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Monday, 14 March 2011

Libya Live Blog - March 14

By Al Jazeera Staff in on March 13th, 2011.
[AFP Picture]
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As the uprising in Libya continues, we update you with the latest developments from our correspondents, news agencies and citizens across the globe. Al Jazeera is not responsible for content derived from external sites.

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(All times are local in Libya GMT+2)

  • Timestamp:
    1:04pm

    According to Al Jazeera's sources in Libya, Khalifa Belqasim Haftar, former Libyan army commander, who was one of Gaddafi's commanders during the war against Chad, has returned to Libya to support the rebels.

  • Timestamp:
    12:24pm

    Libyan State TV: Defected soldiers who surrender will be "pardoned".

  • Timestamp:
    11:26am

    Al Jazeera's Tony Birtley reports from Benghazi, "Gaddafi forces are advancing and it seems like we are entering the final phase of the conflict.

    "But whether this revolution will fail or succeed, that will only be determined in the coming weeks."

  • Timestamp:
    11:22am

    Russian preisdent's travel ban includes 15 figures in the Libyan leader's family and immediate circle, the Interfax news agency quoted a presidential decree as saying.

    Besides the ruling family, the financial restrictions also apply to the head of Libya's military intelligence service, who is Gaddafi's brother-in-law, Interfax said.

  • Timestamp:
    11:14am

    The Reuters news agency reports that William Hague, British foreign secretary says, "If Gaddafi went on to be able to dominate much of the country, well this would be a long nightmare for the Libyan people and this would be a pariah state for some time to come,"Hague told BBC Radio.

    Britain and France have been pushing for the imposition of a no-fly zone to shield Libyans from Gaddafi's air power.

  • Timestamp:
    11:07am

    Interfax news agency reports that Dmitry Medvedev, Russian president has banned Muammar Gaddafi and his family from Russia.

    Reports say that Medvedev also said that Gaddafi and his family are banned from carrying out financial operations in Russia.

  • Timestamp:
    11:03am

    Major General, Omar Al Hariri, the military chief of the interim national council told Al Jazeera how his forces were able to take Brega back last evening.

    "Today, the armed forces and the revolutionary youth have reorganised and maneuvered the Gaddafi forces, which are weak because they are not fighting for a cause.

    "Most of the Gaddafi forces are mercenaries, who are fighting for money. Therefore, they were very weak and the revolutionary forces were able to kill and capture so many of them.

    "The revolutionary forces were then able to enter Brega and to push Gaddafi forces to outside of Brega and Aqaila. They are now taking fortified defensive positions in Aqaila."

  • Timestamp:
    10:59am


    A Bangladeshi refugee walking between tents in the Choucha refugee camp near the Tunisia border town of Ras Jadir. Thousands have fled war-torn Libya for neighbouring Egypt and Tunisia.

    File 14206

    [AFP photo]

  • Timestamp:
    10:44am


    Arish Saeed, a journalist from Brega told Al Jazeera that many families who fled Brega and nearby towns fearing the ongoing confrontations, are now living in makeshift tents in the desert in nearby areas.

    Reports say that these tents are very primitive and that there is a lack of basic supplies, food, and medicine.

  • Timestamp:
    10:37am

    Reports say that today's air strikes on Ajdabiya hit part of a hospital and military camp.

    No causalities have been reported. And local residents are refusing to leave the town.

  • Timestamp:
    10:33am

    There are also reports of heavy shelling in Ajdabiya.

  • Timestamp:
    10:30am

    Hamed Al Hassi, a spokesperson of the Feb 17th revolution in Libya, told Al Jazeera how rebel forces attacked Gaddafi forces last evening.


    “At 8:30 pm, the chief of operations on the front gave orders to siege and surround them (the pro Gaddafi forces).

    "We took 20 people hostage and killed 25 people. We also captured and destroyed many of their weaponry and machinery.

    "There are now small groups dispersed in the areas West of Brega.”

  • Timestamp:
    10:24am

    Al Jazeera's Tony Birtley reports from Benghazi that, "It is very hard to get a handle on what is actually going on but we understand that rebels have taken back Brega after fierce fighting over the last 48 hours.

    "And there is fierce fighting 300kms outside Benghazi.

    "This is a rumour capital, it is hard to understand what is really going on but we know that the interim council is very much looking to international community for help."

  • Timestamp:
    8:53am


    The Associated Press reports that thousands of African and Asian migrant workers who are fleeing Libya after years of toil are going home with empty pockets and many vow never to return.

    For the most vulnerable Asian and African migrant workers - those who didn't have the backing of their government or a foreign company or were in Libya illegally - the hasty departure marks the end of a bitter chapter in their lives.

    Many Bangladeshis at the camp said they incurred debt to go to Libya, paying on average $5,000 to a local broker for the plane ticket and visa.

    Now, some said, they don't know how to pay it back.

  • Timestamp:
    7:49am

    Analysts say that by the time the international community agrees on a response to Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi's onslaught against a popular revolt, it could all be over.

    No UN Security Council meeting has yet been scheduled, despite events racing in Libya.

    "The international community is dragging its feet," Saad Djebbar, a London lawyer and expert on Libyan affairs, told the Reuters news agency.

    "The diplomatic pace is very slow. There is an urgency to act quickly before those people are finished off by Gaddafi's forces."

    "The international community has to act now - not only to protect Benghazi from an onslaught but because of what it means for the rest of the world if Gaddafi is allowed to remain the leader of Libya," said Geoff Porter, a US-based political risk consultant who specialises in North Africa.

  • Timestamp:
    7:23am

    Reports say that rebels have recaptured the oil town of Brega - they say 25 government soldiers were killed and 20 more captured.

  • Timestamp:
    6:45am

    The Reuters news agency reports that France was stepping up efforts on Monday to persuade world powers to impose a no-fly zone over Libya, as Muammar Gaddafi's troops battled rebel fighters for control of the strategic oil town of Brega.

    France said it would consult other powers "in the coming hours" to try to set up such a zone to assure the protection of civilians "in the face of the terrible violence suffered by the Libyan population".

    The Arab League's weekend call on the United Nations to impose such a zone satisfies one of three conditions set by NATO for it to police Libyan air space.

    The others were proof that its help was needed, and a UN Security Council resolution.

  • Timestamp:
    3:40am

    As the uprising in Libya continuous many refugees await an uncertain future while staying at UN Choucha transit camp, near the Tunisian border town of Ras Jdir.

    File 14146AFP picture

  • Timestamp:
    3:15am

    Al Jazeera's Tony Birtley reports on the battle for Libya from the rebel stronghold, Benghazi.

  • 2:34am

    Reuters news agency has reported that government troops advancing east along the coast road took Brega early on Sunday in what looked like an increasingly confident drive towards the rebel stronghold of Benghazi.

    But the rebels, said they had re-taken Brega on Sunday night. There was no way of verifying the rival claims.

    Timestamp:
    2:06am
    The body of murdered Al Jazeera cameraman Ali Hassan Al-Jaber has returned to Qatar.
  • 01:51am
    Chuck Schumer, a US democratic senator, has said that imposing a no fly zone on Libya "is more likely" because the Arab League supports the move.
  • 0:59am

    The AFP news agency has reported that the Libyan armed forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi have cleared "armed gangs" from the oil-rich town of Brega in the east, an army source told state television on Sunday.

    "Brega has been cleansed of armed gangs," the military source was quoted as saying. The report could not immediately be verified. State television has in the past issued false reports claiming territory.

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