Seif Gaddafi, the son of Libya's leader, warned of 'civil war' in a speech on Sunday night.
As protests in Libya enter their eighth day, following a "day of rage" on Thursday, we keep you updated on the developing situation from our headquarters in Doha, Qatar.
2:17 pm New video posted by YouTube user libya2011free and relayed via the Arab Revolution blog shows how the uprising in Libya has grown in recent days; this one apparently shows large protesters of Misrata, just 160 km to the east of Tripoli, celebrating:
1:47 pmThis video posted yesterday on YouTube apparently shows the anti-government protesters in Green/Martyrs' Square in Tripoli last night:
1:19 pmThe folks at Alive in Libya have posted another audio clip of a phone call from Tripoli overnight on Sunday. It confirms what we've been hearing: Protesters have burned, looted and destroyed a number of government buildings in the Libyan capital, including several police stations and "revolutionary committee" headquarters.
"Every so often we get news that an area has fallen in the hands of the protesters," the man said.
After protesters briefly took the capital's central square, they were confronted by by cars and land cruisers whose passengers opened fire "like it was a war".
12:07 amReports from news agencies, Twitter and witnesses speaking directly to Al Jazeera are painting a picture of semi-chaos overnight in Tripoli. It appears that some protesters from nearby towns converged on the city, and thousands from the capital itself turned out as well. They were allowed to march to the central Green or Martyrs' Square, which they occupied briefly before being confronted by security forces and pro-Gaddafi protesters, who came out in force after a late-night speech by Saif al-Gaddafi, the leader's son.
During the night, protesters have broken into and burned a number of government buildings, reportedly including: State television; the main courthouse; a large, centrally located bank; an intelligence agency building; at least two police stations - one in Souq Jamaa and one in Zawadahmany.
Here's video, apparently of the police station in Souq Jamaa on fire:
10:13 amFlickr user a7fadmokhtar - which means "grandchildren of Mukhtar" in Arabic; a reference to Libyan resistance hero Omar Mukhtar - posted yesterday what might have still be the only photographs yet to come out of Benghazi. You can view the photostream yourself.
7:48 amRahma, an activist in Tripoli, spoke to Al Jazeera this morning about the speech given last night by Seif Gaddafi, the son of Libya's longtime leader. He described protesters as "thugs" and "druggies," but Rahma said that protests start peacefully until Gaddafi supporters "hassle" them and become violent.
Rahma's father, a US citizen who joined protests at the Libyan capital's main courthouse on Sunday, has been detained; she has not been able to make contact with him.
6:49 amShortly after Seif Gaddafi, the son of Libya's longtime leader, warned in a Sunday-night speech that the country would descend into "civil war" if protests continued, a Libyan American spoke with his brother in Tripoli, who described - over the sound of heavy gunfire - the intense combat that has broken out in the capital, where anti-government protesters were attacked after taking the main square.
6:46 amA caller from Libya describes the forces that have shot at protesters in Tripoli's "Green Square" as "the special militia that is guarding Gaddafi".
2:00 am Picture from the streets shows Libyans watching Seif Gaddafi address the nation via @ammr
1:50 am Najla Abdurahman, a Libyan dissident, dissected Saif El Islam Gadaffi's address:
He's threatening Libya and trying to play up on their fears. I don't think anyone in Libya who isn't close to the Gaddafi regime would buy anything he said. And even if there is any truth to what he said, I don't think it's any better than what the people of Libya have already been living with for the past 40 years. He promised that the country would spiral into civil war for the next 30 to 40 years, that the country's infrastructure would be ruined, hospitals and schools would no longer be functioning - but schools are already terrible, hospitals are already in bad condition.
1:00 am: Seif El Islam Gaddafi, the Libyan leader's son, is speaking live on Libyan state television. He says he will address the nation without a written speech, in the Libyan dialect.
He says the media has greatly exaggerated the events in Libya and claimed 14 people have died in Tripoli and 84 in Benghazi. Gaddafi said he regretted the deaths of civilians. He also said unions and Islamic groups are behind the protests and they are benefiting from the situation.
Translated snippets of his speech as he gives it are below:
"Citizens tried to attack the army and they were in a situation that was difficult. The army was not used to dealing with riots," he says.
"Libyan citizens died and this was a tragedy.
"There is a plot against Libya. People want to create a government in Benghazi and others want to have an Islamic emirate in Bayda. All these [people] have their own plots. Of course Arab media hyped this. The fault of the Libyan media is that it did not cover this.
Libya is not like Egypt, it is tribes and clans, it is not a society with parties. Everyone knows their duties and this may cause civil wars.
Libya is not Tunisia and Egypt. Libya has oil - that has united the whole of Libya.
"I have to be honest with you. We are all armed, even the thugs and the unemployed. At this moment in time, tanks are driven about with civilians. In Bayda you have machine huns right in the middle of the city. Many arms have been stolen.
"No one will come to Libya or do any business with Libya.
"We will call for new media laws, civil rights, lift the stupid punishments, we will have a constitution... We will tomorrow create a new Libya. We can agree on a new national anthem, new flag, new Libya. Or be prepared for civil war. Forget about oil.
"The country will be divided like North and South Korea, we will see each other through a fence. You will wait in line for months for a visa.
"The Libyans who live in Europe and USA, their children go to school and they want you to fight. They are comfortable. They then want to come and rule us and Libya. They want us to kill each other then come, like in Iraq."
12:47 am: As the protests in Libya appear to be spreading to the capital, Tripoli, Libyans abroad are making their voices heard as well. Twitter users @shihabeldin and @abuzaakouk posted this video from a solidarity rally in front of the White House in the US capital:
12:11 am: Libya's ambassador to China, Hussein Sadiq al Musrati, has just resigned on air with Al Jazeera Arabic. He called on the army to intervene, and has called all diplomatic staff to resign.
He made claims about a gunfight between Gaddafi's sons and also claimed that Gaddafi may have left Libya. Al Jazeera has no confirmation of these claims.
12:01 am: The European Union calls on Libya's government to refrain from using force against peaceful demonstrators and address its people's demands for reform.
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