Live Blog - Libya Feb 24

(All times are local in Libya GMT+2)

February 24, 2011

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. Gadhaf al-Dam says the crackdown has seen "grave violations to human right and human and international laws", AP reports.

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 Bayda, 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.

URL du billet: http://blogs.aljazeera.net/africa/2011/02/23/live-blog-libya-feb-24