismay against violence", Reuters reported. Earlier, Mustapha Abdeljalil, the country's justice minister, had resigned in protest at the "excessive use of violence" against protesters, and diplomat's at Libya's mission to the United Nations called on the Libyan army to help remove "the tyrant Muammar Gaddafi". A group of army officers has also issued a statement urging soldiers to "join the people" and remove Gaddafi from power.
Aisha Gaddafi, daughter of Libyan leader, has appeared on state television, denying a report she tried to flee to Malta. "I am steadfastly here," she said on Wednesday. Earlier, there were reports that a Libyan plane carrying the daughter of the Libyan leader was turned back from Malta after it was denied permission to land. "The [crew] initially said they had 14 people on board. They were circling overhead saying they were running low on fuel," Cal Perry, Al Jazeera's correspondent in Malta, said. "At that point the ambassador from Libya who was here in Malta was called in to take part in the negotiations on whether or not they were going to allow this plane to land. "As he entered the talks it became clear from the pilots that Aisha Gaddhafi, Muammar Gaddhafi's only daughter, was aboard the plane. The government said it was an unscheduled flight, it doesn't matter who is on board; they said it cannot land and diverted the plane back to Libya." Maltese government sources said however, that it had no information that she was on a plane which was refused permission to land or that the Libyan ambassador was involved in any negotiations. Libya has been in turmoil since mass protests broke out against Gaddafi's 42-year-old rule in the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi more than a week ago. The protests, which have spread to other cities despite the authorities cracking down on the protesters, is the biggest challenge that Gaddafi has faced during his long rule. The protesters now control much of the country and many senior officials have deserted Gaddafi. Relatives fleeing? Wednesday's reports of attempted landing on Malta fueled speculation over whether family members of Gaddafi sought to flee. The attempted landing came a day after a private Libyan jet carrying the Lebanese wife of one of Gaddafi's sons was prevented from landing at Beirut airport in Lebanon, the Voice of Lebanon radio reported on Wednesday. It said Hannibal Gaddafi's wife and several members of the Libyan ruling family were aboard the jet that was denied permission to land at Rafik Hariri international airport on Tuesday. Several Libyan regime figures could have been among the plane's passengers, the radio station said. Lebanon's Safir daily said that the plane was due to take off from the Libyan capital before midnight but Lebanese authorities asked Libya to unveil the identity of the 10 people on board before allowing the jet to land. When the Libyans ignored the Lebanese request, authorities in Beirut ordered airport officials to ask the pilot to divert the plane to a nearby country, either Syria or Cyprus. | |||||
Two Turkish ships evacuated 3,000 nationals on Wednesday and are expected to reach the Mediterranean port of Marmaris late on Wednesday, while a ferry chartered by the United States arrived at a designated port in Tripoli, the Libyan capital.
Asian nations also face the mammoth task of rescuing at least 150,000 low-paid workers from the country, reports say. Earlier Greek officials said their country was ready to evacuate 15,000 Chinese nationals by transferring them by merchant ships to the island of Crete, and Cemil Cicek, Turkey's deputy prime minister, said their ferries could help evacuate up to 6,000 people per day, if Libyan authorities allowed the vessels to dock at the eastern city of Benghazi. Ahmet Davutoglu, the country's foreign minister, said 10 countries had asked for help from Turkey to evacuate their citizens, but did not identify them. "Our priority is to evacuate our citizens. We call on Libyan authorities to be sensitive towards the safety of foreigners,'' Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the Turkish prime minister, said, urging the Libyan authorities not to use violence. Frustrating delays However, those stuck on the ground have spoken of their frustration at delays in being evacuated from Libya. James Coyle, a British oil worker in Libya, told the BBC he felt "ignored" by his government. "We phoned them and told them the situation three days ago, and they never went back to us, we've been left without any protection whatsoever." William Hague, the British foreign minister, said nationals seeking to leave Libya had encountered significant difficulties this week. "Many are currently in Tripoli airport without immediate flights out of the country," he said, following flight cancellations and closures of airspace. Hague said the situation in Libya was worsening and there were "many indications of the structure of the state collapsing in many ways in Libya". "The resignation of so many ambassadors and diplomats, reports of ministers changing sides within Libya itself, shows the system is in a very serious crisis," he said. Egyptian exodus
Egypt says it will also send six commercial and two military planes to repatriate thousands more caught in the revolt. However, the unrest has sparked fears from Italy that thousands of Libyans could seek refuge in European states. Franco Frattini, the Italian foreign minister, said on Wednesday he feared an immigrant exodus of up to 300,000 people if Muammer Gaddafi, the Libyan leader, is ousted. Italy is already grappling with a mass influx of immigrants from Tunisia since the fall of its veteran ruler. "There would be an exodus of biblical proportions, a problem that Italy cannot, must not underestimate," Frattini told the Corriere della Sera daily. "We know what awaits us when the Libyan regime falls: a wave of 200-300,000 immigrants. That would be ten times the number of Albanians in the 1990s" who headed to Italy following the demise of the communist government in Tirana. Cal Perry, Al Jazeera's correspondent in Valetta, the capital of Malta, said the Italian navy was sending ships out to form a net around the island of Malta possibly in reaction to fears over immigration. "We've just heard from the Italian military - they've just sent two warships 25 miles to the south of Malta, one a large vessel and another described as an amphibious assault vehicle. "It's clear to me that the Italians are setting up this naval perimeter not only to ward off Libyan warships but also there's a major immigration concern.. |
Barack Obama, the US president, has said the violent crackdown in Libya violated international norms and that he had ordered his national security team to prepare the full range of options for dealing with the crisis. "I have also asked my administration to prepare the full range of options that we may have to respond to this crisis," Obama said in his first televised comments on the Libya crisis on Wednesday. The US president said he would send Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to Geneva for a meeting of the United Nations Human Rights Council at the weekend and for talks with allied foreign ministers. The Obama administration said earlier that it was looking at imposing sanctions on Libya to punish it for a violent crackdown on protesters seeking ouster of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi. The State Department said freezing Libyan assets, including those belonging to Gaddafi, were among the options being considered, and some US legislators urged direct action such as imposing no-fly zones. Al Jazeera’s Rosiland Jordan, reporting from Washington DC, said that the immediate priority of the US administration was the safe evacuation of Americans from Libya. 'Outrageous violence' "It is imperative that the nations and peoples of the world speak with one voice," Obama told reporters. The US president branded Libya's crackdown and orders to shoot protestors as "outrageous" and called on the world to speak as one to hold the government accountable. "These actions violate international norms and every standard of common decency. This violence must stop." Obama urged an end to attacks on peaceful protesters but stopped short of calling for Gaddafi to step down as ruler of the oil-producing North African nation and did not lay out any specific measures under consideration against the Libyan government. Obama said Washington was coordinating further steps with allies and the international community. Obama has faced criticism in some quarters for not speaking out sooner, but US officials say they have tempered their response to ensure Americans in Libya were safely evacuated and out of harm's way. But US options to influence events in Libya are limited, unlike in Egypt and Bahrain where Washington was able to bring pressure to bear as a long-time ally and benefactor. CAIRO — Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi vows to fight on and die a "martyr," calling on his supporters to take back the streets from protesters demanding his ouster, shouting and pounding his fist in a furious speech Tuesday on state TV. Gadhafi, swathed in brown robes and turban, spoke from a podium set up in the entrance of a bombed out building that appeared to be his Tripoli residence hit by U.S. airstrikes in the 1980s and left unrepaired as a monument of defiance. The speech, which appeared to have been taped earlier, was aired on a screen to hundreds of supporters massed in Tripoli's central Green Square. Shouting in the rambling speech, he declared himself "a warrior" and proclaimed, "Libya wants glory, Libya wants to be at the pinnacle, at the pinnacle of the world." At times the camera panned out to show a towering gold-colored monument in front of the building, showing a fist crushing a fighter jet with an American flag on it – a view that also gave the strange image of Gadhafi speaking alone from behind a podium in the building's delapidated lobby, with no audience in front of him. "I am a fighter, a revolutionary from tents ... I will die as a martyr at the end," he said. "I have not yet ordered the use of force, not yet ordered one bullet to be fired ... when i do, everything will burn." He called on supporters to take to the streets to attack protesters. "You men and women who love Gadhafi ...get out of your homes and fill the streets," he said. "Leave your homes and attack them in their lairs ... Starting tomorrow the cordons will be lifted, go out and fight them." "From tonight to tomorrow, all the young men should form local committees for popular security," he said, telling them to wear a green armband to identify themselves. "The Libyan people and the popular revolution will control Libya." Tripoli has been torn by two nights of bloodshed as pro-Gadhafi militiamen cracked down on protesters. Across the country, at least 250 people have been killed in a week of unrest. Today 11:20 AM Anti-Government Opposition Seizes Key City  From the Los Angeles Times: Opponents of Moammar Kadafi are said to have taken control of Misurata, Libya's third largest city and where Kadafi traditionally has maintained strong tribal support. Today 6:44 AM White House Feared Americans Could Be Taken Hostage CNN's senior White House correspondent Ed Henry says that unnamed US administration officials have told him that White House had feared Americans in Libya could be taken hostage if President Obama took an aggressive approach to Libya. That is partly why Mr Obama held off speaking on the crisis until late Wednesday, Henry says. More here. Today 6:14 AM Obama Speaks On Libya Obama reasserts that the U.S. strongly condemns violence and that the bloodshed is "outrageous and unacceptable." He furhter said that Libya's "actions violate international norms and every standard of common decency," and said forcefully that the human rights of the Libyans must be respected. Obama then said that it was important that "the nations and peoples of the world speak with one voice," to Libya before pointing out that the international community has come out strongly against Gadhafi. "I've also asked my administration to prepare the full range of options" as far as responses, Obama said, without committing to any specific actions, such as the declaration of a no-fly zone over Libya. He did, however, say that Secretary of State Clinton will travel to Geneva on Monday to meet with diplomats to discuss the Libyan situation. In conclusion, Obama said that, "A change is taking place across the nation, and is being driven by the people of the region." Today 5:36 AM Son: Gaddafi Will Play 'Big Father' Role In Any New Regime Saadi Gaddafi told the Financial Times that his father will play the role of "big father" in any new regime formed in Libya, but new blood will need to take over direct control and introduce reform. He also said his brother Saif Gaddafi was working on a new constitution for Libya and would make an announcement soon. Today 5:13 AM Gaddafi's Daughter Fired From UN Goodwill Ambassador Role
Today 5:01 AM Gaddafi's Son: Life Is 'Normal' In Western Libya BBC News reports: Col Gaddafi's son Saif al-Islam appears on state TV to declare that life is "normal" in Libya's western regions: "The ports, schools and airports are all open. The problem lies in the eastern regions." Today 4:55 AM Obama To Make Statement About Libya Today, 5.15pm ET The White House has announced that the president will address recent events in Libya in a statement, today at 5.15pm ET. More as it develops. Today 4:49 AM Libya Pressed Oil Firms To Reimburse Terror Compensation Costs Reuters reports that while Libya was paying out compensation to victims of terrorism with one hand, it was exerting pressure behind the scenes to have foreign governments and companies to reimburse them. One cable seen by Reuters, sent from the U.S. embassy in Tripoli, shows Gaddafi's government exerting heavy pressure on U.S. and other oil companies to reimburse Tripoli the $1.5 billion Libya had paid in 2008 into a fund to settle terrorism claims from the 1980s. Read the full report here. Today 4:40 AM Doctor Claims Over 2,000 Dead In Benghazi Alone From The Jerusalem Post A French doctor working in Libya's eastern city of Benghazi told Le Point Magazine that over 2,000 people were killed in that city alone in the past days of fighting, AFP reported. Read more here. Today 4:32 AM U.S. Considering Sanctions The U.S. is now considering sanction against Libya. According to the AP: The United States said Wednesday it was considering sanctions and other means to pressure Moammar Gadhafi's regime to halt attacks against Libyans as violent clashes spread throughout the country. President Barack Obama planned to speak publicly about the situation for the first time later Wednesday or Thursday. "The violence is abhorrent, it is completely unacceptable and the bloodshed must stop," White House spokesman Jay Carney said. Today 3:44 AM Video From Tripoli The video below reportedly shows protesters in Tripoli's Green Square. The protesters burn pictures of Moammar Gadhafi and it would seem that gunfire can be heard in the background. Today 3:28 AM Obama To Speak Obama will speak on camera about Libya on Wednesday or Thursday, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney says. Carney added that "a lot of options are under review," including possible sanctions on Libya. Today 3:26 AM Gadhafi's Lobbyists HuffPost's Jason Linkins takes a look at the lobbyists who have helped Gadhafi over the years. Today 2:58 AM Turkey's Largest Evacuation According to Al Jazeera, Turkey is about to launch the nation's largest evacuation: Turkey has 25,000 nationals in Libya and the country is launching the biggest evacuation operation in its history. Today 2:12 AM Gadhafi's Daughter Reportedly Attempts To Flee Moammar Gadhafi's daughter Aicha reportedly attempted to flee the country today. TheL.A. Times reports: Moammar Kadafi's daughter attempted to leave Libya for Malta before being turned away Wednesday, Al Jazeera English reported. Today 1:47 AM Gadhafi Turned Down Chance To Invest With Bernie Madoff According to WikiLeaks, the Gadhafi regime controls billions of dollars around the world, including money invested in U.S. banks. Additionally, he was approached as a potential investor with Bernie Madoff, but declined to invest. MSNBC reports: Moammar Gadhafi’s regime controls $32 billion in liquid assets around the world, including hundreds of millions of dollars invested in US banks, according to a confidential cable written by the U.S. Ambassador to Libya last year. The leaked diplomatic message was distributed through WikiLeaks. You can read the entire report here. Today 1:25 AM More Cities Controlled By Rebels? The New York Times' Nick Kristof tweets:
Today 1:12 AM UN: Libya May Need No Fly Zone The UN is saying that the international community may need to institute a no-fly zone to protect Libyan civilians. According to the AP: The U.N.'s top human rights official says the international community may need to impose a no-fly zone over Libya to protect civilians from attacks by government aircraft. U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay says if unconfirmed reports of aerial attacks against civilians turn out to be true, "I think there's an immediate need for that level of protection." In an interview with The Associated Press on Wednesday, Pillay said she was "appalled" by the level of violence there because protesters are only demanding basic human rights. Today 0:45 AM Three Libyan Ships Reportedly Ordered To Attack Benghazi
02/23/2011 11:54 PM Gadhafi Family A 'Web Of Greed' WikiLeaks painted an unflattering family portrait of the Gadhafis. The AP reports: The children of Moammar Gadhafi 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 Gadhafi 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. Growing anger over crass behavior by Gadhafi'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. Read the entire report here. 02/23/2011 11:25 PM In Eastern Libya, Protesters Claim Control CNN's Ben Wedemen is reporting from eastern Libya, where protesters say they have taken control from government forces. Wedemen tweets:
Wedemen also filed the following report from Libya: 02/23/2011 10:46 PM Did Gadhafi Order Lockerbie Bombing? According to CBS News, Libya's resigned justice minister says that the strongman personally ordered the 1988 bombing:
02/23/2011 9:24 PM France Pushes For EU Sanctions France is pushing for EU sanctions to be levied against Libya due to the protests. Reports the AP: French President Nicolas Sarkozy pressed Wednesday for European Union sanctions against Libya's regime because of its violent crackdown on protesters, and raised the possibility of cutting all economic and business ties between the EU and the North African nation. "The continuing brutal and bloody repression against the Libyan civilian population is revolting," Sarkozy said in a statement. "The international community cannot remain a spectator to these massive violations of human rights." France's president has asked the Foreign Ministry to propose sanctions including barring those implicated in the crackdown from the European Union and monitoring their financial transactions. He also wants to ensure they are brought to justice. 02/23/2011 9:22 PM Italian Foreign Minister Puts Lybia Death Toll At 1,000 BBC News reports: At least 300 people have died in the uprising, although Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini told reporters in Rome a death toll of 1,000 was more "credible". 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. Read more here. 02/23/2011 1:14 PM United States To Evacuate Citizens Out Of Libya By Ferry The United States will attempt to evacuate US citizens out of Libya by ferry following earlier failed attempts at air evacuations: The notice said Americans will board the ferry to the nearby island of Malta on a first-come, first-served basis with priority given to those with severe medical conditions. 02/23/2011 1:08 PM Peru Ends Diplomatic Relations With Libya Peru says it has suspended diplomatic relations with Libya over the use of force against civilians there. 02/23/2011 10:04 AM Libya's Interior Minister Quits Libya's interior minister said Wednesday he has quit the government and is supporting the protesters, who he predicted will achieve victory in "days or hours." 02/23/2011 6:54 AM Libyan Regime Will Implement 'Penalty Law' Against Opponents The Guardian reports: Libyan state television has carried footage of a government official announcing that the regime will be implementing a "penalty law" against opponents. Read more here. 02/23/2011 6:42 AM Libyan Battleship In Malta After Refusing Orders To Shell Benghazi
02/23/2011 6:32 AM Tunisia Martyr's Family: Message To Lybia Al Jazeera has posted a video message from the mother of Mohamed Bouazizi to the families who have lost loved ones in the crackdown on anti-government protests in Libya. Bouazizi was the young Tunisian whose act of self-immolation triggered the uprising in Tunisia that has spread across the region. She says "I tell the people of Libya, may God help you. I hope you get everything you wish for. God willing, Libya will be a free country. We hope your dictator leaves, just as Ben Ali has left." Watch the full video below. |
