Libya Live Blog - March 6

Libya Live Blog - March 6

As the uprising in Libya continues, we update you with the latest developments from our correspondents, news agencies and citizens across the globe. Al Jazeera is not responsible for content derived from external sites.

• Timestamp: 

  11:59pm

  That's it for today, dear readers. But you can keep up to date with a brand new fresh and shiny liveblog for March 7, by clicking here.

• Timestamp: 

  11:56pm

  Gaddafi appeared on Libyan state TV earlier - just for a few seconds. He appeared to be in Green Square, but state TV didn't give any explanation as to why they didn't stay with it.

  After showing crowds shouting his name, the channel cut back to the studio...

• Timestamp: 

  11:54pm

  A US state department official was asked if the US administration had contacted Drs Mahmoud Jabril and Ali el-Assawi - the two men named by the Libyan "Transitional National Council" as their foreign relations representatives. The US official replied:

  We continue to evaluate the situation which obviously remains very fluid.  We are in contact with the Libyan opposition as events unfold, and we continue to urge Gaddafi to leave power.

   

• Timestamp: 

  11:48pm

  Journalist Ahmad Ali Ahmad tells Al Jazeera from Az Zawiyah, which has seen heavy fighting over the course of the day - but is understood to remain in control of anti-Gaddafi forces, that there has been a new development in the city.

  The families who live in the flats overooking the square in the town centre have started to evacuate because of the repeated air-strikes against that area.

  The Omar Mokhtar street seemed deserted, and most of the buildings were destroyed by the fierce air strikes yesterday and today.

  There were many wounded, but I cannot confirm the numbers.

• Timestamp: 

  11:32pm

  A recording of a phone call sent in to us. The caller describes the sound of gunfire in Tripoli earlier this morning.

  It was not like the other days. Something is happening, and they are trying to cover it up.

   

• Timestamp: 

  11.14pm

  Valerie Amos, the top UN relief official called for urgent humanitarian access to Misrata in western Libya following reports of violence and killings in the area. 
  
  "Humanitarian organizations need urgent access now. People are injured and dying and need help immediately," she said.
  
  "I call on the authorities to provide access without delay to allow aid workers to help save lives."

• Timestamp: 

  10:31pm

  Italian TV news says eight boats of migrants are on their way to the Mediterranean island of Lampedusa and will arrive overnight, after a boat carrying 81 from Libya arrived earlier in the day.

• Timestamp: 

  10:15pm

  After the numbers of people crossing the borders from Libya appears to have dropped dramatically almost overnight, Ahmed Shebani, Libya Relief spokesman, tells Al Jazeera the group is only able to get help to those in the east of the country.

  Tripoli and Az Zawiyah are very difficult to get to at the moment.

  In the east, however, there's stuil a shortage of fuel. The 'interim government' in Benghazi has requested fuel, so their vehicles can move around and attempt to liberate other areas - but they need food and medicines - and they want international recognition as the new government of Libya.

  I've heard they have about 8-10 days of fuel to food suplies, so pretty quickly, this will become a crisis.

• Timestamp: 

  10:00pm

  Hello British people! We're live on UK Freeview TV right now, and for the next few hours. But if you're not there, and not lucky enough to get us on your TV network, you can always tune into our live web feed by clicking here: Watch Al Jazeera Live!  And, of course, if you're struggling to watch us in the US, you could always Demand Al Jazeera on your local cable provider...

• Timestamp: 

  9:50pm

  An anti-Gaddafi fighter - just outside Bin Jawad - brandishes his weapon, demonstrating how he'd treat the Libyan leader, should he find him. "We will kill Gaddafi," he says.

  [Picture: Reuters]

• Timestamp: 

  9:25pm

  We've just received this statement from the Libyan "National Transitional Council", detailing its meeting yesterday. It confirms some of what we've already told you. But here it is, from the horse's mouth. Apologies for the quality of the fax. But that's how we got it, and thought you'd appreciate getting it more quickly than we could re-type it...

  

• Timestamp: 

  9:15pm

  After its first effort went so well, Britain will send a second "diplomatic" team to Libya, "in order to strengthen our dialogue", the UK foreign office has announced. A statement attributed to William Hague said:

  This diplomatic effort is part of the UK’s wider work on Libya, including our ongoing humanitarian support. We continue to press for Gaddafi to step down and we will work with the international community to support the legitimate ambitions of the Libyan people.

• Timestamp: 

  9:12pm

  The twitter account which purports to represent the Libyan "Transitional National Council" announces Omar el-Hariri at its "representative of Military Affairs for safety and security". More to come. Follow them @LibyanTNC

• Timestamp: 

  9:06pm

  The Libyan Transitional National Council expects soon to be formally recognised by some countries, its head told Al Jazeera Arabic. Former justice minister Mustafa Abdul Jalil, formally appointed today to lead the council, said:

  There are official contacts with European and Arab countries. Upon the release later today of a statement, some countries will announce their recognition.

  He also said a military force, led by defecting members of the Libyan army, would make its way to the strategic Mediterranean coast city of Sirte, held by some 4,000 Gaddafi loyalists, before heading on to the capital Tripoli.

• Timestamp: 

  9:00pm

  The "Libyan National Transitional Council", based in the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi, say Gaddafi's troops have been pushed out of Az Zawiyah and Misurata cities, respectively on the west and east of capital Tripoli - in the west of the country.

• Timestamp: 

  8:56pm

  Our colleagues in our London newsroom tell us people appear to have ignored appeals on Twitter for a pro-Gaddafi demonstration called for outside the Libyan embassy in the British capital this afternoon.

  A few dozen anti-Gaddafi protesters turned up, however.

• Timestamp: 

  8:45pm

  The Libya Agency for Relief and Humanitarian Assistance is calling for aid to help shortages of food, medical supplies, fuel supplies and ambulances equipped to perform operations - as well as insulin for diabetics, hygiene pads for patients, water sanitation filters, communications equipment and LPG liquid gas. 

  If you have access to any of those things, you can get in touch with them by clicking here.

• Timestamp: 

  8:20pm

  Commanders of the armed anti-Gaddafi fighters tell Al Jazeera Arabic that they have not received any contact from Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez regarding his offer of mediation talks.

• Timestamp: 

  8:07pm

  A statement from the UK foreign office says it had "a small diplomatic team" which entered Libya and "experienced difficulties". They have now left the country, the statement confirms.

• Timestamp: 

  8:03pm

  Our colleagues at Al Jazeera Arabic report two dead and 30 injured in "hit and run" battles in Bin Jawad - between Ras Lanuf and Sirte - during the day

• Timestamp: 

  8:00pm

  We're getting reports from Misurata that 16 Gaddafi soldiers, and 18 armed anti-Gaddafi fighters, were killed in today's fighting. There are at least 71 wounded, and nine in critical condition, we understand.

  Four 4x4 vehicles with mounted rifles were reportedly captured, and one tank destroyed.

  We're hoping to have someone on the phone, live from Misurata in the next few minutes. Tune in by clicking here.

• Timestamp: 

  7:47pm

  Wondering why it should be Portugal to chair the Libya sanction committee at the UN? Those of you who study your diplomatic sciences will know they already chair the North Korea sanctions panel. Al Jazeera understands they see this extra responsibilty as a reward for their good work...

   

• Timestamp: 

  7:33pm

  An update from the Egyptian foreign ministry: 153,600 Egyptians have now returned home from Libya, while 30,000 citizens of third countries have now also entered.

• Timestamp: 

  7:28pm

  This video has emerged onine in the past few hours, and claims to show the city of Misurata after opposition fighters saw off attacks by Gaddafi's troops. It shows shell-damaged buildings and burnt out tanks. It's on Facebook, so we can't embed it here. To watch it, you'll have to click here. Like the other videos we've been sent via third-party sites, we've got no way of independently verifying its veracity.

• Timestamp: 

  7:15pm

  Al Jazeera's Hoda Abdel Hamid, reporting from Benghazi, reveals more about those newly released British soldiers - apparently on a "diplomatic mission".

  She reports they were found outside the town of Suluq, about 50km south of Benghazi - and at least 200km from any oil installations. British special forces had earlier helped to evacuate oil workers from facilities in the Libyan desert.

  The eight were brought back to Benghazi, handed over to the National Council and rebel commanders.

  One carried a diplomatic passport, while the other seven did not, confirm sources within the new "Libyan Transitional National Council".

  Hoda reports the British said they had entered via the Egyptian border - but none had recent Egyptian entry or exit stamps in their passports.

  Instead, Hoda's sources tell her, anti-Gaddafi fighters near Suluq saw a helicopter landing close to them early on Friday, investigated, came across the eight - and picked them up.

  While claims of being on a diplomatic mission remain credible, she says, members of the National Council are asking: "Why didn't they just establish direct contact with us?"

  While the troops remained tight-lipped when she saw them, Benghazi dock workers told her the first port of call for the HMS Cumberland - which has been evacuating British nationals from Benghazi over the past weeks - would be Malta.

• Timestamp: 

  6:54pm

  The latest blow to Gaddafi's diplomatic corps - now it's the turn of the Libyan general consul in Mali to resign his post.

  He told Al Jazeera Arabic that he had quit, saying "the mission for which he was designated did not materialise". Al-Koni also categorically denied that mercenaries came from the Tuareg tribe, and called on countries and humanitarian organisations to protect the tribe.

• Timestamp: 

  6:44pm

  Al Jazeera's Anita McNaught met an enthusiastic bunch of Gaddafi supporters in central Tripoli. They're not keen on Al Jazeera, but we won't hold that against them...

• Timestamp: 

  6:25pm

  Al Jazeera Arabic reports that Gaddafi has called for an UN or AU inquiry "to review the Libyan situation" and suggested that France could lead the committee. He also renewed his accusation of the Libyan protesters taking hallucination pills - apparently distributed to them by elements of al Qaeda.
  
  Gaddafi again denied he had shot at his people - and that his commanders have not yet decided to attack. He then warned the West against a wave of immigrants into Europe - and of piracy and armed operations by those he described as "the Islamist hardliners".
  
  On freezing his bank accounts and those of his close aides, Gaddafi said he was not in possession of anything but his tent . He defied the world to prove that he had owned a single dinar. 

• Timestamp: 

  6:18pm

  Confirmed: The eight members of a British mission earlier reported 'captured' in Benghazi have boarded the HMS Cumberland and have left the country, Al Jazeera's Hoda Hamid reports.

  She saw them board the boat, and believes they are headed toward Malta. The ship's destination cannot be confirmed.

  She also said she was shown an official letter explaining seven of them were providing the security detail for the eighth, a diplomat, who was attempting to get in contact with opposition forces.

  Members of the opposition have said the eight were released, as anti-Gaddafi groups were also attempting to make contact with international diplomats.

  On the surface, it's seen to be a bit of an embarassing misunderstanding for all sides involved. What more there is to be uncovered remains to be seen.

  Opposition officials said the man carried advanced computer equipment with them, which they will display "in the near future".

  We'll being you details as they emerge...

• Timestamp: 

  5:58pm

  Catherine Ashton, EU foreign minister, has sent a "fact-finding mission" to Libya, led by Italian humanitarian assistance official Agostino Miozzo. Ashton said:

  I have decided to dispatch this high level mission to provide me with first-hand, real-time information to feed into the discussions leading up to Friday's extraordinary European Council when I will update heads of state and government on the situation.

• Timestamp: 

  5:53pm

  A Twitter account purporting to be the voice of the "Libyan Transitional National Council" has just been launched. You can follow it @LibyanTNC

• Timestamp: 

  5:39pm

  Sirte has been developed over the past ten years to become a new capital of Libya, and is packed with those most loyal to Gaddafi, Tarik Yousef of the Dubai School of Government tells Al Jazeera.

  There are many there from Gaddafi's own tribe - and those from his own branch of the tribe.

• Timestamp: 

  5:35pm

  The UN Security Council will name Portugal to head its Libya sanctions committee, Al Jazeera understands - and the first meeting will be held within days.

  Portugal's ambassador Jose Moraes Cabral will be named to head the committee on Tuesday and he will start talks on Wednesday over which other nations will be represented on the panel.

• Timestamp: 

  5:30pm

  Gaddafi's hometown of Sirte is the next target for the armed anti-Gaddafi opposition, says Abdul Jalil, newly appointed head of the "Libyan National Transitional Council".

  This is an attempt to "break the ring that blocks the path" to Libyan capital Tripoli, he says.

• Timestamp: 

  5:27pm

  Mustafa Abdul Jalil, Libya's former justice minister, has been appointed head of the Libyan National Transitional Council in Benghazi, Al Jazeera Arabic reports.

  The new council has also named a further eight of its 31 members, but declined to reveal the rest, citing security fears.

• Timestamp: 

  5:16pm

  Al Jazeera's Tony Birtley, on the road between Ras Lanuf and Bin Jawad, reports four airstrikes on the area, but that Gaddafi's troops have retreated as the armed opposition proceeds westwards along the coast.
  
  This has gone so smoothly for the rebels, everyone is forced to ask: "When are Gaddafi's forces going to strike back?"
  
  I think the people here are driven by enthusiasm more than experience. They do have some heavy weaponry- but many realistic people here are telling me that Sirte is a different ball game.
  
  If that falls, there is little to stop them marching on to Tripoli - so Gaddafi is expected to put up a very strong fight there, just 100km to the west of here. And we have yet to see the full strength of Gaddafi's air power - the helicopter gunships and so on.

• Timestamp: 

  5:05pm

  More from Al Jazeera's Anita McNaught:

  We're now in mid-afternoon and people are still celebrating victories that have not yet been won, and the end of a war that has not yet finished. They are very sincere, but you have to wonder what these people have been told.
  
  Green Square was only about one-fifth full. And the shots of the square on Libyan state TV were filmed quite close - you may have seen some wider shots in our footage ...  Of the four people we recorded, one was Algerian, one was Palestinian and two were Libyan. It's hard to ascertain exactly how representative this crowd is.
  
  And we haven't yet got to the bottom of the heavy gunfire I heard this morning as I stood outside the front of my hotel, you could hear it right across the city - pistols, machine gun fire. But I also did see some of those fireworks in Green Square the authorities were talking about this morning.
  
  Once the sun rose, it definitely took on a more celebratory feel - but it's still unclear what was going on in those pre-dawn hours.

• Timestamp: 

  4:45pm

  Al Jazeera's Anita McNaught, reporting from Tripoli, describes the city as a "parallel universe".

  Celebrations are still continuing for this 'great military victory' that teh people here in Tripoli seem to believe that Colnel Gaddafi's forces have already achieved ...

  A colleague of mine, who works for the British Daily Telegraph, asked a few of the people in Green Square today what they actually did for a job - and after a lot of umming and ahhing, a lot of them admitted to him they were either army or police in civilian clothes filling up the numbers in the square - which, by the way, was not in any way full.

  There is terrible anxiety here about the country falling into sectarian and tribal disunity - and that seems to be the great fear here - and that seems to be what they view as what Muammar Gaddafi's great gift has been - a man - the only man - who could unite Libya and keep it from falling into a thousand pieces by the evil actions of foreign powers and foreign interference - not just Al Jazeera.

• Timestamp: 

  4:18pm

  A doctor in Misurata, named Khaled, tells Al Jazeera:

  I received three dead bodies and many injured people from fighting this morning. We are impartial, we must treat everyone. But we need more drugs and emergency kits. We have a lot of needs.

• Timestamp: 

  4:16pm

  Al Jazeera's Jacky Rowland tells us of the panic on the ground sparked by the airstike in Ras Lanuf.

  People were jumping in their pickup trucks and heading east very quickly. Then when the immediate danger, they stormed west again, toward Bin Jawad, where fighting between pro- and anti-Gaddafi forces continues in the streets.

• Timestamp: 

  4:00pm

  A quick roundup of the current situation:

  Gaddafi's government claims control of Benghazi and Tobruk in the far east of the country - denied by the Gaddafi opposition there. Airstrikes in the rebel-held Ras Lanuf have been reported. There is ongoing fighting in Bin Jawad, halfway between Ras Lanuf and Gaddafi's hometown of Sirte. Az Zawiyah, just west of Tripoli, remains under bombardment.

  The situations in Misurata and Tripoli remain unclear. We will continue to bring you the latest, both here on our liveblog - and on our TV stream. Watch Al Jazeera English now.

• Timestamp: 

  3:54pm

  With severe restrictions on the operation on media workers in areas of Libya still controlled by Gaddafi, it's not always easy to tell exactly what's going on. Al Jazeera's Laurence Lee tells us a tale of two Libyas,

• Timestamp: 

  3:41pm

  Firas Kiyal, of UNHCR - the UN's refugee agency, tells Al Jazeera that 100,000 people have crossed the border into Tunisia at the Ras Jadeer crossing alone.

  There are some 13,500 Bangladeshi citizens in camps just within Tunisia, waiting to be assisted back to their country, he tells us.

• Timestamp: 

  3:37pm

  Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel's prime minister, says there "must be the same determined international action against the tyrannical and brutal regime in Iran" as in Libya.

  Meanwhile, thousands of people flood across the borders to escape the fighting in Libya, amid calls for international action to impose no-fly zones and further economic sanctions.

• Timestamp: 

  3:23pm

  Az Zawiyah, just 40km west of capital Tripoli, is coming under renewed airstrikes, Al Jazeera Arabic reports.

• Timestamp: 

  3:11pm

  The city of Misurata, 200km east of Tripoli, has also been attacked - from three directions, Al Jazeera is told.

  Further east, there have been deaths among anti-Gaddafi fighters in Bin Jawad, as they also came under renewed attack.

  But the opposition forces have vehemently denied Libyan state TV reports that Gaddafi's troops had re-taken control of Az Zawiyah, Misurata, Ras Lanuf and Tobruk.

• Timestamp: 

  3:05pm

  Az Zawiyah is still under attack, being shelled from the west, as tanks attempt to enter the city, Al Jazeera Arabic reports.

  Political activist Abdel Fatah said:

  Gaddafi tanks attacked the city, supported by armoured vehicles ... some tanks are now under siege by rebels inside a main square of the city.

• Timestamp: 

  3:01pm

  Awad Al Quairi, a physician at a Ras Lanuf medical centre, told Al Jazeera Arabic he had come from Benghazi to help the injured in Ras Lanuf. He said that he had received two dead bodies and 19 injured people - one in critical condition - after recent fighting.

• Timestamp: 

  2:55pm

  Our colleagues at Al Jazeera Arabic report from Benghazi that anti-Gaddafi fighters shot down two Libyan air force jets between Bin Jawad and Ras Lanuf, and that two pilots - both reportedly Syrians - have been arrested.

  The reporter said "a large number" of volunteer fighters are moving west from Benghazi to reinforce the fight against Gaddafi troops.

• Timestamp: 

  2:46pm

  There is now heavy fighting going on in towns and cities across the Libyan coast. As such, we're going to be getting conflicting reports as to exactly what's going on. But we will bring you breaking reports as we get them, and update our main stories on our Spotlight: Libya Uprising page once details are confirmed.

• Timestamp: 

  2:41pm

  Libyan state TV announces wide-ranging tax cuts. It says:

  The general public committee has decided to reduce customs on basic commodities to zero per cent and to reduce customs on all other commodities to only five per cent. It also decided to remove all consumption and production taxes. The new changes were made on the occasion of the victory of our great people over the terrorist gangs.

• Timestamp: 

  2:12pm

  Residents in Az Zawiyah say that the city is under heavy artillery attacks from the West and tanks are trying to enter the city. Also, electricity, communication lines, and internet are reported to have been cut.

  Abdel Fatah, a political activist, says that in Misurata, Gaddafi's tanks attacked the city, supported by armored vehicles - some tanks are now under siege by rebels inside a main square in the city.

• Timestamp: 

  2:07pm

  Khaled, a resident of Bin Jawad, tells Al Jazeera that rebels are back in control of the town.

• Timestamp: 

  1:55pm

  Libyan government forces are attacking Misurata with tanks and heavy artillery, according to local residents - Reuters reports.

• Timestamp: 

  1:32pm

  Al Jazeera's Anita McNaught, reporting from Tripoli said that at the moment there is victory celebration going on, "but before dawn it was something different".

  "One possible scenario is that internally in Tripoli there was a big crackdown and they have covered the story of that by talking about this celebratory shooting. This is the collective hunch of the journalists here."

  Do you know what happened this morning?

• Timestamp: 

  1:27pm

  Pope prays for victims of Libyan fighting and urges aid for growing humanitarian crisis.

• Timestamp: 

  12:54pm

  The British Defence Minister has admitted there is a small diplomatic team in Libya, after four UK citizens were captured in Benghazi.

  Liam Fox would only confirm the UK has a small diplomatic team in the rebel-held town of Benghazi.

• Timestamp: 

  12:40pm

  Rebel fighters gather in the oil-rich town of Ras Lanuf as Libyan state television claimed that the town had been recaptured by loyalist forces [AFP].

  

• Timestamp: 

  12:09pm

  Aircraft that appears to be a unmanned drone spotted by Al Jazeera's Jacky Rowland in Ras Lanuf.

• Timestamp: 

  12:05pm

  Libyan oppositions forces shoot down a government helicopter during fighting in the east.

• Timestamp: 

  11:51am

  Rebel forces fall back to Ras Lanuf from positions to the west, while firing at government helicopters, Reuters reports.

• Timestamp: 

  11:10am

  The Associated Press news agency reports Libyan warplanes have launched airstrikes on an anti-Gaddafi force advancing towardthe Libyan leader's stronghold of Sirte.

  An AP television crew saw the airstrikes targeting the rebels on Sunday.

• Timestamp: 

  10:49am

  Greek authorities say three people died and 28 others have been hospitalized on the southern island of Crete.

  They were found on a beach near where two ships carrying migrant workers evacuated from Libya recently arrived. 

  The Merchant Marine Ministry says authorities were checking whether the 31 men, mainly from Bangladesh, had jumped overboard from two ships that docked arlier Sunday in Crete with a total of about 2,000 evacuees evacuated from Libya, in an attempt to avoid being transferred home.

• Timestamp: 

  10:37am

  Reports coming in that Libyan armed forces loyal to Gaddafi have attacked opposition forces in the east Libyan town of Bin Jawad, near Ras Lanuf.

  Also, fighter jets have struck near Ras Lanuf and Az Zawiyah, according to witnesses on the ground.

• Timestamp: 

  10:32am

  Funerals have been held in Benghazi for some of at least 39 people killed in an explosion at an arms dump on Friday. The attack is being blamed on Gaddafi's forces. 

  At least 130 more were wounded after the arms depot was struck by two air missiles fifteen minutes apart. Fire Fighters tried to quell a subsequent fire but were blown away by another explosion that ripped through the army base.

  A local doctor says body parts have been found strewn amongst the debris.

• Timestamp: 

  10:09am

  Everything in the Libyan conflict depends on who you believe, and in the capital, Tripoli, they believe Gaddafi's forces have taken back control of the towns of Az-Zawiyah and Misrata from the rebels.

  But witnesses have told Al Jazeera the government claims are false.

• Timestamp: 

  9:53am

  The opposition council based in the rebel-held eastern city of Benghazi is pushing for international recognition.

  The National Council leader, Mustafa Abid Jalil, told Al Jazeera a number of former diplomats have been appointed to key posts.

• Timestamp: 

  9:34am

  Bashir Abudl Gadir, a rebel commander in east Libya, says that his forces had pushed westwards and now controlled the town of al-Nawfaliyah.
  
  The town of al-Nawfaliyah is west of Bin Jawad, which rebels took on Saturday.

• Timestamp: 

  9:13am

  Mohammed Ali, speaks live to Al Jazeera from Misurata. He is a member of the civil committee for Misurata affairs, part of the National Council run by anti-Gaddafi protesters. He says that they are firmly in control of the city and are prepared for any attack by Gaddafi's forces.
• Timestamp: 

  9:05am

  Anita McNaught, reporting from Tripoli, says that the gunfire has been going on for 3 hours now. I saw police cars taking off from our hotel but I have no seen any engagement. As the morning progressed, we saw pro-Gaddafi forces on foot and in their vehicles, chanting in celebration.

• Timestamp: 

  8:44am

  Kashmiri cartoonist Malik Sajad sent us this cartoon commenting on Gaddafi's response to the popular protests in his country.

  

• Timestamp: 

  8:35am

  AFP correspondent reports that Ras Lanuf was still in the control of rebels, countering claims by Libya state TV that it had been recaptured after its loss on Friday.

  A number of foreign journalists were staying in a hotel on the western outskirts of Ras Lanuf and there were no sounds of any fighting around the town during the night.

• Timestamp: 

  8:31am

  Here is another photo of the Libyan Airforce jet that was shot down by rebel forces.

  

• Timestamp: 

  8:17am

  The British Ministry of Defence is refusing to confirm or deny a newspaper report saying several of its elite soldiers have been arrested by rebel forces in eastern Libya.

  The Sunday Times says up to eight SAS troops were on a secret mission to contact opposition leaders, when they were detained.

• Timestamp: 

  8:13am

  Al Jazeera has learned that despite UN sanctions, India, China and Austria are still buying Libyan oil, legally. These three oil fields provide Gaddafi's regime with 80 per cent of its revenue. In 2010, exports were around 1.3 million barrels a day, last week it was 600,000 a day. This image shows the locations of the oil fields:

  

• Timestamp: 

  8:05am

  Libyan state TV now showing scenes of crowds celebrating in Tripoli's Green Square and repeating claims that Az Zawiyah, Misurata and Tobruk have all been recaptured by Gaddafi's forces. 

  However, rebel groups say that they are still in control of these areas.

• Timestamp: 

  7:50am

  State TV says that forces loyal to Gaddafi have recaptured the third city of Misurata and the oil town of Ras Lanuf taken by rebels on Friday.

  But Sadoun Misrata, speaking live to Al Jazeera from Misurata says that there is absolutely no truth to those claims.

  He said that the army in Misurata has sided with the people, but the only concern at the moment was the kidnapping of opposition members by Gaddafi loyalists.

• Timestamp: 

  7:40am

  Al Jazeera's Evan Hill sent through this blog post from Libya: Westbound rebels raise questions.

  

• Timestamp: 

  7:36am

  Reuters reports that Libyan State TV quotes military sources saying that government forces are headed to Benghazi, the biggest rebel stronghold.

• Timestamp: 

  7:22am

  Nasser Wedday, an activist and blogger, says that plane that was shot down by opposition forces is a Su-24 plane.

  The numbers on it also reveal that the plane is from Squadron 1124 which is based at the Ghurdabiya-Sirte Air Base in Sirte, just half-way to Benghazi.

  Weddady says that this can be confirmed by a military expert or by consulting Jane's World Defence which gives the order of battle of the Libyan airforce - specifies which base has which squadron, and type of plane is at each base.

  He says it is very strange that MiG 23's have not been used yet, as these are meant to be the backbone of the Libyan airforce. Weddady says that this could be because of pilot defections or the abscense of ground crews.

• Timestamp: 

  7:02am

  Anita McNaught says that gunfire can still be heard in Tripoli, but she also heard and saw fireworks - she was also told by a government representative that the noise was from a celebration by government forces. Mussa Ibrahim, a government spokesman, said:

  Everything is safe. Tripoli is 100 percent under control. What you are hearing is celebratory fireworks. People are in the streets, dancing in the square.

• Timestamp: 

  6:45am

  Untrained Libyan rebels are advancing west rapidly, taking oil installations that many thought would be heavily defended by troops loyal to longtime leader Muammar Gaddafi. As they get closer to Sirte, Gaddafi's birthplace, they are trying to impose some kind of order on the road, and many wonder what kind of resistance - if any - they'll meet. Al Jazeera's web producer sent through this video from Libya.

• Timestamp: 

  6:26am

  Tripoli resident tells Al Jazeera that they are hearing lots of gunfire that is coming from the downtown area.

• Timestamp: 

  6:24am

  A group of volunteers have worked with different NGOs to put together a comprehensive crisis map that aims to support humanitarian preparedness operations. Have a look at the map here: http://libyacrisismap.net/main

  

• Timestamp: 

  6:19am

  Al Jazeera's Anita McNaught reports from the capital Tripoli where she says that there has been gunfire heard since this morning. She says it is not possible to identify who is firing and why.

• Timestamp: 

  6:10am

  In the west of Libya, rebels claim to have taken full control of the oil port of Ras Lanuf. Some government soldiers in the strategic town have reportedly switched sides.

• Timestamp: 

  6:00am

  An emblem of the Libyan air force can be seen in this image taken from video of the wreckage of what rebel opposition fighters say was a plane that they shot down near the north central town of Ras Lanuf on March 05, 2011. The rebel force said that the two pilots of the plane died. [AFP]

  

• Timestamp: 

  2:10am

  US military flights carrying dozens of Egyptian refugees from Libya have arrived from the capital Cairo, an official told AFP news agency.
  
  Military planes had taken off from Djerba airport in Tunisia as part of an international effort to evacuate refugees from the unrest in Libya.

• Timestamp: 

  1:25am

  Tanks manned by forces loyal to Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi  fired on houses when they launched a fresh assault on the town of Az Zawiyah, near the capital, witnesses told AFP news agency. The self-declared national council established by anti-government forces fighting to overthrow Gaddafi declared itself the sole representative of the country.

• Timestamp: 

  1:06am

  State television in Libya is reporting that life in the capital Tripoli is normal. Analysts say this is important for the government of Muammar Gaddafi to assert their authority.

• Timestamp: 

  12:00am

  Our live blog continues here today. If you missed anything from March 5, get it here.