‘Libya uprising – live updates’

• Muammar Gaddafi will fight until “the last man standing”. • Unrest spreads to capital Tripoli • South Korean-run construction site in Tripoli attacked • Death toll rises to over 230 8.16am: Here is how the Associated Press reported Saif’s 40-minute speech. “We are not Tunisia and Egypt,” he said. “Muammar Gaddafi, our leader, is leading the battle in Tripoli, and we are with him. The armed forces are with him. Tens of thousands are heading here to be with him. We will fight until the last man, the last woman, the last bullet.” In his speech, the younger Gaddafi conceded the army made some mistakes during the protests because the troops were not trained to deal with demonstrators, but he added that the number of dead had been exaggerated, giving a death toll of 84. He offered to put forward reforms within days that he described as a “historic national initiative” and said the regime was willing to remove some restrictions and begin discussions for a constitution. He offered to change a number of laws, including those covering the media and the penal code. Dressed in a dark business suit and tie, Seif al-Islam wagged his finger frequently as he delivered his warnings. He said that if protests continued, Libya would slide back to “colonial” rule. “You will get Americans and European fleets coming your way and they will occupy you. He threatened to “eradicate the pockets of sedition” and said the army will play a main role in restoring order. “There has to be a firm stand,” he said. “This is not the Tunisian or Egyptian army.” 8.03am: This is the start of Saif al-Islam Gaddafi’s rambling nationwide address last night, when he said his father would fight “until the last bullet”. Saif is supposed to be Libya’s modern face, the man who wants the country to move into the 21st century. He has been assiduously courting the world’s foreign media, inviting them to Libya to see how it is adapting to the modern world. But with the regime under threat as it never has been in his father’s long rule, Saif was the man to appear on national TV to wield the regime’s iron fist. To see the video in full, turn off auto refresh at the top of the page. 7.52am: Libya appears to be the latest domino under threat as the wave of popular unrest that began in Tunisia rips through the Arab world. Muammar Gaddafi, who has ruled Libya for 41 years, may soon be following in the footsteps of Tunisia’s Ben Ali and Egypt’s Mubarak, but he is not giving up without a fight. His son, Seif al-Islam, who is supposed to be Libya’s moderniser, last night went on state television to declare that his father remained in charge with the army’s backing and would “fight until the last man, the last woman, the last bullet.” In his rambling and uncompromising comments, the regime’s first on the six days of demonstrations, Seif warned the protesters that they risked igniting a civil war in which Libya’s oil wealth “will be burned.” The Guardian’s coverage of the unfolding crisis in Libya this morning. Libya on brink as protests hit Tripoli : Muammar Gaddafi’s son went on Libyan TV to defend his father’s 41-year rule of Libya as protests spread to the capital Tripoli. Libya protests: gunshots, screams and talk of revolution : Benghazi student says fear of Muammar Gaddafi’s regime is ebbing away . Libya protests: More than 100 killed as army fires on unarmed demonstrators : World leaders condemn Muammar Gaddafi after army launches violent crackdown on pro-democracy protesters in Benghazi . Gaddafi cruelly resists, but this Arab democratic revolution is far from over : The burning question is, where next? After Ben Ali and Mubarak, others may not fall so easily – but most regimes are candidates. Arab and Middle East protests Middle East Libya Yemen Bahrain Egypt Tunisia Algeria Mark Tran guardian.co.uk

Posted by on February 21, 2011. Filed under News, Politics, World News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry