Libya Latest

•  via AJE

  0:00am

  Reuters news agency has reported that the Libyan army has set an ultimatum to clear Benghazi by 2200 GMT, Libyan television reported.
  
  A text on the screen of Al-Libya television addressed the residents of Benghazi saying:
  
  "The army is coming to support you and to cleanse your city from armed gangs.
  
  "It urges you to keep out by midnight of areas where the armed men and weapon storage areas are located."
  
  
• Timestamp: 

  10:43pm

  In an interview with the French Le Figaro newspaper, Muammar Gaddafi says he will win "because the people are with me". He has dismissed the idea of dialogue with the opposition, saying that there can be no dialogue with "al-Qaeda".
  He also alleges that pro-democracy activists in Benghazi are "gangs" who are "likely to use citizens as human shields".
  Gaddafi claims that soldiers who now refuse to accept his authority and have joined the opposition were "forced" to do so by "terrorists" who "did not let them have a choice".
  He says that the government is still not using force, and that its current strategy is to "progressively dismantle armed groups through various means", including encircling cities and sending in negotiators.
  In a particularly strange remark, Gaddafi responds to a question about who exactly his opponents are by saying that there is "no opposition".
  "All events you see today are organised by the masses who support me. We have no opposition in Libya. These are only armed groups who occupy certain streets and some buildings in some cities."
  Gaddafi dismissed the revolutions in Egypt and Tunisia as "not real revolutions", as they resulted in "a transfer of power from one president to another president", while he was hoping that their revolutions would be along the lines of "Libya's revolution".
  He has again reiterated that he has "no connection with politics and power. So I have no power to leave. I have no job to quit."
  
  
  
  
• Timestamp: 

  10:23pm

  Updates from Misurata now, where pro-democracy fighters say they are holding their ground against an assault by pro-Gaddafi troops.
  "The fighters have defeated Gaddafi's forces from the southern and western side (of the city)," a resident, who gave his name as Mohammed, told Reuters by telephone.
  "The shelling on the city stopped and the rebels have captured some tanks. The battle is continuing on the eastern side, but it is not a heavy one."
  Residents say that pro-Gaddafi forces had begun pounding the city at about 7:00am local time with tanks, artillery and rockets.
  "They are trying to enter the city. I do not think they will be able to do it, at least not today," a pro-democracy fighter said.
  State television meanwhile appealed to the people of Misurata to support pro-Gaddafi security forces.
  

  The armed forces are from you and for you. Avoid strife ... This is a call for stability and security for everybody. Do not listen to provocation and avoid discord."