Live Blog - Libya

(All times are local in Libya)

February 21

10:25pm: More on the resignation of the two diplomats from the embassy in Washington DC. Counsels Saleh Ali Al Majbari and Jumaa Faris denounced Gaddafi, saying he "bears responsibility for genocide against the Libyan people in which he has used mercenaries".

They said they had nothing to do with the events and they no longer represent Gaddafi’s regime - but that they represent the Libyan people. The pair also called on Barack Obama to "work urgently with the international community to press for an immediate cessation of the massacres of the Libyan people", and they are asking the United Nations to impose a no-fly zone imposed on Libya to prevent the arrival of mercenaries to Libya.

10:19pm: Italian foreign ministry puts out urgent statement categorically denying online rumours alleging the use of Italian fighter jets in the bombardment of protesters.

The Italian foreign ministry's spokesman harshly criticises the spread of totally false rumours suggesting the involvement of Italy in the events underway in Libya.

10:11pm: Al Jazeera announces it is allowing any networks to broadcast its material due to the deliberate scrambling of its signals by Libya. During jamming, Al Jazeera English can be watched on Hotbird 13E Frequency: 11034 Vertical FEC: 3/4 Symbol rate: 27500; on Badr4/Eurobird 2 (26East) Frequency : 11680.8 Horizontal; SR: 27.5: FEC: 3/4; and on Nilesat/ Atlantic Bird4A (7West) Frequency: 11393 Vertical; SR:27.5; FEC :3/4

Al Jazeera Arabic can be watched on Nilesat 7W Frequency: 11555 Vertical FEC: 3/4 Symbol rate: 27500

10:03pm: Two senior diplomats at the Libyan embassy to Washington DC have reportedly resigned.

9:55pm: Al Jazeera's interview with Ibrahim Dabbashim Libya's Deputy Ambassador to the UN:

9:53pm: Marwan Ghariani, a protester outside the Libyan embassy in London, says he spoke to his family last night.

The person I was speaking to had someone shot through the head next to him while he was on the phone ... What sort of punishment could be suitable for someone like Gaddafi?

9:51pm: New airstrikes have hit Al Joumhouria [The republic] Street in Tripoli, eyewitnesses tell Al Jazeera Arabic.

9:46pm: Confirmed - Ali al-Essawi, ambassador to India, has resigned. He has accused the government of deploying foreign mercenaries against Libyan citizens. We're hoping to get him live on Al Jazeera English. You can watch our TV feed by clicking here.

9:41pm: Egyptian foreign ministry spokesman Hosam Zaki says the Egyptian army has been ordered to facilitate the evacuation of all Egyptians from Libya. Some 100 buses, full of Egyptians, are on their way to the Libya-Egypt border - where the army has set up relief tents.

The ministry is "deeply concerned" by Saif Gaddafi's speech last night, which they say accused Egyptians of being behind Libya's violence

9:39pm: Italy - which has the closest ties to Libya of any European country - will launch a 'repatriation plan' tomorrow, with planes taking off in the morning.

9:35pm: Earlier reports confirmed - an anti-Gaddafi protester managed to scale the Libyan embassy in London and replaced the state flag with that of the protesters.

9:29pm: Ali Richi, the Libyan minister for immigration is in Boston. He denies he has resigned yet, but is calling for all Libyan ambassadors to continue their work independently of he regime.

9:27pm: Residents of Tajura, a suburb to the south-east of Tripoli, tell Al Jazeera the bodies of those killed are being left in the streets, with relatives unable to retrieve them due to the ongoing shooting.

9:24pm: Ali al-Essawi, Libya's ambassador to India has reportedly resigned. If confirmed, he will be the seventh ambassador to quit their posts in protest at the violent crackdown against civilian demonstrators - and may signal the beginning of a collapse in Libya's diplomatic corps.

9:19pm: Hamad Bin Jassim Bin Jabr Al-Thani, Qatar's prime minister and foreign minister, contacts Amr Moussa, Arab League secretary-general, and calls for an extraordinary meeting of the league. The meeting will be held tomorrow morning, we understand.

9:11pm: Footage emerges online showing burnt corpses, reportedly of those killed during fires in Benghazi.

9:09pm: The Libyan deputy foreign minister denies Gaddafi has fled the country, says Reuters.

9:00pm: Al Jazeera is providing rolling coverage of the ongoing crisis in Libya. You can watch our TV stream by clicking here. In the UK, we're live right now on Freeview. And if you're in the US, don't forget, you can Demand Al Jazeera on your cable provider.

8:52pm: Qatar's foreign ministry condemns use of airstrikes against civilians - and also criticises "the silence of the international community over the bloody events in Libya".

8:49pm: Online reports suggest Shukri Ghanem, Libya's oil minister and former prime minister, is apparently missing and has fled.

8:45pm: Ibrahim Dabbashim Libya's Deputy Ambassador to the UN, tells Al Jazeera if Gaddafi does not get out, "the people will kick him out".

This is the end of the game. The whole of the regime is crumbling. It will not be long before it is over.

8:30pm: Al Jazeera obtains this recording of a phone call from a woman in Tripoli.

Whoever is in the streets, they are getting killed.

She tells us there are five or six fires raging around the city, gunfire was heard during the call to prayer. Her cousin, a doctor, was turned back on his way to the hospital - because doctors are being shot.

People are grabbing anything they can from their houses.

8:26pm: Libyan ambassador to the EU resigns, Al Jazeera Arabic reports.

8:23pm: This photo has been sent into us, claiming to show troops moving into Tripoli. As with several other online photos and videos posted in, there's no way to confirm its veracity, although we are receiving many reports of military and paramilitary presence in and around the capital.

8:16pm: Al Jazeera speaks to Libyan ambassador to Bangladesh, who does confirm his resignation.

8:13pm: Contrary to earlier reports, the Libyan ambassador to the UK has not resigned. Al Jazeera spoke to him - he confirmed he is still in charge as he "has work to do". He has, however, been summoned to the British Foreign Office.

7:56pm: Al Jazeera Arabic is speaking to a political activist in Tripoli, who tells us there are airstrikes "all over Tripoli".

There is death, fear - and women are crying everywhere. The strikes are concentrated against areas that sent large number of protestors to the streets and there are cars full of foreign fighters firing on people.

He says at least 250 people were killed in the past 24 hours alone and is calling for international help. He tells us Tripoli is "under siege by foreign fighters" - that water and electricity have been cut and there is a shortage of food and medical supplies. "It is a genocide," he says.

URL du live: http://blogs.aljazeera.net/middle-east/2011/02/17/live-blog-libya