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Tuesday
Mar082011

Libya (and Beyond) LiveBlog: Unsteady as She Goes

2125 GMT: Witnesses say Yemeni police have fired on protesters in the capital Sanaa, injuring 50.

2120 GMT: Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi has arrived at Tripoli's Rixos Hotel, where many foreign journalists are staying. He is expected to hold a news conference soon.

2035 GMT: In Egypt, a Coptic Christian man has reportedly been killed in clashes this evening between Copts and Muslims.

1835 GMT: In Syria, human rights activist and government critic Haitham al-Maleh has been released from jail.

Maleh, 80 and reportedly in poor health, was freed after President Bashar al-Assad issued an amnesty for those convicted of minor crimes and prisoners over the age of 70.

Maleh was imprisoned last July for three years on charges of spreading false information and damaging national morale.

1810 GMT: As fighting continues in Zawiyah, this report from "Mohamed" of the civil committee in opposition-held Misurata, 210 km (130 miles) east of Tripoli, where there were battles over the weekend. He says it is "calm but tense":

We have not been attacked since Sunday but we are expecting another onslaught from the dictator. He is running out of options and is lashing out. Today and yesterday we buried 21 young people, 21 martyrs killed by Qaddafi's forces in attacks on Saturday and Sunday. So it is very emotional in the town.

We will defend it with our lives. There is some sense of normality. Some shops are open in the town, including bakeries, pharmacies and grocery shops. But we lack resources and are crying out for medical supplies. Please, please we need medical supplies.

1645 GMT: Mustafa Abdel Jalil, head of the opposition National Council, tells Al Jazeera about the deadline he has set for the departure of Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi:

1620 GMT: In Egypt, it is reported that men have disrupted a march by women in Cairo's Tahrir Square. The demonstrators were marking International Women's Day.

1615 GMT: In Libya, there has been fighting throughout the day on the western front-line in Zawiyah, 55 km (35 miles) west of Tripoli. Regime forces attacked with 50 tanks and 120 pick-up trucks.

One witness said the troops "tore [Zawiyah] down to ashes". Another has reported, "Fighting is still going on now. Qaddafi's forces are using tanks. There are also sporadic air strikes....But they could not reach the centre of the town which is still in the control of the revolutionaries".

1600 GMT: It is being reported that the head of the opposition's National Council has given Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi 72 hours to step down and has insisted that regime bombing is halted.

1230 GMT: An Egyptian court has upheld the general prosecutor's decision to freeze the assets of former President Hosni Mubarak, as well as the assets of his wife, sons, daughters-in-law and grandsons.

Egyptian Minister of Higher Education Amr Ezzat Salama. meeting with protesting Cairo University students, has promised to meet their demands.

The students have been staging protests since the beginning of the semester, calling for removal of the university administration and faculty deans for implementing policies of deposed President Mubarak's National Democratic Party.

Salama promised that all demands would be met, including election of new managers, according to standards approved by students and professors.

Cairo University President Hossam Kamel suspended classes on Tuesday until protests end. A group of Armed Forces officials met with protesters on Monday to inform them that their demands were under consideration by the Supreme Military Council, which is governing Egypt.

Military police were trying to secure the campus, but protesters said they would not end their sit-in until all their demands have been met.

1130 GMT: Al Arabiya reports that two hotels, housing reporters in Benghazi in opposition-held east Libya, have been targeted by bombs.

There are indications of at least four airstrikes on Ras Lanuf, including one bomb on a block of flats. No casualties have been reported so far.

1030 GMT: A spokesman for the opposition National Council has http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-12307698">challenged Muammari Qaddafi's denial that he offered a deal to step down if conditions were met: "I confirm that we received contact from a Gaddafi representative seeking to negotiate Gaddafi's exit. We rejected this. We are not negotiating with someone who spilled Libyan blood and continues to do so. Why would we trust the guy today?"

There is renewed regime bombardment in the fifth day of the battle for Zawiyah, 55 km (35 miles) west of Tripoli.

A French documentary maker Florent Marcie says that the opposition controls the town of Zintan, about 75 miles (120km) south-west of Tripoli; however, regime forces are surrounding the town.

1000 GMT: AFP reports that regime forces fired a missile which landed about 8 km (5 miles) from opposition-held Ras Lanuf in north-central Libya. There is no confirmation of casualties or damage.

Associated Press is reporting two attacks.

0845 GMT: The six nations of the Gulf Cooperation Council have declared that "the massacres committed by the regime" in Libya against its citizens are "crimes against humanity". The GCC said the protection of Libyan citizens is an absolute priority.

The Network of Free Ulema have thanked the Gulf states for "their brave and moral stance in total support of the Libyan people".

0840 GMT: Al Jazeera English reports that at least three prisoners were killed and four injured in Monday's protest against President Ali Abduallah Saleh. The demonstration occurred in a prison courtyard in the capital Sanaa.

0650 GMT: Gulf News claims that opposition-controlled eastern Libya is at risk of running out of gasoline within a week after refineries in the region halted operations.

A spokesman for the opposition's National Committee, Tarek Bu Zaqiya, said "severe shortages" of fuel were imminent: Tthere is a plan to overcome the problem...[but it is not the right time to discuss the plan".

The newspaper claims the opposition is discussing plans to obtain imported fuel, including from Italian refineries.

0600 GMT: CNN's Ben Wedeman writes a first-hand account of the situation from Bin Jawad to Ras Lanuf during battles on Monday, "The CNN crew was among the last guests to leave the [Ras Lanuf] hotel just after sunset. There was no need to settle the bill or return the keys."

0540 GMT: After an interview with one of Muammar Qaddafi's seven sons, Al Arabiya is highlighting a possible rift within the Libyan leader's family.

Saadi Qaddafi, who has a background in enginering and business, claimed that Muammmar Qaddafi told his son  Saif al-Islam and Ministers "on a daily basis that you are facilitating matters and the budget, but there are things they did not do". 

Saif Al Islam Qaddafi has claimed to be making efforts at economic reform.

Saadi Qaddafi also focused on the threat of civil war to explain why his father must stay in power: "The tribes are all armed, there are forces from the Libyan army and the eastern region is armed. The situation is not like Tunisia or Egypt....The leader must play a very, very big role in calming Libya and convincing people to sit together. If something happened to the leader, who would be in control? A civil war would start."

0530 GMT: Libyan State TV is showing images which it claims are of regime forces celebrating the capture of Zawiyah.

State TV is also denying a report by Al Jazeera and two Arabic-language newspapers that Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi sought a deal with the rebels that would see him step down with certain guarantees. The media had reported that a Qaddafi representative made the proposal to the opposition's "National Council", based in Benghazi in east Libya. The council apparently rejected the offer.

The opposition has sent video to Al Jazeera which claim to show Libyan army officers killed for refusing to fire on the insurgences. The incident reportedly took place in the mountainous region west of Tripoli.

0515 GMT: In Libya, military clashes continued across the country on Monday. Regime forces checked the opposition advance in north-central Libya by re-claiming the town of Bin Jawad. That halted the immediate prospect of an opposition move on Sirte, the regime stronghold and birthplace of Muammar Qaddafi. The regime also carried out attack on Ras Lanuf to the east but, at this point, the opposition is holding firm.

In the west of the country, the regime attacks on Misurata, 210 km (130 miles) east of Tripoli, were not renewed; however, the battle continues for Zawiyah, 55 km (35 miles) west of the capital. A polticial activist said eight people were killed and more than 20 wounded.


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