France 'shoots down Libyan plane'

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  1. 1506: Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak has said in Tel Aviv that the Arab uprisings will prove positive in "long-run".
  2. 1503: Here's our latest news story on those reports of French jets shooting down a Libyan plane.
  3. 1453: Moscow's sacked envoy to Tripoli has denied charging the Kremlin with a "betrayal" of Russia's interests in Libya for refusing to veto the UN imprimatur on intervention. Vladimir Chamov told Ekho Moskvy radio: "This could not have happened by definition. These terms would be more appropriate to sentimental novels."
  4. 1444: Quote of the day: "The job of dictator is now a high-risk job" - Alain Juppe, French Foreign Minister
  5. 1427: The BBC's World Have Your Say programme tweets: "We've just spoken to a rebel in Misrata. Gun fire clearly heard in the background. He says they're fighting 11 tanks in the city #Libya."
  6. 1425: The French defence ministry says it will not confirm ABC reports of a Libyan plane being shot down. They say they'll put out a bulletin later on all today's operations, and are withholding info for now "to avoid the misreporting of events that are still unclear".
  7. 1419: Sixty-four per cent of Russians don't back the international military action in Libya, according to an opinion poll in that country. Russia abstained in last week's UN Security Council vote, which paved the way for intervention.
  8. 1410: Italy could offer warships and more planes for operations in Libya on top of four Tornado bombers and four F-16 fighter jets it has already deployed, Defence Minister Ignazio La Russa says, according to AFP news agency.
  9. 1405: Libyan state TV emphasises its claim - denied by the allies - that coalition air strikes have targeted innocent civilians in Tripoli and elsewhere; it says people are invited to funeral prayers for these "martyrs".
  10. 1353: Latest on that ABC News report about a Libyan air force jet shot down for violating no-fly zone: it was a single-engine Galeb, apparently. Still no confirmation of that report.
  11. 1347: Fourteen Tomahawk missiles were launched overnight in Libya by the allies, says a spokesman for US Africa Command.
  12. 1342: A Tripoli resident, unnamed for obvious reasons, tells BBC's Newshour: "I'm not exaggerating if I say tens of thousands of young people are arrested. Look, we cannot even now stay close to each other, three four people, for a couple of minutes talking or chatting, I mean it's very danger[ous].
  13. 1321: The BBC's John Simpson in Tripoli says anxiety among pro-Gaddafi officials about regime change is beginning to subside. He says they're increasingly confident that no matter what happens Col Gaddafi will continue to run that part of the country, though not many think it's likely he can recapture the east.
  14. 1316: Ever wondered what military operation monikers - such as Odyssey Dawn, ELLAMY and Harmattan - mean? So have we.
  15. 1304: Blogger Jack Sharkey tweets: "Anyone who thinks partitioning #Libya is a good idea obviously doesn't know much world history. #OdysseyDawn #Gaddafi #NFZ."
  16. 1302: ABC anchorman David Muir tweets: "#BREAKING ABC's Martha Raddatz:#Gadhafi sends up first warplane violating no fly zone -- plane is shot down by French fighter jets."
  17. 1259: ABC News are reporting that a French fighter has shot down a Libyan air force jet which was violating the no-fly zone.
  18. 1258: Heba in London writes: "As a fellow Libyan national, it is heart-rending what I see in my country. The everyday murdering of my countrymen by Gaddafi's people is to be condemned. We fully support the international "no-fly zone", this is the only chance for us to survive. We need to work on breaking down Gaddafi's arms and his military capabilities, even if it takes weeks." Have Your Say
  19. 1256: Free Libya tweets: "People speaking of partitioning #Libya this would never happen. Can't you see that Libyans are united All against Gaddafi #feb17."
  20. 1249: Mr Hague tells the House: "It is not for us to choose the government of Libya - that is for the Libyan people themselves. But they have a far greater chance of making that choice now than seemed likely on Saturday, when the opposition forces were on the verge of defeat and the lives of so many were in danger."
  21. 1248: UK forces have undertaken 59 aerial missions over Libyan in addition to air and missile strikes. Operations are being carried out under US control, says Mr Hague, but Britain wants to see a "transition to NATO command and control as quickly as possible".
  22. 1244: Coalition troops are "taking the utmost care to minimise the risk of civilian casualties," says Mr Hague. "The only forces acting indiscriminately or deliberately inflicting civilian casualties are the forces of the Gaddafi regime".
  23. 1243: Mr Hague says there has been "universal condemnation of what the Libyan regime is doing", from the UN, Arab League, African Union and EU. "The regime's action is strengthening our resolve to continue our current operations and our support for the work of the International Criminal Court. Our action is saving lives and is protecting hundreds of thousands of civilians in Benghazi and Misrata from the fate that otherwise awaited them".
  24. 1239: "Appalling violence against Libyan civilians continues to take place, exposing the regime's claim to have ordered a ceasefire to be an utter sham," says Mr Hague.
  25. 1237: British Foreign Secretary William Hague is giving a statement to the House of Commons on the unrest. He says the intervention "remains utterly compelling".
  26. 1230: The BBC's World Affairs correspondent John Simpson, says reporting restrictions mean it is very hard to tell from Tripoli what is going on elsewhere in the country. But he says people in government appear to have become more confident that Col Gaddafi and the system can survive, at least in Tripoli and the surrounding areas. "That's something new, because I'm sure a few days ago they were very much less secure in the their own minds."
  27. 1227: The International Labour Organization (ILO) says there are still an estimated 800,000 foreign workers in Libya, AFP reports.
  28. 1219: US Defence Secretary Robert Gates has been discussing the conflict with his Egyptian counterpart, Field Marshall Hussein Tantawi. Mr Gates's press secretary, Geoff Morrell, said the Egyptian authorities had not objected to the coalition strikes in Libya but were concerned for the well-being of their citizens in the country. "Not in the context of our operations, but in the context of potential reprisals from Gaddafi," said Mr Morrell.
  29. 1215: If you're just joining, welcome to the BBC's live coverage of events in Libya, where an international coalition is carrying out air strikes with the aim of preventing attacks by Col Gaddafi's troops. We're bringing you the latest news and analysis from our own correspondents, as well as comments from social and traditional media around the world. You can contact us via e-mail, text or Twitter. We'll publish what we can.
  30. 1209: The official told Reuters a ship was on its way to Libya with fuel but could be stopped or bombed by the coalition action.
  31. 1207: A Libyan energy officials tells Reuters the country is low on fuel and needs imports to deal with the shortages.
  32. 1159: The BBC's Christian Fraser in Paris says French Defence Minister Gerard Longuet was careful to define the limits of the coalition's powers in his press conference earlier. Mr Longuet urged coalition partners to remain patient with the operation, telling them "We must stay calm. We have the means to carry on. Col Gaddafi does not."
  33. 1155: Mohamed, at a clinic in Misrata, has just told the BBC: "We are without running water, electricity and communications for the tenth day now. My heart is broken by the carnage I have seen. Four boys died in my neighbourhood and I had to go to the funerals. I feel for them. But I feel a sense of freedom that I have never felt in Libya."
  34. 1148: Witnesses have told AFP that air strikes have been carried out on the Gaddafi-stronghold of Sebha overnight and on Thursday morning.
  35. 1140: AFP is reporting that 20,000 people have gathered in the southern Syrian city of Deraa for the funerals of people killed during unrest there on Wednesday.
  36. 1138: "The Libyan army is regrouping and reorganising," he said. "But obviously we can stay that a massive capacity of the Libyan army has been degraded, reduced and weakened."
  37. 1135: Mr Burkhard did not say where exactly the strike took place but said it had threatened the population and that he was certain there had been no "collateral damage".
  38. 1130: French military official Thierry Burkhard has told reporters a coalition strike overnight hit an air base 250km (155 miles) south of Libya's coastline, the deepest strike into the country so far.
  39. 1128: Vice Adm Veri said the mission would use "every means necessary" to keep weapons from reaching Libya. "If we suspect a ship is attempting to breach the embargo it may be necessary to send armed military aboard. If we encounter resistance, the use of force may be necessary," he said.
  40. 1126: The head of Nato's naval blockade of Libya, Italian Vice Adm Rinaldo Veri, has said the operation is cutting off the "easiest, fastest and most direct way" for people to bring weapons into Libya. "I hope we can close all the windows, but one thing is sure: we are closing the main front door," he told reporters.
  41. 1122: Maya in Manchester, UK, writes: "My husband is from Zawiya and we have received reports that all able-bodied men are being arrested as Gaddafi's troops go door-to-door. We do not know if his family have food but considering that the city has been closed off for weeks I can't imagine what they would have left to eat. There are also reports of women being raped and mobile communication is non-existent. The hospital has also been taken over by the army. We want to raise awareness of just how bad it is inside Libya. Imagine what the terminally ill, the women in labour and those who need life-saving treatement are doing! Personally, if the UN agreement allows for ground troops to enter without the risk of occupancy then I ask the UN to please put this into effect immediately." Have Your Say
  42. 1117: More from British PM David Cameron. His comment that the remits of the UN resolution must not be exceeded (see 1105) was in response to a question about whether Col Gaddafi was a legitimate target for coalition attacks, Reuters reports. Mr Cameron also said the military intervention had "helped to avoid a slaughter" in Benghazi.
  43. 1114: Mr Longuet said the foreign powers were not "masters of this situation" and did not have a deadline. The aim of the coalition, he said, was to "encourage the emergence of a dialogue: a Libyan dialogue".
  44. 1112: France's Defence Minister Gerard Longuet has said the military intervention makes no sense if it is not paired with political intervention. "The military intervention is there because we have a political project. It is to discuss and build a different future for the Libyan people," he said.
  45. 1108: China has called on all sides to observe a ceasefire in Libya. Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu said the aim of the UN resolution - which Beijing abstained from voting on - was "to provide humanitarian protection rather than creating an even greater humanitarian crisis". She said the "sovereignty, independence, unity and territorial integrity of Libya should be respected".
  46. 1105: British PM David Cameron has said it is important not to exceed the remit of the UN resolution in Libya.
  47. 1101: In an on-screen caption, Libya's Al-Jamahiriya state TV says civilian and military sites in Tripoli's Tajura district are "now being subjected to bombing by the colonialist, crusader aggressor".
  48. 1056: Kim Sengupta of the Independent newspaper is in the rebel-stronghold of Benghazi and has been making regular visits to the front line. He told the BBC World Service the rebels are poorly organisation and lacking in military skill. "Frankly, they have not shown much inclination to take on the enemy. They have, probably, spent about four times as much of the ammunition firing into the air than they have fired in anger. They are not trained fighters."
  49. 1052: Bungdan tweets: "#benghazi. Were 100000 lives saved? I'd say no. Were thousands of lives saved, thousands more spared torure? Of that, I'm convinced. #libya."
  50. 1050: Our correspondents in Tripoli say it is very hard to get information from Misrata, some 200 km (130 miles) away from the capital. The authorities have prevented journalists from travelling there and communications are poor.
  51. 1048: The witness said the regime had sent two warships and several boats to the port. "They have besieged us from from the sea," he said. "They haven't attacked but if they do, the thousands of workers will be the first victims."
  52. 1047: Residents of Misrata have told Reuters the city is facing a "humanitarian crisis" after the port was reportedly seized by pro-Gaddafi troops. "There are more than 6,000 Egyptian workers, some with their families, plus some African workers, who are now in the port. They went there waiting for a ship to move them but nobody is coming," said one man.
  53. 1042: The BBC's John Simpson in Tripoli says Libya still appears to be divided between the east and the west. The rebels have "all the enthusiasm in the world", he says, but do not have the organisation or weapons of the regime. The pro-Gaddafi troops, however, have weapons but don't have the same mass support or spirit, which "all adds up to a stand-off".
  54. 1035: Nato members are meeting today in Brussels to determine what the command structure of the intervention in Libya will be as it continues. The US is keen to handover control of the operations quickly, and several nations want Nato to assume complete control.
  55. 1028: Our correspondent also spoke to an RAF Tornado pilot, who said air superiority in Libya will allow those jets to fly safer at a much lower altitude and identify Gaddafi tanks on the ground to attack.
  56. 1025: The BBC's Jon Sopel at the allied air hub of Giola del Colle, in Italy, says yesterday's coalition claim they control the skies above Libya makes it all the more interesting that there were fresh cruise missile strikes overnight, apparently targeting Libyan air defences. He says it would seem the allies have found some threat remains.
  57. 1020: Ms McLeod said when she visited Tobruk, there was clear appreciation for the international action. "Even just sitting in restaurants and cafes, people would come up and thank us. And, to a person, everyone said 'Without this coalition we would not be alive.' There is a sense, in Tobruk at least, in the east, that the coalition is the only reason why they are keeping Gaddafi's forces at bay."
  58. 1015: Refugees International spokeswoman Dara McLeod has been speaking to the BBC about the plight of Libyans displaced by the fighting. "There are definitely many families, probably around 100 families, who have left Ajdabiya and are taking up refuge in Tobruk. But the families with whom we spoke were all pretty adamant that they did not want to leave Libya. As one person said: 'We would rather die in Libya than live elsewhere'."
  59. 1010: Legz66 tweets: "It seems phone lines into Tripoli are up, call while you can! Think of what you say and ask!!!"
  60. 1011: Libyan state Al-Jamahiriya TV says in regular news broadcast that "civilian and military" targets in Tripoli were bombed after dawn today by allied forces. The report showed footage of people injured in hospital and some body bags with what appeared to be corpses, one apparently an older woman. The pictures can't be independently verified.
  61. 1008: Residents of Misrata tell Reuters that coalition air strikes last night hit pro-Gaddafi tanks on the outskirts, but not those which were inside the city.
  62. 1005: DrsforLibya tweets: "90 percent of the residents of #Misrata #Libya have nothing to eat, no electricity, no water. Urgent Help needed."
  63. 1004: LibyaNewMedia? tweets: "Getting the message out is extremely important! Many Libyans do not get any info other than Gaddafi's lies. They must know about Free Libya!"
  64. 0958: AFP reports that hundreds of Sri Lankans have staged a protest outside UN headquarters in Colombo against foreign intervention in Libya. The protesters said the West was trying to control Libyan oil and that Col Gaddafi should be protected.
  65. 0953: Aid group Refugees International has raised concern about 1,300 people from Chad it says are stuck at the Libyan border. Spokeswoman Dara McLeod told the BBC the refugees were in a terrible condition as they had no shelter and the nights were very cold. She said the Chadian government had so far failed to organise a way for them to get home.
  66. 0948: Mr Kosachev continued: "Not just anti-missile systems are being destroyed but we see that the palace of Colonel Gaddafi has been bombed and we see that many other military objects are being destroyed and this is, in our point of view, a kind of interference in the internal affairs of a sovereign state."
  67. 0946: Russia is one of the country to have questioned the ultimate aim of the international intervention. Konstantin Kosachev, chairman of the State Duma Committee on International Affairs, told the BBC's World Today the UN resolution was in itself good, but that the current action "contradicts the spirit and the letter of this resolution".
  68. 0944: Freequeenpeace tweets: "Just spoke with my cousin in #Tripoli, #Libya. Phone lines are up, call if you can!"
  69. 0943: Meanwhile, in Syria mass arrests are being reported after a week of anti-government protests. Human rights groups in that country say up to 15 people were shot dead by security forces in city of Deraa on Wednesday.
  70. 0936: And a reminder that Libya isn't the only show in town, as far as the Arab uprisings go: AFP reports from south-east Yemen of fresh clashes today between the regular army and elite Republican Guard loyal to President Saleh.
  71. 0932: A Misrata resident, Sadoon, has told the BBC's World Today programme: "Misrata yesterday saw the deliberate targeting of the main hospital, which led to the death of three civilians. They were subjected to heavy shelling by pro-Gaddafi tanks... and the fire of pro-Gaddafi snipers on top of high buildings.
  72. 0923: Ali Hashem, Al Jazeera correspondent in Libya tweets: "Coalition jets strikes Ajdabiya gates. #Libya #feb17"
  73. 0922 : Libya's official JANA news agency says there were three coalition raids on Tripoli district of Tajura overnight, killing "a large number" of civilians. It says final raid "targeted rescuers who were trying to remove the dead and wounded from the rubble and the destruction caused by the first two raids". Claims can't be independently verified.
  74. 0858: The BBC's Ben Brown in Benghazi has pictures of Libyan rebels chanting "Thank you, Cameron!", a reference to Britain's PM. Our correspondent says while the rebels are grateful for no-fly zone that David Cameron championed, they're adamant they don't want foreign troops' boots on Libyan soil and - despite lack of military progress - insist: "Libyan people can do it on their own".
  75. 0853: The BBC's Ben Brown in Benghazi says there are reports from the besieged rebel-held city of Misrata in the west that Gaddafi bombardment has resumed. Residents say they've run out of medical supplies, hospital overflowing with casualties, no food and people drinking rainwater. But Gaddafi deputy foreign minister says only limited skirmishing in Misrata today.
  76. 0834: That French government spokesman Reuters have been news-flashing about turns out to be Alain Juppe, the foreign minister. He also told media that the aspirations of Arab people should be met across the region, including in Saudi Arabia, and that the change sweeping the region was "irreversible".
  77. 0820: Reuters news agency quotes a French government spokesman as saying the coalition could take days or weeks, but not months, to destroy Col Gaddafi's military capacity.
  78. 0808: The BBC's Kevin Connolly in Benghazi says at the burned city courthouse which has become the HQ of the revolution, some of the offices are old cells with iron doors; the walls are bare brick; and someone's gone round correcting the spelling on English-language rebel posters.
  79. 0806: Rebel spokesman Mustafa Gheriani - a former construction worker - also tells the BBC's Kevin Connolly in Benghazi: "This guy [Gaddafi] is crazy and he's committed himself to the destruction of the Libyan people to the last man."
  80. 0803: The BBC's Kevin Connolly in Benghazi has just filed an insightful interview with rebel spokesman Mustafa Gheriani. He says the rebels have 17,000 soldiers in the field, but concedes most of them aren't proper soldiers. Many are civvies, such as music teachers, pastry cooks and accountants. Responding to Connolly's suggestion that the rebel fighters are chaotic, Gheriani says: "That's not fair. A learning curve is taking place right now."
  81. 0741: More from the French foreign minister: Alain Juppe has told RTL radio that the air strikes are a success, have been "only targeting military sites and nothing else" and will "continue as long as necessary".
  82. 0736: The BBC's Ben Brown in Benghazi says it remains an unequal fight on the ground as many of the rebels have antiquated weapons, such as old hunting rifles, while Gaddafi forces have much more sophisticated kit. He says the Gaddafi assault on Misrata poses a key test for the allied pledge to protect civilians, because they are in mortal danger in that city.
  83. 0717: The BBC's John Simpson in Tripoli says there have been explosions overnight in the Libyan capital. One particularly loud blast came from the direction of a military base. He says there are also suggestions Gaddafi tanks and artillery have resumed their assault under cover of darkness on rebel-held Misrata.
  84. 0711: French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe has just said the allied coalition will continue launching air strikes on Libyan military targets.
  85. 0653: Libyan Freedom tweets: "No internet access in Libya&Tripoli; for 1 month, the media never mentions it. All they scream about is who r the rebels? #Libya #Feb17"
  86. 0627: The UK Chief of Defence Staff's Strategic Communication Officer, Maj-Gen John Lorimer, says: "British armed forces have again participated in a co-ordinated strike against Libyan air defence systems in support of the United Nations Security Council resolution 1973. The UK launched guided Tomahawk Land Attack Missiles (TLAM) from a Trafalgar Class submarine at air defence targets as part of the coalition plan to enforce the resolution."
  87. 0618: LibyaAlHurra tweets: "Medeor first aid ship arrived yesterday in Misrata under military protection. Hospitals had been short of basics including anaesthetics... Malta&US; provided security support... 'The joy over the relief supplies so far only in the hospital was huge,' said Dr Nagi Idris founder of 'Global Relief for Libya'... Medeor.org is responding to urgent requests for additional relief consignments, which are packed and should arrive by the end of the week."
  88. 0614: Nato member states will meet again in Brussels later on Thursday, after a third day of negotiations failed to agree on who will direct the military operation in Libya when the US relinquishes control. France is still resisting pressure to place Nato in full command. David Schenker, who directs the programme on Arab politics at the Washington Institute, has told the BBC: "It's an odd dynamic. You have the French trying to set up an unprecedented war council, including the input of the Arab countries. I think that you will hear a lot of complaints from the US Congress about chain of command, about whether this is Nato, whether we should be part of this."
  89. 0609: The Guardian's Chris McGreal tweets: "Mohammed Ali, IT engineer at Misrata hospital, tells me Gaddafi assault broken by 12 hours allied air strikes. #Libya."
  90. 0558: Ms Soderberg adds: "We don't really know who's in charge, what's their make-up. The generals planning these operations are very concerned about becoming the air force of the rebels. It is not clear who is going to prevail, or what government will follow. There are a lot of unanswered questions."
  91. 0551: Nancy Soderberg, a former US ambassador to the United Nations, tells the BBC World Service that the international coalition "is not falling apart, but it needs to be strengthened". "This is a rapidly changing situation. It was quite impressive that the European powers and the United States secured UN Security Council resolution for really the first purely humanitarian military operation in our history. The disagreements that existed before and after that vote are now showing themselves. It doesn't mean it will fall apart, but it is very much a fluid situation and dependant very much on how difficult it gets on the ground in Libya. We don't know exactly who the rebels, who the targets are, who the civilians are. It's really quite a complex situation."
  92. 0537: Nicholas Kristof writes in the New York Times: "Doubts are reverberating across America about the military intervention in Libya. Those questions are legitimate, and the uncertainties are huge. But let's not forget that a humanitarian catastrophe has been averted for now and that this intervention looks much less like the 2003 invasion of Iraq than the successful 1991 gulf war to rescue Kuwait from Iraqi military occupation."
  93. 0528: Anne-Marie Slaughter, former Director of Policy Planning at the US State Department tweets: "Supporters of the Lib. opposition must reject the narrative of civil war. This is a ruler using mercenaries against his people."
  94. 0522: Sixty percent of Americans support the allied military action in Libya to impose a no-fly zone to protect civilians, a Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Thursday has found. Of those polled, 48% described President Barack Obama's military leadership as "cautious and consultative", 36% as "indecisive and dithering", and 17% as "strong and decisive". Seventy-nine percent of those surveyed said the US and its allies should try to remove Col Gaddafi. But only 7% supported deploying ground troops.
  95. 0501: Libyan tweets: "I recognise the TNC [Transitional National Council] - as the SOLE legitimate representative of Libyan people."
  96. 0456: Nader Mousavizadeh, writing on the Khaleej Times blog, says there is much to admire in the decision by Nato countries to intervene in Libya. "Having opted for intervention at a time of unprecedented ferment and change among the Arabs, London and Washington have assumed responsibility for a cause far greater than Benghazi or Misrata," he says. "And in an irony that George W. Bush and Tony Blair would appreciate, unseating Gaddafi without the introduction of Western ground troops is likely to require a great deal more luck than wars otherwise offer. The ghost of Iraq is not that easily dispensed with."
  97. 0451: The Wall Street Journal asks: "Can the West win in Libya without a dominant and sustained American role?" "That is the bet President Barack Obama is making as he seeks to define his foreign-policy doctrine by ordering only a limited US military engagement," it says.
  98. 0443: There have been more explosions and anti-aircraft gunfire in Tripoli, the AFP news agency reports.
  99. 0426: Libyan officials took journalists to a hospital in Tripoli early on Thursday to see what they said were the charred bodies of 18 military personnel and civilians killed by air and missile strikes, the Reuters news agency reports.
  100. 0417: Rebel sources in Misrata tell al-Jazeera that the latest casualty figures from the western city are 14 dead and 23 injured.
  101. 0408: NBC's chief foreign correspondent, Richard Engel, was reporting from the frontline outside Ajdabiya when he had to dive to the ground to avoid being hit by an artillery shell. He says five people were killed in the fighting there on Wednesday.
  102. 0354: John Yemma, writing on the Christian Science Monitor blog, says: "The Libyan rebels are weak. Qaddafi's forces are still strong enough to hold territory. Bottom line: While the US may not want to lead, it is difficult to see how the conflict ends without decisive action and a strong US role."
  103. 0341: A doctor in Misrata told the Associated Press that the air strikes had targeted an aviation academy and a vacant lot outside the central hospital. He also said Col Gaddafi's tanks had left the western city afterwards, giving residents a much-needed reprieve. "Today, for the first time in a week, the bakeries opened their doors," he added.
  104. 0333: Mr Kaim also condemned the air and missile strikes for not differentiating between civilians and military personnel. "To start up the national dialogue and get life back to normal, the air strikes should stop immediately," he added. "Today, there have not been any attacks from Libyan forces, from the air or from the ground. And there are no military operations on the ground in Misrata. The situation is just confined to a number of pockets of violence and snipers scattered in different areas of Misrata."
  105. 0328: Coalition aircraft attacked a fuel depot in Tripoli on Wednesday night, Libya's Deputy Foreign Minister Khaled Kaim has told reporters, according to the Associated Press. Other targets on Wednesday were near Benghazi and Misrata, Mr Kaim said.
  106. 0316: Over at the New York Times, Kareem Fahim has this interesting analysis of Libya's rebel leadership. First the anti-Gaddafi forces were disorganised, we are told, then they lacked focus, and now they are reliant on the air-strikes as the army they had bragged about consists of about 1,000 trained men.
  107. 0259: Tariq Alhomayed, writing on the Asharq Al-Awsat blog, says: "The West is correct to criticise the Gulf for not participating in Libya, for the Gulf was supposed to participate, even if just as a symbolic force, like the Joint Peninsula Shield Force. This means that Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Qatar should provide a range of warplanes under a specific name, such as the Gulf Cooperation Council Forces, and not under the name of a particular country, for one simple reason: Egypt today is not ready to play any role, and in fact no one is able to do so other than the Gulf States."
  108. 0252: Al-Arabiya English tweets: "A steering group of countries backing military intervention in Libya will be open to all nations that want to join, could be set up in days"
  109. 0246: The Independent's Robert Fisk is nothing if not outspoken. In Thursday's Independent, he outlines things that could go wrong with military intervention in Libya. "First it was Saddam. Then Gaddafi. Now there's a vacancy for the West's favourite crackpot tyrant," he says.
  110. 0239: Feb17Libya tweets: "Another call from #Misrata via @Feb17voices Doctor says 'Tank fired on building 'very close' (10-20m) to hospital. We heard another explosion just now. We see smoke rising. There are people on rooftops.'"
  111. 0231: Explosions have reportedly rocked Tripoli in recent hours, as air strikes by international forces continue for a fifth night. There have also been reports of air attacks in Jafar, south-west of the capital. They come hours after the commander of British aircraft flying missions over Libya said the international force led by the US, UK and France now controls the skies there. Air Vice Marshall Greg Bagwell said they could now operate with near impunity, as Col Gaddafi's air force no longer existed as a fighting unit.
  112. 0222: What is the cost of military action in Libya for Nobel Peace Prize winning US President Barack Obama? Judged by his actions, the supposedly anti-war president looks almost as warlike as President George W Bush, says the BBC's Andrew North. If you include Mr Obama's increased use of drone strikes in Pakistan and Yemen, he's got the US involved in more conflicts than his much-criticised predecessor, adds our correspondent. And that's leading to rumblings of discontent from both Democrats and Republicans alike.
  113. 0208: Julia Ioffe, writing in the Foreign Policy blog, says: "Clearly, the Kremlin's calculation was that there was no use propping up Libya's sinking ship at the risk of seriously alienating Europe, still Russia's biggest trading partner, and the United States. Russia was never going to support the intervention in Libya, but, in this case, it clearly calculated that remaining silent would reap the far bigger fruit. Not to mention all this disorder has sent the prices of oil and gold - two major Russian commodities - through the roof, and Russia has a not insignificant budget deficit to fill."
  114. 0202: Welcome to anyone just joining the BBC's live coverage of the Libya crisis. Stay with us for the latest updates - reports from our correspondents on the ground, expert analysis, and your reaction from around the world. You can contact us via e-mail, text or Twitter. We'll publish what we can.
  115. 0155: Miles Newton tweets: "heard reports from friends in tripoli that Gaddafi's palace has been raided by western-speaking men"
  116. 0143: Alive in Libya speaks to "engineers turned revolutionaries" in the country about training to fight Col Gaddafi.
  117. 0134: ABC radio in Australia tweets: "A man from #Misurata says the town is suffering&running; out of supplies. Listen here #Libya"
  118. 0125: Randa Takieddine, writing on the Dar Al-Hayat blog, says: "France has done well in mobilizing huge efforts to arrive at United Nations Security Council Resolution 1973, and its implementation, with the participation of Arab and foreign states that were complicit with Gaddafi in recent years, for the sake of his oil and money... This international alliance is not a "crusader war," as some have said. It is a legitimate war, authorized by the Security Council and endorsed by the Arab League, which has also woken up, and this is not something to be sad about."
  119. 0119: More on that reported explosion in Tripoli. Residents tell Reuters: "We heard another explosion just now. We see smoke rising. There are people on rooftops. It seems to be in a military area near the engineering college."
  120. 0115: Bloomberg Businessweek reports that the conflict in Libya may spur sales of a £65m ($106m) Eurofighter warplane.
  121. 0112: Residents report hearing a loud explosion in the Tripoli area, Reuters says.
  122. 0109: CNN's Nic Robertson tweets: "Dep FM: Coalition must recognze ceasefire for all sides - rebels must obey ceasefire too, cannot benefit from coalition airstrikes. Dep FM: Lists coalition strikes in lst 24 hrs, claims all communications in Libya threatened following bombardment in East Tripoli. "
  123. 0105: Peter Beinart, a senior political writer for The Daily Beast, tells CNN it is unclear what, if anything, the US has planned for the future of Libya. "If Gaddafi goes, it will be seen as a success regardless of what follows," he says.
  124. 0100: Fred Kaplan, writing on Slate.com blog, says: "Even if Libya's new leaders carried copies of Thomas Paine in their rucksacks, they would find themselves reigning over a wasteland, and not just physically - a country bereft of democratic traditions, institutions, or the slenderest levers of a civil society. Someone's going to have to step in and spend tens of billions of dollars and devote years or decades of hard effort, to helping the Libyan people develop such things or face the prospect that a nastier group of people, from within or outside, will take over and impose a different sort of social order, a new, perhaps more threatening, dictatorship."
  125. 0057: US ambassador to the UN Susan Rice tweets: "We have a limited task, a focused task, and we've saved lives as a consequence."
  126. 0050: David Paul Kuhn, writing on the RealClearPolitics.com blog, says: "This Libyan operation is titled Odyssey Dawn. The word "odyssey" derives from Homer's tale of Odysseus. That epic voyage took a decade. It's taking longer in Afghanistan, as America's longest war carries on. Libya will not suffer Afghanistan's timeline or the gravity of Iraq's violence. Yet odysseys tend to have short dawns and long dusks. American forces did not declare this war. But how long will it be America's fight?"
  127. 0041: The Obama administration faces increasing pressure at home over US actions in Libya. Republican House Speaker John Boehner has raised questions over the mission's cost, leadership and exit strategy in a letter to the president. Richard Lugar, the top Senate Republican on foreign affairs, has called for prompt hearings on US involvement in Libya, saying Congress was not sufficiently consulted.
  128. 0035: Anderson Cooper from CNN tweets: "Intvd man in misrata #libya. They need ammo, better weapons, and medicine, but says air strikes are helping."
  129. 0022: To recap the latest events, air strikes by coalition forces continue for a fifth night, with explosions reported in the capital, Tripoli. Meanwhile, rebels and residents say that government tanks have shelled the hospital in the rebel-held western city of Misrata, having rolled back in under cover of darkness.
  130. 0010: Welcome to the BBC's live coverage of the Libya crisis. Stay with us for the latest updates - reports from our correspondents on the ground, expert analysis, and your reaction from around the world. You can contact us via e-mail, text or Twitter. We'll publish what we can.

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Key points

  1. Explosions heard in Tripoli as allied air raids continue for a fifth night
  2. Government tanks shell area near the hospital in Misrata
  3. Heavy fighting reported between rebels and government forces in Ajdabiya
  4. French foreign minister says it could take weeks to destroy Gaddafi militarily
  5. Here's our latest news story
  6. Live page reporters: Jude Sheerin and Anna Jones
  7. All times in GMT
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