Live Blog - Libya Feb 22

(All times are local in Libya GMT+2)

February 22

5.08pm The Italian Foreign minister has condemned the events in Libya, saying: "I strongly deplore, all violence against the demonstrators and the deaths of civilians in Libya".

I call for, as does the Council of the European Union, an immediate end to the use of force against the demonstrators. And I underscore that the Libyan authorities must respond, through dialogue, to the legitimate aspirations and demands for reform voiced by the people. A dialogue that must be open, full, significant and national, and which must lead to a constructive future for the country and for its people.

The country's defence minister, Ignazio La Russa, has also denied the news reported on some blogs and social networking sites of alleged raids by Italian fighter planes in Libya. He said:

I can deny the allegations in the firmest manner. Somebody is clearly not aware of the ethics of the Italian Government and Armed Forces

4.58pm: Ibrahim Jibreel, a Libyan political analyst, spoke told Al Jazeera the international community needs to take active steps in protecting the rights of the Libyan people.

"[Gaddafi] needs to feel the heat from the international community in one way or another," he said.

He added that a no-fly zone around Libya was a good thing, but it was not enough. "We need troops on the ground to protect the people, and also to record what is happening on the ground."

4.52pm: Libya's side of the border with Egypt is in the hands of anti-government protesters. Al Jazeera's Jamal Elshayyal at Sidi Barani, a town on the Egyptian side of the border reports that hundreds of Egyptians living in Libya continue to flee the country.

4.44pm Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi is expected to speak shortly. Watch Al Jazeera's Livestream for more.

4.25pm Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the US joint chiefs of staff, spoke to Al Jazeera about the recent events in Egypt, Tunisia and Libya, saying:

The events in each country have been up to the people of that country ...

From the standpoint of determining their own future, of meeting their needs in the future, that is principally up to the people in each country".

He added:

The US, as every country throughout the world, would look to how to engage to see how we can support this kind of change in a way that is meaningful, but it is up to the people of the country to make the decisions about their own future.

4.11pm Twitter user Carlos Latuff posted this image of Gaddafi "drowning in the blood of martyrs" on Twitpic:

3.50pm Mona Rishmawi, legal adviser to UN high commissioner on human rights, told Al Jazeera they were extrememly concerned by allegations of the use of "hired guns" against civillian protesters in Libya. She said intergovernmental bodies must show a united front and send a clear message that what is going on in Libya must stop right now.

Rishmawi added:

Any measures taken to protect the civillians in Libya are very important at this stage ... if there are planes, if there are snipers, if there are civillians being killed indiscriminately.. it has to stop.

... Allegations of gross violations of human rights, allegations of crimes against humanity are extremely serious.. I think it is very important for this situtaion to stop now.

3.40pm The Arab League is to hold an emergency meeting in Cairo on Tuesday, to discuss the unrest in Libya. Al Jazeera's Sherine Tadros, reporting from Cairo, said Amr Moussa, the League's secretary-general, expressed concern about recent events, saying the Libyan people have a right to sk for regime change.

The Arab League is made up of leaders from other countries, some of which are also experiencing unrest, including Yemen, Algeria and Bahrain. Tadros noted:

It will be interesting to see exactly how they word that bit of the statement regarding regime change.

3.38pm Sources have told Al Jazeera that the bombing from warplanes on Monday had targeted ammunition depots in Libya. The aim was to apparently stop protesters getting hold of weapons.

3.26pm Al Jazeera's Rosiland Jordan, reporting from Washington DC, said there is "widespread horror among the Libyan diplomatic core" about what is currently happeninig in the country, with many resigning and some even calling the government's actions "genocide".

Speaking about the resigned diplomats, Jordan said:

Certainly while they have been stepping aside from their official government roles, it is not clear whether or not they would be able to have any impact on events inside Libya, because if they are saying they now represent the people and not the Gaddafi government, it may very well be difficult for them to try to mobilise any sort of action on behalf of the people, other than from the images we have been seeing on television

3.01pm Libya's ambassador to the United States has resigned from what he calls a "dictatorship" regime.

The Reuters news agency reported amabssador Ali Aujali, speaking to ABC’s “Good Morning America,” saying:

Let me start by saying that I resign from serving the current dictatorship regime, but I will never resign from serving our people until their voices reach the whole world, until their goals are achieved

URL du live: http://blogs.aljazeera.net/africa/2011/02/22/live-blog-libya-feb-22