Even Al Jazeera's Tony Birtley, reporting from Benghazi, spoke of multiple explosions taking place and about the fighter jet being shot down.
Fresh fighting was also reported in the rebel-held towns of Misurata, near the capital Tripoli, and Ajdabiya, which lies close to Benghazi.
The Libyan government however denied the reports. "There are no attacks whatesover on Benghazi. As we said, we are observing the ceasefire," spokesperson Mussa Ibrahim told Reuters.
Even Al Jazeera's Tony Birtley, reporting from Benghazi, spoke of multiple explosions taking place and about the fighter jet being shot down.
Fresh fighting was also reported in the rebel-held towns of Misurata, near the capital Tripoli, and Ajdabiya, which lies close to Benghazi.
The Libyan government however denied the reports. "There are no attacks whatesover on Benghazi. As we said, we are observing the ceasefire," spokesperson Mussa Ibrahim told Reuters.
Even Al Jazeera's Tony Birtley, reporting from Benghazi, spoke of multiple explosions taking place and about the fighter jet being shot down.
Fresh fighting was also reported in the rebel-held towns of Misurata, near the capital Tripoli, and Ajdabiya, which lies close to Benghazi.
The Libyan government however denied the reports. "There are no attacks whatesover on Benghazi. As we said, we are observing the ceasefire," spokesperson Mussa Ibrahim told Reuters.
Inspite of United Nations sanctions and Libya's own ceasefire declaration, attacks seem to be continuing.
Benghazi came under attackearlier this morning, with at least two air strikes and sustained shelling of the city's south sending thick smoke into the sky.
Multiple explosions could be heard from the centre of the city, as a military planes flew low overheard, and the southern skyline was dominated by plumes of black smoke.
A warplane assumably belonging to the Libyan airforce, was shot down this morning over the rebel-held Libyan city of Benghazi, an AFP reporter witnessed.
The plane, which had been heard flying over the city for several minutes was suddenly spotted with flames coming from the right rear, before it spun down on a residential area south of the city.
An explosion and a plume of black smoke marked the spot where it crashed.
The incident happened despite Libyan government claims that it had introduced a ceasefire and was respecting a UN Security Council resolution which clearly is being defied.
A statement issued late this evening by the Maltese Government says that it will 'examine' a request by the Libyan Government to monitor the ceasefire in Libya.
Earlier today, government officials had denied reports that Malta had been requested by Libya 'to monitor and implement' the ceasefire.
The official statement read:
"With reference to the press conference given tonight by Khalid Kaim, the deputy foreign minister of Libya, during which it was stated that the Libyan Government was requesting Malta, China, Turkey and Germany to monitor the ceasefire, the Maltese Government will examine this request within the context of the full implementation of the United Nations resolutions."
A spokesman for the opposition in Misurata told BBC's Radio 4 that government troops with heavy artillery "shot their way into the city" this morning, shelling indisciminantly and causing widespread damage.
This continued until several hours after the ceasefire was declared, he said, adding that troops had since been driven back to the outskirts, but there was still firing there till late evening.
Of course technically it can be done. Like we had then disarmed we can re-arm them and use them. But officially these planes are still the property of the Libyan government and using them to attack Libyan targets would be equivalent to an act of war. Gaddafi would obviously be waiting for something like that to accuse Malta and the west of contravening international conventions. And in any case between the British, French, American and all the volunteering countries there is more than enough warplanes so 2 more is not worth creating an international incident.
At this point all countries have to move with caution as Gaddafi will use any excuse to justify any of his actions.
Reuters quotes the Libyan deputy foreign minister Khaled Kaim as saying there has been "no bombardment of any kind" by government forces in Libya since the "ceasefire" was announced earlier today.
He also said that the presence of government troops near Benghazi does not violate the "ceasefire" as he claims that the troops will not enter Benghazi.
In a speech delivered earlier, US President Barack Obama described events unfolding in Libya and explained the position of the United States. Regarding the Libyan leader, Obama said "Once again, Gaddafi chose to ignore the will of his people and the international community."
Towards the end of his speech, the president emphasized his country's role:
"But I want to be clear: the change in the region will not and cannot be imposed by the United States or any foreign power. Ultimately it will be driven by the people of the Arab world. It is their right and their responsibility to determine their own destiny."
The Libyan Embassy in Malta is apparently preparing itself for war as all bordering walls and fences have been fenced in with barbed wire and the main gate has been additionally secured with a thick chain and padlocked. It is not clear what has made the Ambassador who still pledges allegiance to Gaddafi take this extreme decision to baricade the premises in such a drastic manner.
Daily protests by Libyan nationals in Malta have been held in front of the embassy since the start of this crisis but at no point was the embassy or its personnel in any danger and the building has had constant police protection all along.
Well DeVino, I never said you are wrong, I'm just saying AFP got it wrong. Also Malta has already declared that the country will allow any military aircraft used in this operation passage across its airspace.
France does not wish NATO involved in any UN-sanctioned military action in Libya, as it would not send the "right signal" for the bloc to be seen intervening in an Arab country.
French foreign ministry spokesman Bernard Valero told AFP: "France's position on NATO has been constant since the beginning. We do not want NATO involved. We do not think it would be the right signal to send that NATO as such intervenes in an Arab nation. Allies have not taken a political position concerning NATO's involvement."
1. Malta does NOT have any military bases - Malta had dismantled all British and Nato bases way back in 1979 - At best Malta can and may host Warships, and Aircraft for shelter, refuelling, restocking, emergencies, or logistical purposes.
2. The country IS politically neutral by constitution but this does allow for compliance to United Nations directives therefore any non-participation is out of choice and not enforced.
Malta has at this time opted to keep its options open and may serve this purpose in more important roles such as a mediator, as a logistical base for humanitarian support, as a refugee crisis-centre and as a base for Red-Cross and Red-Crescent operations. Malta may also take up a role of a monitor of Libya's ceasefire as has been suggested by Tripoli itself.
Meantime the Libyan government denies that it is violating its own ceasefire, with Mussa Ibrahim, a government spokesman, saying the ceasefire is already in effect.
"Libya has already implemented the ceasefire. We have not carried out any military operations today on Misurata or anywhere else in the country. We don't know who to reach at the UN Security Council to work out the technicalities of the ceasefire. That is the problem at the moment which we are trying to resolve."
He said that Tripoli wanted Turkish and Maltese authorities to "supervise and help implement the ceasefire."
Libya had announced a ceasefire but attacks reportedly continue.
Speaking to Al Jazeera from Misurata, Mohamed Ali, a member of the opposition National Council in that city, describes a horrific scene. He says that shelling of the city has been ongoing continuously since about 2:00am.
"Yes, there is no ceasefire in Misurata. Shells are landing all over the city right now, as we speak. I hope you can hear them in the background, I'll move closer to the window so you can hear them. The murderous dictator has attacked the city this morning and started shelling since 2 o'clock in the morning, started the attack at 8 o'clock from three directions - east, west and southwest. And they were shooting their way into the centre of the city, which they haven't managed.
"And they are still shelling the city as we speak ...
"I am in the medical centre right now. We have 18 civilian deaths, one of which is a two-and-a-half year old girl with her head cut off. It is brutal, murderous shelling of the Gaddafi regime. He talks with the international community about ceasefire, but he is trying to capture Misurata today at any cost to strengthen his bargaining position."
Reuters says that in Misurata, a doctor has said that government forces are still shelling the city, despite the announcement of the "immediate ceasefire" by the government. The doctor said that 25 people have been killed there.
Reports from the BBC state that while the Libyan foreign minister was speaking of a ceasefire, an eyewitness in Misrata, who has asked to remain unnamed, told the news channel there was heavy fighting between rebels and the brigade forces, and that several civilian buildings had been hit.
"We are terrified," she said. "He (Gaddafi) is going to kill us all."
Since I have started this thread with extracts from the UN Resolution, it is only fair to repost Libya's official response by Libyan foreign minister, Mussa Khusa in Tripoli earlier today:
"Libya, after having seen the resolution, would like to explain the following.
As the country will try to deal with this resolution. Libya now has knowledge of this resolution, and according to article 25 of the UN charter, and taking into consideration that Libya is a full member of the UN, we accept that it is obliged to accept the security council resolution.
Therefore, Libya has decided an immediate ceasefire, and the stoppage of all military operations.
Libya takes great interest in protecting all civilians, and offering them all necessary humanitarian aid, and respecting all human rights, and obliging to the international and humanitarian laws and it is also obliged to protect all of the foreigners in Libya and protecting their assets.
In doing so, Libya is in accordance with the resolutions of the security council and the articles of the charter of the United Nations.
We emphasise in the resolution 1973 for the year 2011, we emphasise and agree to the article regarding the protection of civilians and the territorial unity of Libya.
"And therefore, building on this, we are opening all dialogue channels with everyone interested in the territorial unity of Libya.
"And my country is very serious about continuing the development, economic, political, humanitarian and social development of the Libyan nation.
"And we have indeed taken serious steps in continuing this development for the good of the Libyan people. And we believe that this will take the country back to safety and security for all Libyans.
"We also express our sadness towards what the resolution has included, of procedures against the Libyan nation, such as the no-fly zone, which includes commercial and civilian flights.This will increase the suffering of the Libyan people, and will have a negative impact on the general life of Libyan people.
"The international community should have exempted civilians from the resolution to secure their quality of life.
"Also, the total and inclusive freezing of all Libyan assets and investments will have a very negative impact on normal Libyans and also on Libya's ability to fulfill its contracts locally and internationally.
"Libya also finds that its very strange that the UN allows in its resolution the use of military power and there are signs that this might indeed take place.
"This goes clearly against the UN Charter, and its a violation of the national sovereignty of Libya. And it's also in violation of Article 4(2) of the UN Charter.
"And finally, we insist and emphasise our request for all international governments, NGOs and others to check the facts on the ground by sending fact-finding missions so that they can take the right decision by seeing the facts on the ground."
Extracts from the UN Security Council Resolution 1973
“Recalling its resolution 1970 (2011) of 26 February 2011,
“Deploring the failure of the Libyan authorities to comply with resolution 1970 (2011),
“Expressing grave concern at the deteriorating situation, the escalation of violence, and the heavy civilian casualties,
“Reiterating the responsibility of the Libyan authorities to protect the Libyan population and reaffirming that parties to armed conflicts bear the primary responsibility to take all feasible steps to ensure the protection of civilians,
“Condemning the gross and systematic violation of human rights, including arbitrary detentions, enforced disappearances, torture and summary executions,
. . .
“Protection of civilians
“4. Authorizes Member States that have notified the Secretary-General, acting nationally or through regional organizations or arrangements, and acting in cooperation with the Secretary-General, to take all necessary measures, notwithstanding paragraph 9 of resolution 1970 (2011), to protect civilians and civilian populated areas under threat of attack in the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, including Benghazi, while excluding a foreign occupation force of any form on any part of Libyan territory, and requests the Member States concerned to inform the Secretary-General immediately of the measures they take pursuant to the authorization conferred by this paragraph which shall be immediately reported to the Security Council;
“5. Recognizes the important role of the League of Arab States in matters relating to the maintenance of international peace and security in the region, and bearing in mind Chapter VIII of the Charter of the United Nations, requests the Member States of the League of Arab States to cooperate with other Member States in the implementation of paragraph 4;
“No-fly zone
“6. Decides to establish a ban on all flights in the airspace of the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya in order to help protect civilians;
“7. Decides further that the ban imposed by paragraph 6 shall not apply to flights whose sole purpose is humanitarian, such as delivering or facilitating the delivery of assistance, including medical supplies, food, humanitarian workers and related assistance, or evacuating foreign nationals from the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, nor shall it apply to flights authorised by paragraphs 4 or 8, nor other flights which are deemed necessary by States acting under the authorization conferred in paragraph 8 to be for the benefit of the Libyan people, and that these flights shall be coordinated with any mechanism established under paragraph 8;
“8. Authorizes Member States that have notified the Secretary-General and the Secretary-General of the League of Arab States, acting nationally or through regional organizations or arrangements, to take all necessary measures to enforce compliance with the ban on flights imposed by paragraph 6 above, as necessary, and requests the States concerned in cooperation with the League of Arab States to coordinate closely with the Secretary General on the measures they are taking to implement this ban, including by establishing an appropriate mechanism for implementing the provisions of paragraphs 6 and 7 above,
Full text of the resolution and member country speeches can be found here:
Seems like we've reached the end of the second Libya Updates thread, so had to start a new one.
As the uprising in Libya continues and as the crisis enters a new phase following the UN Security Council Declaration 1973 of March 17th (exactly one month into the revolution), I will once more strive to update you with the latest developments.
I must stress that this thread is NOT an opinion thread but one to bring NEWS UPDATES about the conflict.
The New York Times now also confirms the news of the finding and eventual release of its 4 journalists.
It says the four who were missing in Libya have been found. The paper reported on its website that they were captured by Colonel Gaddafi's forces and are set to be released today.
Responding to the announcement of a ceasefire, UK Shadow Foreign Secretary Douglas Alexander says the Gaddafi regime needs to be judged "by its deeds not its words". If this turns out to be a real initiative, he says, then it makes it even more important that efforts are made by the international community to help plan for Libya's future.
AFP has just reported that Libyan authorities say they will release the four New York Times journalists who the publication reported as being missing two days ago.
It is not clear whether the news agency has other leads as to my knowledge and as I reported earlier, so far Libyan authorities have only admitted to be holding and to be releasing one of the four, namely the woman. Hope they are right...
France says it remains cautious after Libyan ceasefire announcement, according to Reuters news agency. Officials say the "threat on the ground has not changed".
zeus911 Forum Posts (1,000)
Libya - Latest Updates Part III
Sorry for that triple post but I'm out and posting from my mobile phone... which sometimes gets a bit trigger-happy!