Violence on the Streets

The 2011 Libyan protests began on 13 January, 2011 and continues to the present. Media outlets have reported the unrest as being inspired by the uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia, connecting these protests with the wider 2010–2011 Middle East and North Africa protests.

On 18 February demonstrators took control over most of Benghazi, the second largest city of Libya, with some support from police and defecting military units. In reaction the government sent in elite troops, which were resisted by Benghazi's inhabitants and mutineer members of the military. In Benghazi, during the course of four separate protests that took place on 20 February, more than 200 people have died. The New York Times reported that "the crackdown in Libya has proven the bloodiest of the recent government actions."

The 40-year rule of Col Muammar Gaddafi is now under threat amid spiralling unrest throughout Libya. Several senior officials - including the justice minister - have reportedly resigned after security forces fired on protesters in Tripoli overnight. Witnesses say renewed protests have hit two suburbs of the capital.

In an earlier TV address, Col Gaddafi's son Saif al-Islam conceded that the eastern cities of al-Bayda and Benghazi were under opposition control. But he warned of civil war and vowed that the regime would "fight to the last bullet".

After clashes in the capital overnight were suppressed by security forces, state TV reported a renewed operation had begun against opposition elements there. "Security forces have started to storm into the dens of terror and sabotage, spurred by the hatred of Libya," the Libyan TV channel reported. Protesters were out on the streets and flames and smoke could be seen rising from the area, the witness said.

Amid the turmoil on the streets, senior officials have also begun to desert the regime. Justice Minister Mustapha Abdul Jalil quit the government because of the "excessive use of violence", the privately owned Quryna newspaper reported. In New York, Libya's deputy ambassador to the UN denounced the Gaddafi government, accusing it of carrying out genocide against the people. Libya's envoy to the Arab League, Abdel Moneim al-Honi, announced he was "joining the revolution", and its ambassador to India, Ali al-Essawi, told the BBC he was also resigning. In another blow to Col Gaddafi's rule, two tribes - including Libya's largest tribe, the Warfla - have backed the protesters.

Meanwhile, two helicopters and two fighter jets from Libya landed in Malta. The helicopter was said to be carrying French oil workers, and the fighter pilots were reported to have left Benghazi when an airbase was taken over by protesters. Human Rights Watch says at least 233 people have died since last Thursday, though in his speech, Saif al-Islam insisted reports of the death toll had been exaggerated. The US, UK and French governments are among those condemning the harsh treatment of protesters. The US has ordered all families of embassy staff and all non-essential diplomats to leave the country.

Italy, the former colonial power in Libya, has close business links to Tripoli and voiced alarm at the prospect of the Gaddafi government collapsing. "Would you imagine to have an Islamic Arab Emirate at the borders of Europe? This would be a very serious threat," said Foreign Minister Franco Frattini. The head of the Arab League, Amr Moussa, described the protesters' demands as legitimate, calling it a "decisive moment in history" for Arab nations.

Reports from several cities suggest the country is sliding out of the government's control. International firms including BP, one of the world's biggest oil companies, are preparing to pull their staff out of Libya.

Credible Western intelligence reports say that Muammar Gaddafi has fled Libya and is on his way to exile in Venezuela, according to William Hague, the foreign secretary.