Live Blog - Libya March 5

Live Blog - Libya March 5

By Al Jazeera Staff in

Africa

on March 4th, 2011.

[GALLO/GETTY]

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As the uprising in Libya continues, we update you with the latest developments from our correspondents, news agencies and citizens across the globe. Al Jazeera is not responsible for content derived from external sites.

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(All times are local in Libya GMT+2)

• 5:59pm

  The self-proclaimed national council established by Libyan protesters fighting to overthrow Gaddafi declared itself the sole representative of the country.
• 4:48pm

  French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said his country was seeking a United Nations Security Council resolution to impose a no-fly zone in Libya.

  "We are working in New York with the British to get a UN Security Council resolution creating an air exclusion zone to avoid bombings," he said in Bordeaux.

  "We are on the side of all those who want to win their freedom and make a successful democratic transition," Juppe said shortly before leaving for Egypt and his first official visit outside Europe since being appointed.
• 4:03pm

  As the international community debates what to do about Libya, Al Jazeera’s David Frost talkes to US senator John McCain and the UN high commissioner for refugees, Antonio Guterres.

  Guterres told Al Jazeera that African workers trapped in Libya are the most vulnerable of the foreigners scrambling to flee the country.

  "There are hundreds of thousands of African workers in Libya, and very few have shown up at the borders," he said.
• 2:11pm

  As many as 35 of Gaddafi's tanks are approaching Az Zawiyah from the city's east, Al Jazeera is told.
• 2:04pm

  Al Jazeera's Tony Birtley, reporting from Bengahzi, tells us several funerals have just taken place for several of those killed in yesterday's ammunition dump explosion.

  He also compared the situation to the end of the first war against Iraq, when President George Bush incited Kurds and Shia iraqis to rise up against Saddam Hussein. But Saddam, in control of the skies, brutally crushed the uprising - which came without US military support - using helicopter gunships.
• 2:00pm

  Al Jazeera's correspondent in Ras Lanuf tells us that a large number of Libyan military figures have switched sides and have joined the armed opposition groups.
• 1:54pm

  This video purports to show an Egyptian doctor, volunteering in Al Bayda. He describes the injuries caused by the ammunition he has removed from patients. He describes his amazement at the way there are more people being killed than injured- a proportion which is usually in reverse.
• 1:40pm

  The inter-tribal fighting in Sirte was sparked by one tribe refusing to support Gaddafi's fighters in Ras Lanuf yesterday, Al Jazeera Arabic reports. This has reportedly opened a political divide overnight in the city, which is home to 135,000 people - and which houses several government ministries.
• 1:33pm

  Pro- and anti-Gaddafi tribes have clashed in Gaddafi's hometown of Sirte - formerly reported as a stronghold of the de facto Libyan leader. More details to follow.
• 1:28pm

  Checkpoints set up by Gaddafi's troops now encircle the city of Az Zawiyah, a city home to 100,000 people.
• 1:22pm

  Gaddafi security forces have set up checkpoints 4km from the centre of Az Zawiyah, Al Jazeera Arabic reports.
• 1:12pm

  Fresh airstrikes are targeting the oil port town of Ras Lanuf, which was taken over by anti-Gaddafi fighters yesterday, our correspondent reports - yet many of the opposition force has already pressed westwards to Bin Jawad - and even aim to seize Gaddafi's hometown of Sirte.

  Speaking to our correspondent on the phone, we could hear lots of gunfire in the background. Residents and anti-Gaddafi fighters are not worried about the aerial raid, she reports, as a sandstorm has moved in, limiting pilots' visibility.

  
  
• 1:08pm

  Mohammed Gassim, a political activist in Az Zawiyah, told Al Jazeera the death toll from the morning's fighting was still unknown:

  We could so far bury four martyrs, yet many people have been killed or injured.

• 12:53pm

  Singer Yusuf Islam - formerly known as Cat Stevens - has released his latest song, My People, inspired by the popular revolutions of Tunisia and Egypt.

  You can download the song for free from his website.

  Or find out more about the rock legend's quest to keep inspiring people to fight for their rights by checking out his appearance on the excellent Riz Khan show by clicking here

  
• 12:43pm

  Gaddafi's forces have re-entered Az Zawiyah, our colleagues at Al Jazeera Arabic report. We'll continue to bring you the latest both here on the liveblog - and on our TV feed, which you can watch byclicking here.
• 12:29pm

  As many as 40,000 Bangladeshi citizens have crossed the borders with Tunisia and Egypt, with others waiting on the borders, Waliur Rahman, a former Bangladeshi Foreign Affairs Secretary tells Al Jazeera
• 12:20pm

  Chinese state TV has said it has completed the evacuation of its nationals from Libya. The final batch of 300 - of an estimated 30,000 - touched down in a military transport plane in Guangzhou in the douth of the country.
• 12:12pm

  Al Jazeera's Tony Birtley, reporting from Benghazi, tells us the current situation is similar to the beginning of the war in the former Yugoslavia, with the momentum of the uprising starting to dwindle. However, he says:

  The difference here is that there are a lot of heavy weapons around - and many are in the hands of the opposition.

• 12:09pm

  Struggling to keep track of where's where along the Libyan coast? Here's a handy map...

  
• 11:50am

  Demonstrations in solidarity with protesters in Libya continue, with a sit-in planned outside the Libyan embassy to Jordan in Amman planned for this afternoon.
• 11:45am

  Armed anti-Gaddafi fighters who yesterday overran the oil supplying town of Ras Lanuf are reportedly pushing further west, and are now in control of the small town of Bin Jawad - halfway between Ras Lanuf and the Gaddafi stronghold of Sirte - reports Reuters.
• 11:41am

  The national council declared in Benghazi will hold its first meeting today - but it will be held in secret, for fear of the long reach of Gaddafi's forces. A spokesman told AFP:

  It's a safety issue. This guy still assassinates people.

  
  
• 11:26am

  National Security Advisor to president Jimmy Carter, Zbigniew Brzezinski - who helped arm anti-Soviet fighters in Afghanistan from 1979 (at a reported cost of $20million a year, in one of the longest ever CIA covert operations) - believes the US should take a more active role in Libya. He spoke to Al Jazeera.
• 11:06am

  Dr Hamdi, a surgeon in Az Zawiyah hospital, is on the phone with Al Jazeera. He tells us of the scene around him:

  I am at the centre of Martyrs' Square. A large number of people are gathering in the centre, after they managed to push back Gaddafi's forces, the tanks have been pushed out of the city.
  
  There have been a number of tanks - the security forces of Gaddafi came into the city with armoured vehicles and tanks and trucks carrying antiaircraft wepons.  We managed to capture two tanks, and a number of four-wheel drive military cars.

  I live in one of main roads of the city, but I couldn't leave home, because a large number of Gaddafi security men were shooting at anyone who came out.

  I couldn't go to the hospital. But when our courageous fighters pushed them back, I could get to the square and helped administer first aid.

  There are between 150-250 injured as of now.
  
  At this moment, there are no Gaddafi security forces in the city; they have all been pushed outside of the city. The revolutionaries have taken control and have pushed them to the outside of the city.

  There is news that the security forces are gathering and preparing for another attack; the revolutionaries are also preparing for another attack. About 10,000 revolutionaries are preparing for the attack, and they are all happy for what has been achieved so far today.

  
  
• 10:54am

  AFP says the death toll from last night's explosion at the arms dump in Benghazi has now reached 27.

  "We're not quite sure whether it was sabotage, an accident or an air strike, but nobody saw any planes," Mustafa Gheriani, a spokesman for the national council in Benghazi, told the agency.

  We don't expect to find people intact (on the site). It has been estimated that around 40 people were in the compound.

• 10:38am

  With Gaddafi fighting hard to regain control of cities lost to his control, people in Benghazi tell Al Jazeera's Tony Birtley they hope the international community will intervene.

  
  
• 10:28am

  Al Jazeera's Tristan Redman tells us that queues for bread continue in the eastern town of Ajdabiya. Flour supplies are holding out, but bakers have fled...
• 10:14am

  Conflicting reports coming in from Az Zawiyah - we're hearing just three of Gaddafi's tanks were set on fire - but that troops have now pulled out of the city, and are shelling the city of 100,000 from outside.
• 10:01am

  An armed anti-Gaddafi fighter runs for cover behind a pick-up truck, during yesterday's battle for Ras Lanuf.

  

  [Picture: EPA]
• 9:45am

  Gaddafi forces are shelling the town of Az Zawiyah, 40km west of Tripoli, from tanks and the sea, eyewitnesses tell Al Jazeera. One resident tells us:

  With all the artillery, tanks and armoured vehicles, fierce fighting is ongoing and people are being massacred in a way that we haven't seen - even in Iraq.

  I consider it a total massacre.

• 9:42am

  Hospital medics tell Al Jazeera that those injured in the streets of Az Zawiyah are being executed in front of their eyes.

  Ambulances are being attacked and doctors threatened with death, we are told.
• 9:30am

  Ahmed - a resident of Az Zawiyah - speaks to Al Jazeera on the phone from the middle of the ongoing battle. Shouting to be heard over the sound of artillery and small arms fire,  he tells us:

  There is heavy bombing of the city by tanks and heavy weapons and mortars - the rebels are struggling to resist with very primitive means. They [invading forces] have no mercy and are very brutal. There is a large number of injured and a lot of people killed on the streets.

  There is no mercy to civilians. The tanks belonging to to the regime are attacking everything indiscriminately and we have no means of defending ourselves.

  There is a very tragic situation happening right now. It's a very serious situation. We were expecting the world to intervene, but they have let us down.  Shelling is now coming in from all sides.

  They are shooting at the Libyan citizens and we have made up our mid that we will die here. I am really sorry, we are in the middle of a battle and the shelling is very heavy - the [phone line] could break at any moment.

  We have taken prisoners out of two vehicles, and we are treating them with respect. But they are shelling us, they are kiling us.

  Where is the United Nations or the Arab League or the international community who have spoken about our rights or protecting us? I don't think they meant what they have said.

  I am in the middle of Martyrs' Square, and we are conducting a battle. The tanks have surrounded us and they are shelling all the buildings - whether they are residential or business properties. The shelling and destruction is indiscriminate and the civilians are taking shelter in the buildings surrouding the square - but they have not given up yet.

  All parts of society - all parts - whether they are professionals and farmers - are all together, supporting each other, hoping that they will be able to survive.

  But it is violent, it is indiscriminate - and the number of dead and injured? I cannot count it yet.  We need the world here, we need them to intervene - words are not enough. It's not a matter of oil and gas that you need you of our country - it is human lives and blood being shed - right now.

• 9:15am

  Al Jazeera's Tony Birtley, speaking from Benghazi, tells us Az Zawiyah is in the hands of Gaddafi's forces - but fighting continues, we understand.
• 9:10am

  Six tanks - each carrying four Gaddafi-loyalist soldiers - have been set on fire in central Az Zawiyah, eyewitnesses tell us.

  Several have been arrested, we are told.

  "Most of those attacking us are mercenaries," Lufti Az-Zawi tells Al Jazeera.
• 9:08am

  Fierce fighting reported in central Az Zawiyah - with two tanks reported blown up in Shuhada [Martyr's] Square.

  Some security personnel from Gaddafi brigades have been arrested, witnesses say.

  
  
• 8:53am

  In its Universal Periodic Review, the UN Human Rights Council was preparing this report on Libya, in which diplomats of several nations praise the country's improvements, and its "commitment to upholding human rights on the ground".

  While the US called on Libya to abolish the use of torture, Iran called on the Gaddafi regime to "continue to protect women's role in social and public life".

  The report was due to be published soon- but we're not sure when it will now be officially released. On the whole, it doesn't praise - or condemn - Libya's record outright, but uses diplomatic language to encourage it to improve.

  But you can read it for yourself by clicking here.
• 8:35am

  The attack against Az Zawiyah - just west of Tripoli - was renewed at 6am, Al Jazeera is told.
• 8:25am

  The Al-Gaddafi brigades have reportedly renewed the offensive against Az Zawiyah - where 30 were killed in last night's attack. An eyewitness tells Al Jazeera Arabic the city is being shelled, and tanks have been seen entering the city centre.
• 8:05am

  Following the resignation of Sir Howard Davies, director of the London School of Economics, Al Jazeera's Paul Brennan speaks to students at the university.
• 7:39am

  This video has been posted online in the past few hours, and purports to show the hospital mortuary in Ras Lanuf dealing with the injured - and the corpses - resulting from yesterday's fighting in the city. The video contains footage the viewer may find disturbing. Translations are below the clip.

  The injured man, the first to speak, says:

  We engaged carrying light weapons - and a helicopter started shelling us from above. Still, victory will be ours.

  Afer five minutes, the man in the camoflage jacket says:

  We were being bombed by M21 long range missiles - but I want to assure you that none of our guys backed down. 130 of Muammar [Gaddafi]'s mercenaries were killed. When we drew near them and their long range weapons were ineffective, they ran away.

  The final man to speak in the video says:

  I would like to send a message from this hospital to all the Arab nations: There is no room in the mortuary for the all the bodies, and no place to keep the victims of this vicious and murderous regime.

• 7:18am

  Al Jazeera's Bernard Smith reports that thousands of refugees are expected to make their way to Libya's southern border crossings after pro-Gaddafi forces take control of the border with Tunisia.
• 6:57am

  This video purports to show an anti-Gaddafi protest in Al Zentan, 160km southwest of Tripoli. We cannot independently verify the accuracy of videos posted on outside websites.
• 6:34am

  Al Jazeera reports at least 30 people have been killed in the city of Az Zawiyah in the overnight attack by Gaddafi forces attempting to re-take control of the city, just 40km west of capital Tripoli.

  As the sun rises, however, the city remains in the hands of the opposition.
• 6:20am

  The city of Ras Lanouf is reportedly now in the hands of anti-Gaddafi forces, after infighting led to a division opening up between Gaddafi loyalists in the city. Hundreds of oposition fighters pushed west from Ajdabiya, carrying whatever weapons they had, reports Al Jazeera Arabic.

  They came under fire from airstrikes, but took control of the city's security base, Al Jazeera reports. One revolutionary told us:

  We will fight until the end, until victory - God willing. We will fight against the tyrant Gaddafi - God is great.

  
  
• 6:03am

  Al Jazeera's Jacky Rowland, reporting from Al Geila, says the pro-Gaddafi forces are beginning to have the upper hand in the tense standoff.

  Armed opposition fighters have little or no military experience or discipline, she reports, and the "rag-tag bunch" have cobbled together limited resources, weaponry and ammunition - including some Soviet-era anti-aircraft guns.

  Gaddafi troops however, have yet to be able to make much - if any - progress, in occasional scraps for small patches of territory.
• 5:50am

  Not that we want you to stop watching Al Jazeera - which, by the way, you can do by clicking here - but here's some more news from the front lines of the media war being waged in Libya. You really could do worse than check out this feed.

  Libya Alhurra [Libya the free] is described as "a live webcam and small TV station trying to let the world know what is going on in Libya".

  Naturally, Al Jazeera can't be responsible for the content of external sites. We just thought you might like to check it out...
• 5:34am

  More on that shipload of Libyan cash "escorted into a British port" yesterday...

  Some US$162million-worth of Libyan dinars was seized by officials after warning the ship's owners that the cash was subject to UN sanctions, reports The Independent.

  The London-based newspaper notes that, with revenue from oil and gas exports drying up, Gaddafi's administration "is increasingly desperate for new currency to meet its costs".

  The Brits last week reportedly pulled off a "go-slow" operation, delaying the export of some US$1.4billion-worth of Libyan cash - printed by a specialist currency printing firm in Gateshead, north-east England  - until a control order banning the export of any Libyan currency came into force on Sunday.
• 4:59am

  Nicolas Maduro, Venezuela's foreign minister, says he has received a message from his Libyan counterpart authorising Venezuela to "take all measures necessary to select the members and coordinate their participation" in a mediation effort to be led by the country.
• 4:52am

  The Bolivarian Alliance for the Americas (ALBA) bloc of Latin American countries says it will back a proposal by Hugo Chavez, the Venezuelan president, to mediate the crisis in Libya.

  "Alba supports (Chavez's) peace and unity initiative to create an international humanitarian commission for peace and the integrity of Libya," said a statement, read out by Chavez after a meeting with foreign ministers.

  It said the commission would aim to "avoid military aggression from NATO as part of the efforts the international community should make to help the Libyan people".

  The members of the bloc are: Antigua & Barbuda, Bolivia, Cuba, Dominica, Ecuador, Nicaragua, St Vincent & the Grenadines and Venezuela. 

  
  
• 3:47am

  This photograph was taken in the 'press centre' in Benghazi, an opposition stronghold, and shows a host of anti-Gaddafi signs, presumably stored there for when they're not being wielded by angry protesters. The press centre itself is part of the opposition's attempt to fight back in the media war in Libya. State television is controlled by the government, and airs news that the opposition insists is almost, if not entirely, wholly false. [Photo credit: GALLO/GETTY]

  
• 3:03am

  The latest report from Voices of Feb 17 from on the ground in Az Zawiyah indicates that while there are "plenty of Gaddafi troops" holding positions outside the city, the main square is still under the control of anti-government forces. The activist who left this audio message called Libyan state media reports that Gaddafi loyalists had taken the city as "the biggest lie".
• 3:00am

  Muammar Gaddafi's government has requested that senior diplomat Ali Abdussalam Treki be recognised as Libya's new ambassador to the United Nations. A letter has been sent regarding the request to Ban Ki-moon, the UN secretary-general. The government has also asked for the diplomatic credentials of Mohamed Shalgham, the current ambassador, and Ibrahim Dabbashi, the deputy ambassador, to be revoked.

  Martin Nesirky, a spokesman for Ban, said that any UN member state had the right to name its permanent representative, and that the UN would respect that right.

  Treki has earlier served in the post three times, and was also president of the UN general assembly session which ended last August.

  
  
• 2:51am

  Refugees continue to be evacuated from camps on the Libya-Tunisia border. This image, taken in Djerba, Tunisia, shows Egyptian refugees waiting to board an Italian C-130 transport plane a few hours ago. [Photo credit: EPA]

  
• 2:47am

  Libya depends on imports for about 90 per cent of its food supply, and earlier this week the UN's World Food Programme warned of an impending crisis if violence in the country continues. While not at quite the 'crisis' level yet, food prices in the country are rising, as Al Jazeera's Tim Friend reports.
• 2:29am

  Hector Timerman, the Argentinian foreign minister, has announced that the government has ordered its embassy in Tripoli to be shut and its staff evacuated.

  The country will also be sending a team to assist the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) on the Tunisian border with Libya.
• 2:26am

  Libyan state television news reports continue to claim that the situation in the country is being misrepresented. The national broadcaster has reported that the presidents of Mali and Guinea called Gaddafi to express their support and admiration for him. 

  While showing pictures of pro-Gaddafi demonstrators shouting "Allah, Libya and Gaddafi only!", the broadcaster also slammed Al Jazeera for our "biased coverage".
• 1:47am

  Another audio message from Az Zawiyah posted by the Voices of Feb 17 about 20 minutes ago. This one describes how pro-Gaddafi forces have virtually surrounded the small city, but remain outside of it.
• 1:39am

  Al Jazeera's Anita McNaught's one-on-one interview with Saif al-Islam Gaddafi is on Al Jazeera right now - in it, Gaddafi claims that the international media, Al Jazeera included, is misrepresenting the situation in his country and that the "West" wants to "split the country" because of its resources. If you don't get Al Jazeera on your television, you can watch here. 

  And don't forget, if you live in the US and don't get Al Jazeera, you need to demand it!
• 1:31am

  Muammar Gaddafi's government has called for sanctions imposed on him and his aides, including a travel ban and assets freeze, by a UN security council resolution "to be suspended until such time as the truth is established".

  The letter, dated March 2, says that a "modicum" of force has been used against opposition activists, and that the government is "taken aback" by the sanctions.

  The letter was sent to the UNSC by Musa Mohammad Kusa, the head of the Libyan People's Committee for External Relations. 
• 12:50am

  A new audio message from an anti-government activist in the town of Az Zawiyah describes a "very tense" situation in that city. Earlier in the day, after Friday prayers, anti-government demonstrators had held a peaceful protest march towards the outskirts of the city, the activist says, when they were ambushed by pro-Gaddafi forces, who were holding positions on the roofs of buildings.

  He said that many had been killed and injured in that attack, with four burials taking place in the early afternoon.

  He also says that pro-Gaddafi forces are alleged to have taken people injured in the attack from their hospital beds, and that the city is preparing for another attack during the night.
• 12:44am

  According to this anti-government activist, who posted an audio message with the Voices of Feb 17 website, the situation in the city of Benghazi is "normal", though inhabitants had heard the explosion at a nearby ammunition dump (which killed 12 people, and left at least 10 others injured). 

  He says anti-government forces are now in control of the city of Ras Lanuf, after a day-long battle with forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi. 
• 12:36am

  Internet connectivity, already unreliable across the country since protests began on February 17, has apparently completely failed, according to Arbor Networks, a US-based network security company. Starting at about 7pm local time on Thursday, the company said that internet traffic from Libya had fallen to zero.

  Only about six per cent of Libyans enjoy internet access at the best of times, but the shutdown will likely affect attempts to disseminate information from within the country during this crisis.  
• 12:01am

  Welcome to our live blog of developments in Libya, where we keep you up-to-date with the latest from a country racked by violent clashes between pro- and anti-government forces. To catch up with all of the last 24hr's happenings, why not check out our live blog for March 4?