Libya Live Blog - April 13

Libya Live Blog - April 13

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: 

  11:10pm

  More on that line about France not arming the anti-Gaddafi fighters:

  The source, who was at "bilateral talks" (dinner) with Sarkozy and Cameron in Paris, said France did not believe UN resolution 1973 prohibited arming the rebels to defend themselves against Muammar Gaddafi's army.

  But France sees "no reason today" to send weapons.

  
  We are not doing it. And nor are the British as far as I know...It's a decision that's been taken but that does not mean we oppose those that do ...

  It doesn't seem necessary today because the national transition council is not having problems finding the weapons they need and friends to show them how to use them.

• Timestamp: 

  10:57pm

  The US and NATO deny they are using weapons loaded with Depleted Uranium tips, but that has met with a sceptical reaction. Conn Hallinan, of the US Foreign Policy In Focus thinktank tells Russia Today:

  ...after examining the impact wounds left on tanks in Libya, he is almost certain that depleted uranium is being utilized. “Politically, it’s a bad idea. Medically, it’s an extremely bad idea. It’s just one of those things that’s an effective weapon that you have to step away from,” says Hallinan, who attests that, why the element is both affordable and powerful, “It’s just a very, very bad idea.”

  For the full article, click here.

• Timestamp: 

  10:46pm

  A "presidential source" tells Reuters that France is not planning to arm anti-Gaddafi fighters in Libya.

• Timestamp: 

  10:35pm

  Libya's National Transitional Council was pleased with today's summit in Doha, it appears... Abdel Hafiz Ghoga told reporters in Benghazi:

  The results of the Doha meeting today were very positive. No solution for Libya can be achieved without the departure of the Gaddafi regime.

• Timestamp: 

  10:29pm

  Anti-Gaddafi fighters are in talks to buy weapons from "friendly countries" that had recognised the Transitional National Council as the sole representative of the Liyan people (ie - Italy, France and Qatar). National Council spokesman Abdel Hafiz Ghoga told reporters:

  I don't think there will be a problem getting weapons. We have our representatives in discussions with these countries...and their responses have been positive.

• Timestamp: 

  9:45pm

  More from today's Libya summit in Doha, Qatar, just round the corner from our offices...

• Timestamp: 

  9:42pm

  Libya's official JANA news agency said today's air strike in Misurata had hit a civilian area.

  But Mohammed Abdullah, a Misurata activist and a professor, said residents had mostly evacuated that part of Misrata several weeks ago after Gaddafi troops stormed it. He told AFP:

  Gaddafi troops are misleading NATO ... The Gaddafi forces turn the shops into weapon caches and then claim that the areas are residential.

• Timestamp: 

  9:39pm

  NATO air strike have hit an ammunition bunker outside Tripoli, a NATO official told the AFP news agency.

  Libya's official JANA news agency said there were air strikes in three other places: Misrata, Libya's third-largest city; Sirte, a Gaddafi stronghold and home to the Libyan leader's tribe; and Aziziyah, about 35km) south of Tripoli.

• Timestamp: 

  9:35pm

  British prime minister David Cameron is having dinner with French president Nicolas Sarkozy in Paris. On the menu? Apparently a discussion of how they can further help Libya's opposition. Cameron said:

  Britain and France are at the heart of this coalition, and with President Sarkozy I am going to be sitting down to make sure that we leave no stone unturned in doing everything we can militarily, diplomatically, politically to enforce the UN resolution, to put real pressure on Gaddafi, and to stop the appalling murder of civilians.

• Timestamp: 

  9:19pm

  Gaddafi's troops are getting harder to spot from the air, a French air commander has said. Onboard the Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier, an officer who identified himself as Herve, told the Associated Press:

  There is obviously a degree of savoir-faire on the part of Gaddafi's forces that we haven't seen before.

• Timestamp: 

  8:59pm

  At the meeting of the Libya Contact Group in Doha, Qatar, international diplomats have given the Transitional National Council a new level of recognition.

  The group agreed to set up a "trust fund" for the Benghazi-based council after uniting to demand longterm leader Muammar Gaddafi step down.

  Al Jazeera's James Bays was at the meeting in Doha and spoke to William Hague, British foreign secretary.

• Timestamp: 

  8:07pm

  Benghazi's Garyounis University has become home to nearly 100 families, crammed into 80 dorm rooms.

  It is hosting families who have fled Brega and Ajdabiya, volunteers tell Reuters. New resident, 40-year-old Abdelgader Sabr said:

  We came here to protect our children. Gaddafi's army has no morals. Most of the time we just follow the news now.

  All of the basics are here, there's electricity and food, but it's not comfortable.

• Timestamp: 

  8:00pm

  Good evening, London! You can now watch our TV channel live on the UK Freeview network. Right now, President Obama is refusing to renew "tax cuts for the rich" - but we'll keep you up to date on the latest news and analysis from Libya, Mexico, the EU meeting in Brussels about Palestinian statehood... and a Bollywood dancing policeman in Indonesia.

  Would you really want to miss all that? But if you don't live in the UK, you can always tune in online, by clicking here.

  And, if you live in the United States, why not Demand Al Jazeera?

• Timestamp: 

  7:34pm

  And here the latest from the US military: 11 US jet fighters - 6 F16s and 5 EA18s - have flown "Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses (SEAD)" 97 sorties since April 4 (when lead transitioned to NATO).  

  "On three occasions, ordnance was fired by those aircraft.  We do not characterize those as "strikes" because SEAD is considered a defensive, vice offensive, mission."

   

  These aircraft are "chopped" to NATO for use in this mission -- their employment doesn't require a request to DoD.  This mission has been flown by U.S. aircraft since the start and has continued under NATO.

• Timestamp: 

  7:24pm

  Sheikh Khaled bin Ahmed al Khalifa, Bahrain's foreign minister, and NATO chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen were among those in attendance at today's Libya Contact Group meeting in Doha.

  

  [Photo: Reuters]

• Timestamp: 

  7:15pm

  Libyan Foreign Minister Abdelati Laabidi has flown into Cyprus, as Gaddafi's administration pressed a fresh diplomatic offensive among Mediterranean nations. A Cypriot government official said:

  The foreign minister of Libya, Abdelati Laabidi, arrives in Cyprus today and will have discussions with Foreign Minister Marcos Kyprianou tomorrow .

  Mr Laabidi has also visited Greece, Malta and Turkey.

  The minister, who was recently named to replace Moussa Koussa - now in Qatar - travelled to Cyprus through Tunisia, through the main Ras Jedir border post and taking a flight from Tunisia's southern Djerba-Zarzis airport, the state TAP news agency said.

• Timestamp: 

  6:41pm

  The biggest news to come out from the conference was that (i) a 'trust fund'  will be set up for the Libyan Transitional National Council, and (ii) the leaders came together to say that Gaddafi must stand down.

  You can catch up with it all by reading our main story... By clicking here:

  

• Timestamp: 

  6:15pm

  So, a quick update on what happened in today's Libya Contact Group meeting in Doha.

  Here are the highlights of the final communique:

  Particpants agreed:

  - A political solution is the only way to bring lasting peace to Libya and reaffirmed their strong commitment to the sovereignty, indpendence, territorial integrity and national unity of libya

  - United in believing that Gaddafi's continued presence would treaten any resolution of the crisis

  - Participants agreed the need to monitor any potential threat from "extremist elements" who could seek to take advantage of the situation in Libya

  - Participants noted that gaddafi's regime was weakening as his followers left him

  - Participants support eforts of the UN to help the Libyan people develop a political transition plan, consitutional and electoral processes.

  - Participants agreed to continue to provide support to the opposition including material support and humanitarian aid.

  - Participants agree that a temporary financial mechanism could provide  method for the inc and intl community to manage revenue to assist with the short term financial requirement and structural need in libya

  - Participants said approx 3.6million people could need humanitarian assistance.

• Timestamp: 

  6:10pm

  Apologies to our regular readers - we've been having some problems with the liveblog today.

  But now we're back! And we'll keep you updated with all the reaction to the Libya Contact Group meeting held here in Doha, Qatar, today...

  Thanks for your patience!

• Timestamp: 

  10:20am

  British prime minister David Cameron and French president Nicolas Sarkozy will hold talks in Paris about the military operation in Libya.

  The talks come amid a public rift between with the US over the NATO-led Libya campaign, which has failed to rout Gadhafi's forces after three weeks of airstrikes.

  Sarkozy's office says in a statement that the British and French defence chiefs will also join the talks in Paris over dinner this evening.

  France says NATO is not doing enough, and British and French officials say Washington's military strength is needed to ensure the mission's success. But the Obama administration insisted Tuesday that the US will stick to its plan to remain in the back seat.

• Timestamp: 

  10:18am

  Oil fields controlled by the rebels producing 100,000 barrels per day (bpd) of crude oil but only a "minimal amount" is being exported, a rebel spokesman said.

  The rebels have managed to export some 1 million barrels of crude this month with the aid of Qatar but have not received any cash for the crude, said Mahmud Awad Shammam, press secretary for Libyan National Council.

  Meetings of the Libya Contact Group are about to start in Qatar for talks on Libya's future, and will include representatives of the Libya National Council rebel group.

  The group will ask Western governments to provide $1.5 billion in aid to help meet the needs of civilians in rebel-controlled areas and would like to arrange to receive humanitarian aid in return for oil shipments, Shammam said.

• Timestamp: 

  10:15am

  Al Jazeera's Sonia Gallego has a preview of the international meeting in Doha on the situation in Libya:

• Timestamp: 

  9:42am

  The opening remarks of the opposition talks in Doha are postponed until 10:30GMT. You can follow our coverage of that meeting via the Al Jazeera Live Stream. 

• Timestamp: 

  9:26am

  The African Union is seeking a way to establish a ceasefire in Libya and is trying to convince rebels in the eastern city of Benghazi to join in the effort, a spokesman for the group said.

  Despite the collapse this week of an African Union-sponsored peace plan, Nouredin Mezni, spokesman for the chairman of the African Union Commission, said he hoped a ceasefire could be established "hopefully within days or hours".

  "It is up to the people of Libya when we talk about political reform, we have to let Libyan people to choose their leader," Mezni said.

  Foreign ministers are meeting in Qatar for talks on Libya's future, and are due to hear from representatives of the rebel national council based in eastern Libya.

• Timestamp: 

  09:20am

  Libyan rebel and opposition leaders have gatheredat the Ritz Carlton in Doha. The opening remarks will begin at 8GMT. You can follow this live on Al Jazeera.

• Timestamp: 

  08:10am

  Libyan rebels seeking international recognition are to tell world powers at a meeting in the Qatari capital Doha that Muammar Gaddafi's removal from power is the only way out of their country's deepening crisis.

  Among those expected to come to the Doha talks is Moussa Koussa, Libya's former foreign minister, who fled to Britain last month after he defected. He has reportedly arrived in Qatar to meet Libyan rebels.

  Koussa, a long-time top aide to Gaddafi, will not formally participate in the meeting but is expected to hold talks on the sidelines, British sources said.

  "He's not connected to (the rebel) Transitional National Council in any way or shape," Mustafa Gheriani, a media liaison official of the rebels, said.

  Gheriani added that he was personally surprised to learn that Koussa was leaving Britain to attend the Qatar talks, and suggested that British officials should explain why he was going and in what capacity.

• Timestamp: 

  0:34am

  A month after his first visit, the French intellectual-activist Bernard-Henri Levy told a large crowd in Benghazi on Tuesday that "the courage of the Libyan people won my admiration."

  You have stopped the tanks of the dictator.

  Some commentators have been sceptical over Levy’s interest in Libya. See his interview with Al Jazeera’s Riz Khan last month here.