LIVE Libya Unrest: Libyan State TV Reporting that 48 people have been killed and another 150 wounded by the air and missile strikes

We are tracking the latest developments to keep you updated on the situation on the ground. There are interactive maps located in the Protest map page to keep up with the latest movements. You can also click on our links to the Right to follow the latest Live Libya Blogs and featured twitters. On the Go? -Follow us on Twitter @Feb17Libya for the same live updates.

Mohammed Nabbous the hero behind the Live Stream Libya Alhurra Channel in Benghazi has died. Inna Lila Wa Inna Ilahi Raji3oon. He leaves behind his wife, Perditta, and unborn child. The Feb17 team prays for him and his family as well as all that have fallen in our battle for freedom.

All updates are in Libyan local time.

11:45am Libyan State TV broadcasts a Muammar Gaddafi speech via phone. He said “We will not leave our land and we will liberate it”. Gaddafi called the US, France, and Britain criminals, accusing these countries of waging a crusade.

3:13am Libyan State TV Reporting that 48 people have been killed and another 150 wounded by the air and missile strikes, according to the Reuters news agency.

Al Jazeera English Forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi had bombarded areas of Benghazi. Gaddafi’s forces fired from tanks and used rockets to strike the city. Some residents have sought refuge in mosques for safety

2:40am Al Jazeera English Pro-Gaddafi supporters are coming out to the streets of Tripoli, shouting and chanting at 02:40 local time

2:40am Al Jazeera EnglishPro-Gaddafi supporters are coming out to the streets of Tripoli, shouting and chanting at 02:40 local time

2:35am Al Jazeera English Gunfire and anti-aircraft rounds heard being fired over Tripoli

2:29am Almanara Media reports that anti-aircraft missile batteries have been bombarded in the following locations: An-Naasiriyah, Al Ma’moorah, Al Garaboolee and Tajoura

2:28am BBC Reports from Benghazi say revolutionaries have regained control of the city after driving out forces loyal to Col Gaddafi. The rebels say roads to the east are clogged with car loads of people fleeing.

1:09am:The Libyan government has demanded an urgent meeting of the UN Security Council, the AFP news agency reports.

12:59am:The US national security official say “It’s too soon to predict what [Col Gaddafi] and his ground forces may do in response to today’s strikes.”

12:54am:US National Security official says Libyan air defense systems are ”severely disabled”

12:46am: The U.S. Military Released This on Operation Odyssey Dawn

12:42am: An announcer on Libyan rebel radio says aircraft in skies belong to “friendly countries”

12:38am: Turkey, which is a member of Nato, says in a foreign ministry statement it will make the “necessary preparations” to implement the no-fly zone, according to Reuters.

12:30am: The BBC’s Caroline Wyatt says the coalition’s hope is that by striking hard and fast now, the forces still loyal to Col Gaddafi will think again – and perhaps so will the colonel himself.

12:20am: An un-named French official tells the AFP news agency that the United Arab Emirates has pledged 24 aircraft to the coalition and Qatar between four and six.

11:55pm: Briefing by Vice-Admiral William Gortney, outlining US military operations in Libya.

11:51pm:The Libyan leader adds that the Mediterranean has become a “ground of war” and calls for Libyans to arm for “revolution”

11:50pm: Gaddafi gave a short 3 minute telephone speech where he said that ”This attack will launch a second Crusade, the Libyan people will counter it, we ask the Africans, South Americans to stand by us” and that ”We must now open the weapons depots & arm all Libyans”

11:43pm: A resident of Tripoli, who asks not to be named, tells the BBC he has heard explosions on the eastern side of the capital. He says he has had enough of Col Gaddafi and wants him to step down.

11:36pm: Four Al Jazeera journalists have been detained by Libyan authorities in the west of the country. Lotfi al-Messaoudi (a Tunisian), Ahmed Vall Ould Addin (a Mauritanian), Ammar al-Hamdan (a Norwegian cameraman) and Kamel Atalua (British) were held while working in the west of the country. Al Jazeera says that the Libyan authorities will be held accountable for the safety, security and well-being of the team, who are being held in Tripoli.

11:31pm: Coalition forces have launched strikes against Mitiga air base outside the centre of Tripoli, Al-Jazeera reports.

11:28pm: A French official tells the AFP news agency that air strikes by Britain, France and the United States are being co-ordinated at a US headquarters in Germany.

11:05 p.m: Mohammed Al-Zwai, Secretary General of General People’s Congress, spoke in a press conference tonight after missiles had been launched in Libya. He claimed that many civilians and building targets have been hit. Ambulances and hospitals are trying to cope. Attacks were described as ”Western Crusaders” attacking the country. There is a strong contrast between what is being said and what is going on.and what is going on.

On the left of the split screen, you see the general saying his people have been killed by the Western air strikes. But on the right you see a dead body from a hospital in Benghazi of an innocent civilian who died today after Gaddafi forces struck the city.

11:00pm: Reuters reports that four Spanish F-18 fighters have taken off from Madrid as part of the UN coalition

10:48pm: Al Jazeera says Libya’s rebel military council is co-ordinating with the coalition following air-strikes in areas where Col Gaddafi’s forces were present.

10:42pm: Further reports from Libyan state TV: It claims “crusader enemies” are bombarding civilian targets in Benghazi, Zuwarah, Misrata

10:36pm: The US also reveals 25 coalition ships, including three US submarines armed with Tomahawk missiles, are stationed in the Mediterranean.

10:35pm: Pentagon: ”We are in the first phase of a multiphase operation.”

10:30pm: Pentagon: ”We are setting up the conditions to have a ”No-Fly-Zone”

10:24pm: US. Pentagon says 110 Tomahawk missiles hit more than 20 targets in Libya

10:17pm:A high-level African Union panel on the Libyan crisis has rejected “any kind of foreign military intervention” in Libya

10:12pm The Pentagon says off the coast of Libya, there are: 11 vessels from Italy, 11 from the US (including three submarines, each with 100 missiles on board), one from the UK, one from France and one from Canada.

The no-fly zone will encompass Tripoli, Sabha, Natoura, Misurata and Benghazi.

10:10pm US president Barack Obama, has just made short comments on the initiation of military operations. He says that the US is “proud that we are acting as part of a coalition”, and that the coalition was “answering the calls of a threatened people”.

9:45pm: CNN reporting that a U.S. warship has launched cruise missiles on Libya

9:34pm:AFP reports that loud blasts have been heard east of the Tripoli, according to witnesses. It is not immediately clear what caused the blasts.

9:33pm: The no-fly zone will “close down Gaddafi’s military options”, says Sir Gen Mike Jackson, the former head of the Army. “I think it will be a brave Libyan pilot who takes to the skies,” he adds. On the ground in Libya, he predicts, “I think we will see a very volatile political situation emerging.”

9:13pm: The Libyan rebels’ Transitional National Council has decided to set up a currency authority and an institution for supervising oil, Al-Jazeera reports.

9:10pm: BBC reporting from a hospital Benghazi, shows a young, innocent child injured from Gaddafi force strikes on March 19, 2011.

 

 

 

 

 

 

9:04pm: A US defence official tells Reuters that the US Navy has three submarines in the Mediterranean preparing for operations in Libya.

8:24pm:Anita McNaught, Al Jazeera’s correspondent in Tripoli, reports that several hundred pro-Gaddafi demonstrators who gathered in Muammar Gaddafi’s residence at Bab al-Aziziyah said they were doing so in order to protect the palace from “air strikes” from French aircraft.

8:17pm:Ban Ki-moon, the UN secretary-general, has said that he found Libya’s response via telephone regarding a UN resolution to be “troubling”. He said that Libyan claims that the conflict had halted and that the lack of confidence in the government was so great that he no longer trusts what Libyan leaders are saying.

8:20pm: Russia has said it regrets the decision by western leaders to take military action in Libya, according to Reuters, citing a Russian foreign ministry spokesman

7:49pm: BBC showing & reporting that Italian Eurofighters Aircrafts deployed.

7:44pm: Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte says he’s pleased with the outcome of the Paris summit. “The signal which we send to Colonel Gadaffi and his regime is unequivocal,” he says. “I believe that now the Brits, the French and the Americans will come to swift action.”

7:38pm:Al Jazeera English has reported that British ships have started a naval blockade of Libya

7:20pm: Spanish F-18 fighter jets are preparing to take part in enforcing UN Resolution 1973.

7:29pm: BBC correspondent Richard Colebourn says foreign journalists in Tripoli have been taken to visit Colonel Gaddafi’s military base and compound in the city. A few thousand supporters outside the base at Bab al-Azizia were chanting slogans in support of their leader. They said they were prepared to die if the compound was targeted in any air strikes. Libyan state TV is showing pictures of other supporters doing the same at Tripoli airport

7:19pm: French defence ministry spokesman Laurent Teisseire told reporters: “A first target was engaged and destroyed.” An armed forces spokesman told the same briefing the operation to halt Colonel Gaddafi’s advance on rebel forces involved around 20 planes and an area 100 km by 150 km (60 by 100 miles) around the eastern rebel stronghold of Benghazi. France’s Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier will leave France for Libya on Sunday, the spokesman added. A central command centre for the operation was still being set up.

7:16pm:“A first target was engaged and destroyed,” Laurent Teisseire, a French defence ministry spokesman, has told Reuters.

7:03pm: A French warplane fired its first shot in Libya at 1645 GMT, the Defence Ministry in Paris confirms.

7:00pm: SkyNews reporting that French defense offical says french fighter jet has fired on Libyan military vehicle

6:59pm: Around 20 warplanes are involved in operations over Libya to enforce a UN-sanctioned no-fly zone and prevent Colonel Gaddafi’s troops attacking rebels, the French defence ministry told AFP

6:53pm: France will send an aircraft carrier to Libya, the French defence ministry has told AFP.

6:42pm: Mrs Clinton says it is time for the international community to take action to protect Libyan civilians. “Our assessment is that the aggressive actions by Gaddafi forces continue in many places in the country. We saw it over the last 24 hours and we have seen no real effort on the part of Gaddafi forces to abide by a ceasefire, despite the rhetoric.”

6:35pm: Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper says extensive military operations are coming very soon and Canada will be part of that. Mr Harper adds that naval actions including a blockade will take place in Libya, Reuters reports.

6:31pm: US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says the international community is speaking with “one voice”. “Colonel Gaddafi’s campaign of violence against his own people must stop,” she says. “A ceasefire must be implemented immediately. That means all attacks against civilians must stop. Troops must stop advancing on Benghazi.”

6:26pm: US President Barak Obama says the US and its allies are prepared to act with urgency to end violence against civilians in Libya. “Our consensus was strong, and our resolve is clear. The people of Libya must be protected, and in the absence of an immediate end to the violence against civilians our coalition is prepared to act, and to act with urgency,” says Obama in Brazil, on the first day of a three-country Latin American tour.

6:22pm: A rebel activist in Libya’s town of Zantan, 90 miles (145km) south-west of Tripoli,tells BBC Arabic that the town is currently under attack by Grad rockets and by artillery.

6:11pm: Douglas Alexander, the shadow foreign secretary, says the government has the full support of the opposition. He says the Paris summit was “a powerful statement of the unity of the international community in the face of the slaughter we are seeing in Libya.”

5:59pm: Reuters tweets: “Italy’s Berlusconi says proposed NATO base in Naples be used as command centre for allied action in Libya”

5:58pm:Qatar and several European nations, including Belgium, the Netherlands, Denmark and Norway have confirmed that they will be taking part in a UN-sanctioned military intervention in Libya, AFP reports, citing a diplomatic source.

5:57pm: Mohammed Nabbous is trending world wide on Twitter.

5:52pm: Skynews says that a No-fly zone over Libya will be coordinated by U.S. Central Command CENTCOM

5:50pm: An audio clip that claims to be Mohammad’s last recording moments before he was killed.

5:40pm: Although Italy is currently only providing bases for the airborne operation against Libya, it could take part in raids if necessary, Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi is quoted as saying by news agency ANSA.

5:35pm: Mirage and Rafale fighter jets are flying over Benghazi and could strike Libyan tanks, a French official tells AP. The official says the French operation could strike Libyan tanks later on Saturday.

5:33pm: Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi says that for now Italy is only providing bases for the Libya operation, following earlier reports that Italian aircraft had been involved in surveillance operations.

5:32pm: Transcript of French President Sarkozy’s statement: ”Together, we have decided to ensure the resolution of the Security Council demanding an immediate ceasefire and the stopping of fighting in Libya. The participants have agreed to apply all means necessary, in particular military ones, to respect the decisions of the UN Security Council.

“That is why in agreement with our partners, our air forces will fight any aggression on behalf of Colonel Gaddafi against the population of Benghazi. Our planes will prevent aerial attacks on the town. Other French planes are ready to intervene against tanks who would threaten civilian people.

“From yesterday, France, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Arab countries have sent to Colonel Gaddafi and to the troops that he employs the follow warning: in the absence of an immediate ceasefire, and failing a withdrawal of the forces that have attacked the civilian population over the last few weeks, our countries will resort to military action.”

Read the Entire statement here:

5:19pm: Al Arabiya reports, citing a witness, that pro-Gaddafi forces have bombarded Az Zintan in western Libya, and tanks are heading to the city.

5:18pm: BBC correspondent Kevin Connolly in Tobruk said rebels felt “an enormous sense of relief” that Western military intervention is underway.

5:17pm: AlJazeera English highlights the major points from that Sarkozy speech. They include a statement that those present at the summit in Paris have agreed to ensure that the UN Security Council resolution is implemented and that an immediate ceasefire is declared.

He said that the international community has “agreed to apply all means necessary”.

International aircraft will “prevent aerial attacks” on Benghazi and will protect civilians.

He also said the “door to diplomacy will reopen when the fighting will stop”.

5:07pm: Reaction from British Prime Minister David Cameron, who says it is vital that “action takes place urgently” to prevent civilian deaths.”Colonel Gaddafi has made this happen,” Prime Minister David Cameron says. “He has lied to the international community, he has promised a ceasefire, he has broken that ceasefire.”

6:50pm: Sarkozy: ”our planes will prevent aerial attacks against Libyan people”

4:40pm: The former Libyan interior minister who defected to the opposition has denied returning to the government. Abdel Fatah Yunes told Al-Jazeera that he was still leading battlefield operations. Asked to comment on Libyan state TV pictures showing him embracing Colonel Gaddafi, he said: ”It is old footage. I’m sitting here in Benghazi.”

4:22pm: AFP reports that French planes are Rafale fighter jets, flying reconnaissance missions across “all Libyan territory”, citing a military source.

4:17pm: BFM, a French TV station, is reporting French fighter jets are over Benghazi enforcing the no-fly zone.

4:06pm:Al Jazeera’s James Bays in Benghazi reports that “fresh thuds in the distance and smoke can be seen, so it appears Benghazi is still under attack”. He reports that the attacks appear to be mortar and artillery fire, but are being heard from “further away from the city … that might confirm reports that are coming in that Gaddafi’s forces are being pushed back”

4:03pm: According to Reuters, residents of rebel-held Misrata are reporting that government snipers have been shooting people from rooftops and that the city’s hospital cannot operate on the wounded because it had no anaesthetic.

3:47pm: Rashid Khalikov, the UN’s humanitarian coordinator for Libya, tells Al Jazeera that his agency is expecting many more Libyans to flee towards the country’s eastern border with Egypt over the coming days

3:34pmMusa Ibrahim, the government’s spokesman, has told the Associated Press that government forces have been abiding by a “ceasefire” but that opposition fighters have been “provoking us”.

”Our armed forces continue to retreat and hide, but the rebels keep shelling us and provoking us.”

3:25pm: Opposition radio Free Voice of Libya, broadcasting from Al-Bayda, relays a message from the opposition National Council, claiming jets belonging to the revolution were bombarding Gaddafi’s forces.

3:33pm:The Associated Press reports that people in Benghazi were seen earlier today collecting bottles to make gasoline fire-bombs, while others dragged bed frames and metal scrap to set up roadblocks around the city

3:27pm: Karl Stagno-Navarra, Al Jazeera’s correspondent in Malta, reports that the Maltese government has said that any monitoring of a ceasefire in Libya should by carried out “under the auspices of the United Nations”.

3:17pm: Mohammed Nabbous wife has come onto the stream and informed us that he has passed away.

3:05pm: Al Jazeera’s James Bays in Benghazi reports that with pro-Gaddafi forces moving ever closer to the city, “the time for [international] action was some hours ago”, and that if Gaddafi forces make it to the city, they will be “very difficult” to target.

2:46pm:The Libyan government in Tripoli has once again asked the international community to monitor a ceasefire in the country. Moussa Khoussa, the country’s foreign minister, says that his government has requested Ban Ki-moon, the UN secretary-general, to send international observers.

2:46pm: Reports from Al-Jazeera say there are 26 dead and more than 40 wounded in Jala hospital in Benghazi

2:42pm: A rebel spokesman told Reuters. “We revolutionaries have taken control of four tanks inside Benghazi. Rebel forces have pushed Gaddafi’s forces out of Benghazi and are combing the western gate area for Gaddafi’s troops,”

2:32pm: Reuters is reporting a source which says the first wave of military action against Libya involving the international community could start as soon as the Paris meeting ends

2:20pm : Two RAF Tornado aircraft have landed at RAF Marham in Norfolk. They are believed to have come from RAF Lossiemouth in Scotland.

2:17pm: Crowds of Libyans are moving towards targets which France has threatened to attack, Libyan state TV reports.

2:14pm: The United Nations refugee agency says it is preparing to receive 200,000 people fleeing from Libya now that fighting around Benghazi has begun.

2:00pm: Jordan, Morocco, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates are the Arab nations attending Saturday’s summit in Paris on action in Libya, a diplomat told AFP.

BBC Reports : Two RAF Tornados have been seen taking off from RAF Lossiemouth in Scotland. It is impossible to say where they are headed but they are equipped with long-range fuel tanks.

1:08pm Libyan forces loyal to Gaddafi fired artillery shells into the rebel-held city of Misurata and water supplies were still cut off, a resident said.

“They (Gaddafi’s forces) bombed the town with four or five artillery shells in the early hours today. The situation is relatively calm now. But they are still on the outskirts of the town, and water to Misrata is still cut off,” the resident, called Mohammed, told Reuters by telephone from the city.

Libyan government officials deny attacking rebels and say they are observing a ceasefire.

Reports from Misrata could not be verified independently because authorities in Tripoli have prevented journalists from reaching the city.

12:45 Iyad El-Baghdadi has confirmed news that Gaddafi “sleeper cells” (people from his revolutionary committees) in Benghazi are involved in today’s violence.

12:32 pm Al Arabiya reports that there are strikes on the military college in Gwarsha, which is in the Western outskirts of Benghazi.

12:25pm Al Manara reports that twelve Pro Gaddafi forces were killed in the city of Benghazi.

12:18am Here is revised text of the speeches that Gaddafi’s spokesman read out:

The first letter to brother leader to Barack Obama:

“To our son, his excellency, Mr Baracka Hussein Obama. I have said to you before, that even if Libya and the United States of America enter into a war, god forbid, you will always remain a son. Your picture will not be changed. I want you to remain in the same image. I have all the people of Libya with me, and I’m prepared to die and we have all the men, children and women with me. Nothing more. Al Qaeda is an armed organisation, passing through Algeria, Mauritania and Mali. What would you do if you found them controlling American cities with the power of weapons? What would you do, so I can follow your example.”

Letter to Ban Ki Moon, Sarkozy and Cameron:

“Libya is not yours, Libya is for the Libyans. The security council, their resolution is void because it is not according to the charter to interfere with the internal affairs of the country. … You have no right. You will regret if you get involved in this, our country. We can never shoot a single bullet on our people, it is Al Qaeda organization.

11:57 BBC A spokesman for the TNC says there has been a bombardment in Zintan, five shells have fallen on the outskirts.

11:49am Abdul Jalil, head of National Libyan Council, also said:

Now there is a bombardment by artillery and rockets on all districts of Benghazi

The international community is late in intervening to save civilians from Gaddafi’s forces. Today in Benghazi there will be a catastrophe if the international community does not implement the resolutions of the U.N. Security Council.

We appeal to the international community, to the all the free world, to stop this tyranny from exterminating civilians.

11:26am Abdul Jalil also tells us that Benghazi hospitals are now being flooded with victims. He says that the pro-democracy fighters do not have enough weapons and numbers to confront Gaddafi:

“We only have light arms – Gaddafi seems to have new and powerful weapons.”

BBC Reports: The Libyan opposition leader has told Al Jazeera that residential areas of Benghazi are under attack and civilians are fleeing. Chairman of the National Transitional Council, Mustafa Abd-al-Jalil, said the city was under sustained attack by Col Gadaffi’s tanks and artillery. He said: “For 160km on the road to the east out of the city, the road is filled with cars with terrified families inside.”

CNN Reports: Benghazi ATTACKED

11:11am Mustafa Abdul Jalil, the head of the Libyan Interim Council, tells Al Jazeera that residential areas in Benghazi are under attack by artillery and tanks. He also said that the plane shot down belongs to opposition.

10:55am Al Jazeera’s James Bays reporting live from Benghazi:

We are still hearing gunfire in the distance – I heard an explosion just moments ago from that direction…

We have seen anti-aircraft guns going along the road in that direction, we have also seen ambulances and medical staff making their way in that direction in the last half hour or so…

10:49am Blake Hounshell, Managing Editor of Foreign Policy magazine, sent us this footage from today’s attack on Benghazi:

Libya Al Hurra TV Reports of the Bombings in Benghazi

Benghazi is now exposed to shelling and missiles. On the one hand Garyounis and violent clashes with the rebels in front of the University of Garyounis There fighting and a very violent battalion destroyed residential houses with rockets and guns

BBC Conflict Mapped

BBC Report Have a listen to the BBC’s Ian Pannell in Benghazi reporting the moment the plane came down in flames over Benghazi.Fighter jet ‘shot down’ over Benghazi

10:30am The international community must act fast over the situation in Libya, a French government source says.

“Everything is ready (to act) but the decision is now a political one. It’s clear we have to move quickly,” the source said, hours before France was due to host an international meeting to discuss military intervention.

10:28am Pro-democracy fighters have erected concrete barricades on the roads leading to the courthouse building where the rebel National Libyan Council has its base.

Khalid al-Sayeh, a rebel military spokesman, told Reuters:

They have entered Benghazi from the west. Where are the Western powers? They said they could strike within hours

10:04am Artillery shells being shot into Benghazi from about 20km away, Al Jazeera’s Tony Birtely reports.

Some amazing pictures are emerging of the jet in flames coming down in Benghazi, although it has not been confirm it was shot down.

10:09am Picture of the Al Jazeera vehicle that was hit in Benghazi:

9:54am Libya’s government says that its armed forces are under attack west of the rebel-held stronghold of Benghazi and have responded in self-defence.

This was issued in a statement carried by the official Jana news agency:

The gangs of Al-Qaeda attacked the units of the Libyan armed forces stationed to the west of Benghazi.

The statement accused the rebels of using “a helicopter and a fighter jet to bomb the Libyan armed forces in blatant violation of the no-fly zone imposed by the UN Security Council.”

9:36am Al Jazeera reporters in Benghazi say that their vehicle has been hit by a mortar round – the vehicle was not occupied at the time. Also reports of artillery attacks on Gamal Abdel Nasser street in central Benghazi.

9:14am Al Jazeera’s Tony Birtely says that a plane has been shot down in Benghazi. More details to follow.

9:01am Reports from Al Jazeera reporter in Benghazi that pro-Gaddafi forces have entered the suburbs of the city.

8:51am Al Jazeera reporter in Benghazi says some shelling happening now, with a jet just crossing over the town. Reports of some people being injured in the bombing, possibly some deaths.

8:19: BBC correspondent Kevin Connelly in rebel-held Tobruk says there is a huge sense of anxiety that the threat of western military intervention – which people thought would stop Gaddafi in his tracks – does not appear to have done so. Tobruk is more or less safe from government forces due to the vast distances of desert. The fear is that if he is not checked he will work his way eastwards across the country re-asserting control.

08:03am@Tribulusterr has labeled two maps outlining the key areas of Benghazi. This should help in getting a clearer picture of where the attacks are targeting . Please click the images for a full size view:

7:35am BBC correspondent Ian Pannell in Benghazi says he saw a rocket land and a pall of black smoke rising. He says it would seem the ceasefire has been completely ignored by Gaddafi’s troops. It’s not safe to move around at the moment, which makes reporting difficult, but it appears they’ve moved closer and are shelling the city.

7:29am “The explosions started about 2 a.m. Gaddafi’s forces are advancing, we hear they’re 20kms from Benghazi,” Faraj Ali, a local resident, said.

“It’s land-based fire. We saw one aircraft,” he added.

6:49am Large explosions were heard in the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi, the rebel stronghold, early on Saturday, a Reuters witness said.
A fighter jet could be heard over the city, the witness said, adding that the explosions were strong enough to shake a building.

3:05am Speaking after the response by Moussa Koussa, Libya’s foreign minister, on Friday, Gaddafi said there was no justification for the UN resolution aimed at ending violence in Libya.

This is blatant colonialism. It does not have any justification. This will have serious consequences on the Mediterranean and on Europe.

In 2011 they are colonising us, massacring us, and imposing one no-fly zone after the other and one military attack after another. What is this racism? What is this hatred?