Live Blog - Libya Feb 25

(All times are local in Libya GMT+2)

February 25, 2011

7:45pm Watch Gaddafi's address to the Libyan people:



7:40pm Gaddafi addresses Libya at Green Square



7:30pm Tarik Yousef - Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institute in Washington. tells Al Jazeera following Gaddafi's 'surprise speech' speech at Green Square, thirty minutes earlier:

I am torn between seeing this as a legitimate speech in front of crowds willing to support him, but I'm also aware of the capability of Libyan propaganda machine, so I want to wait and see what the analysts make of it ... That is not the average scene of what you'd expect from Green Square

7:14pm Several hundred people have gathered outside the Libyan embassy in Britain once more to show their support for protesters, Jacqueline Head, Al Jazeera's online reporter in London reports. However this time a small contigent appearing to represent Hizb ut Tahrir were also rallying, calling for a sharia state to be installed in Libya. Muftah Abdelsamad, a 57-year-old Libyan living in exile in Britain for 35 years, told Al Jazeera:

We call them the nutters, because that's what they are. We are Libyans. we are Muslims... but these people don't want democracy or freedom. What do they want, dictatorship? We always lived together - Catholics, Greek Orthodox, Jews. And we're all going to live together again."

7:00pm Gaddafi has just addressed the Libyan people from Green Square in Tripoli.

We can defeat any aggression if necessary and arm the people ... prepare to defend Libya. Prepare to defend petrol, prepare to defend dignity."

6: 25pm Serbia denied media reports on Friday that its pilots or ground crews had been involved in Libyan air force bombing missions against protesters, adding that it was suspending all its arms exports to the country. The Serbian Defence Ministry were responding to reports in Arab and Maltese media that Serb mercenary pilots took part in bombing runs against protesters in the Libyancities of Tripoli and Benghazi.

6:01pm Violence flared up even before the Friday sermons were over, according to a source in Tripoli.

People are rushing out of mosques even before Friday prayers are finished because the state-written sermons were not acceptable, and made them even more angry,” the source said.

5:55pm Bloomberg reports 'Al Jazeera Enrages Dictators, Wins Viewers With Coverage'

Beaming images of the protests and interviewing key participants, Al Jazeera in particular has moved from being perceived as a Middle Eastern talk shop to a catalyst for change.

5:28pm Al Jazeera correspondent tweets: Precious scene on Libyan state TV now - kids leading pro-Gaddafi gathering, chanting 'Long live Papa Muammar'

5:01pm The Libyan envoy to the UN has told the Human Rights Council that he and others at the embassy "represent only the Libyan people" and not the regime.

URL du live: http://blogs.aljazeera.net/africa/2011/02/24/live-blog-libya-feb-25