Libya Live Blog - March 12

Libya Live Blog - March 12

• Timestamp: 

  11:10pm

  Ali Hassan Al Jaber's death marks the first instance of a journalist killed in the line of duty in Libya:
  
   

• Timestamp: 

  10:30pm

  Steve Clemons, from the Washington Note, witnessed the moment Al Jazeera's director-general heard the news of Ali Hassan Al Jaber's death. 
  
  Read his post here - Tears for a Journalist: Change in the Middle East Comes at High Cost.
• Timestamp: 

  10:22pm

  Al Jazeera's Tony Birtley, reporting from Benghazi, said: "Ali Hassan Al Jaber was hit by three shots, and was wounded through the heart. Ali then died in hospital."

  "This is an extension of the campaign against Al Jazeera, and Al Jazeera Arabic particularly - because everyone here watches Al Jazeera Arabic. Their work has been heroic, and it has been a great shock to lose a colleague," he said.

• Timestamp: 

  10:18pm

  Al Jazeera's producer in Benghazi says crowds there are chanting: "With our souls with our blood, we'll protect you Al Jazeera".

• Timestamp: 

  10:08pm

  Al Jazeera has issued this statement:
  
  Al Jazeera condemns the cowardly crime, which comes as part of the Libyan regime's malicious campaign targeting Al Jazeera and its staff. 
  
  Al Jazeera reiterates the assault can not dent its resolve to continue its mission, professionally enlightening the public of the unfolding events in Libya and elsewhere. 
  
  Al Jazeera stresses it will relentlessly prosecute and bring to justice all perpetrators and their accomplices.
• Timestamp: 

  9:40pm

  At least three Al Jazeera Arabic team members were with Al-Jaber in the car when the attack occurred.
  
  Bibah Wild Mehadi, who was sitting next to Al-Jaber, was unhurt in the attack.
  
  Bibah said the Al Jazeera cameraman was shot with more than one bullet, one of which probably hit his heart. The attack happened on Saturday afternoon, around 4:30pm local time.

• Timestamp: 

  9:34pm

  Al Jazeera cameraman Ali Hassan Al Jaber has been killed in an ambush near Benghazi reportedly by Gaddafi forces.

  Wadah Khanfar, the director-general of Al Jazeera, said the network will not be silent after the death of Al Jaber.
  
  Profile photo: Ali Hassan Al Jaber

• Timestamp: 

  8:35pm

  Amr Moussa, the Arab League secretary-general, was asked how it would be possible to avoid "military action" while imposing a no-fly zone. 
  
  He replied by saying that it could be implemented through jamming Libyan military signals, however, if other measures are required, it will be up to the UN Security Council to decide.

  
  Youssef Bin Alawi Abdullah, the Omani foreign minister, added that if foreign military intervention is to take place at any point then it will be discussed further by the Arab League and a reaction should be expected. 
  
  

  The United States has welcomed the Arab League support for a no-fly zone over Libya, saying it signaled "unified" international pressure on Gaddafi's regime to halt the violence. 
• Timestamp: 

  8:10pm

  The Arab League's decision lays the groundwork for foreign powers to consider a no-fly zone over Libya. The league also reportedly decided to recognise a rebel council as the representative of the Libyan people.

  
  The decision, announced on Egyptian state television, ends weeks of debate among Arab nations, overcoming widespread resistance to the idea of foreign intervention in an Arab state. 
  
  Al Jazeera's James Bays, reporting from the capital Cairo, puts it all into perspective: 

  
  
• Timestamp: 

  7:50pm

  "The Arab League has officially requested the UN Security Council to impose a no-fly zone against any military action against the Libyan people," Amr Moussa, the Arab League secretary-general, said after a meeting of the group.
  
  Youssef Bin Alawi Abdullah, the Omani foreign minister, said the resolution was passed "unanimously".
• Timestamp: 

  7:44pm

  The Arab League says the Libyan regime has "lost legitimacy through its crimes". 

• Timestamp: 

  7:40pm

  The Arab League says it rejects any "foreign military" intervention against the Libyan people.

• Timestamp: 

  7:38pm

  The Arab League asks the UN Security Council to impose a no-fly zone over Libya.
• Timestamp: 

  7:24pm

  A Brazilian reporter who was freed from detention in Libya has urged Gaddafi's government to release a colleague from a British newspaper who is still held in the violence-wracked country.

  
  Andrei Netto says he believes he was released after eight days because of "good ties'' between Brazil and Libya.
  
  He fears for the fate of colleague Ghaith Abdul-Ahad, an Iraqi national working for The Guardian.
• Timestamp: 

  6:58pm

  Al Jazeera is hearing reports that despite earlier rumours the Arab League will not call for a no-fly zone but instead will ask the UN Security Council to discuss the issue.

  According to reports, the League could not get a unanimous vote which is required under article six of the Arab League constitution which states that when a member country is threatened by an Arab League proposal - the vote must be unanimous.

• Timestamp: 

  6:08pm

  The Arab League has called on the UN Security Council to impose a no-fly zone on Libya, Egyptian state television reported, a decision that would give a regional seal of approval that NATO has said is needed for any military action. 
  
  The state television also said the Arab League had decided to open channels of communication with a Libyan rebel council based in Benghazi. The League said the council represented the Libyan people, the channel reported.

  
  League officials say the body has already been in touch with the rebels about the situation on the ground in Libya.
• Timestamp: 

  5:58pm

  Al Jazeera's Nick Clark has the latest from the town of Tobruk - in Libya's east: 
  
  

• Timestamp: 

  5:38pm

  Three Dutch marines held in Libya by Gaddafi forces have arrived back in the Netherlands.

• Timestamp: 

  5:35pm

  Robert Gates, the US defence secretary, said the US military and other allies could impose a no-fly zone on Libya but it remains unclear if it would be a "wise" move.

  "This is not a question of whether we or our allies can do this. We can do it," Gates said aboard his plane after a visit to Bahrain.

  "The question is whether it's a wise thing to do and that's the discussion that's going on at a political level."

• Timestamp: 

  5:30pm

  German banks including the Bundesbank have frozen over $13.8bn in Libyan assets following a European Union decision, Der Spiegel reported in its edition to be published on Monday.

  
  The frozen funds are in 193 accounts in 14 banks, including one with a balance of $2.72bn at the central Bundesbank, the German newsweekly said.
• Timestamp: 

  5:15pm

  Egyptian officials say two US vessels have crossed the Suez Canal en route to the Mediterranean Sea to be close to Libya.

  The nuclear-powered submarine USS Providence and Destroyer USS Mason have entered the canal from the Red Sea.

  The officials said the warships are part of the American carrier battle group led by the USS Enterprise. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to speak to the media.

  US military officials have ordered warships into the Mediterranean in case they are needed for Libya-related operations ranging from humanitarian assistance to possible military action.

• Timestamp: 

  5:07pm

  The press officer for the Arab League has told Al Jazeera's producer Adam Makary that Yemen has announced that it is against the proposal for a no-fly zone over Libya.

• Timestamp: 

  4:40pm

  Libyan government forces have launched an attack on the town of Misrata, seeking to retake the last remaining rebel holdout in the west of the country.

  "We are hearing shelling. We have no choice but to fight," Gemal, a rebel spokesman, told the Reuters news agency.

  Another rebel, Mohamad Ahmed, said he could hear the sound of anti-aircraft guns getting closer to the city centre. 

  A resident, who gave his name only as Mohammed, confirmed an attack by Gaddafi's loyalists was under way: "I can hear loud explosions, everybody is rushing home, the shops have closed and the rebels are taking positions in the neighbourhoods". 
  

  Some government troops fighting for control of Misrata have defected and joined the rebellion, according to a rebel spokesman.

  Rebels in Misrata said forces loyal to Gaddafi have failed to retake the rebel-held town.

• Timestamp: 

  4:21pm

  Libyan rebels concede defeat at eastern oil port town of Ras Lanuf to pro-Gaddafi forces, but vow to fight back:
  
  

   

• Timestamp: 

  3:01pm

  Youssef bin Alawi bin Abdullah, the Omani foreign minister, has called for "Arab intervention" in Libya in his opening remarks at the Arab League meeting.
  
  

  He said the Libyan crisis poses a threat to the stability of Arab states.

   
  

  "What is needed now is Arab intervention using mechanisms of the Arab League and at the same time in accordance with international law," the foreign minister said. 
• Timestamp: 

  12:51pm

  As the Arab League meets in Cairo to debate whether it will back the imposition of a no-fly zone on Libya, Gaddafi's forces continue their advance into the east. The latest town to fall is Brega.

  Go to our latest news story on Libya.

• Timestamp: 

  9:10am

  A senior official at the Arab League told Al Jazeera's Ayman Mohyeldin that the Arab League will on Saturday be considering cutting off ties with the government of Muammar Gaddafi and acknowledge and recognise the National Council in Benghazi as the sole legitimate representative of the Libyan people.

  This will still require a vote by the member States but it will be on the agenda for discussion along with endorsing a no-fly zone.

  The Arab States are divided and there is no guarantee this will happen, but nonetheless, the proposal will be discussed.

  (Because the Arab League could not physically impose a no-fly zone, so this would require foreign, non-military intervention to impose one. Yet the body has already issued a statement rejecting foreign intervention in Libya).

  The Arab League at the end of the day may also issue a statement calling on Gaddafi to step down from power a step already taken by European countries and the US, Mohyeldin notes.

• Timestamp: 

  8:56am

  The leaders of South Africa, Uganda, Mauritania, Congo and Mali will form a panel that will travel to Libya shortly to help end the violence there, the African Union announced late on Friday.

  "The ad hoc committee was set up ... to engage with all parties in Libya, facilitate in an inclusive dialogue among them, and engage AU partners ... for the speedy resolution of the crisis in Libya," the bloc said.

  At a meeting of heads of state on Thursday, the head of the AU's Peace and Security Council, Ramtane Lamamra, said events in the north African country needed "urgent African action" to bring about an end to the hostilities.

  The AU has rejected foreign military intervention in Libya, where forces loyal to leader Muammar Gaddafi are battling with rebels seeking to end his 42-year-old rule.

• Timestamp: 

  1:12am

  The UN secretary general has appointed a special envoy to Libya, Ban Ki Moon is resisting pressure to take sides in the conflict, this is what he had to say on the issue on whether or not the rebel Libyan national council in Benghazi should be recognised as the de facto government.
  
  
  
  

• Timestamp: 

  1:07am

  Al Jazeera's online producer Evan Hill tweets:

  
  
  No fighting I know of in Benghazi, but sounds are strange and a bit worrying. Remember the Rajma ammo dump explosion. All is not well.

• Timestamp: 

  0:30am

  AFP news agency reported that Abdurrahman Mohamed Shalgham, Libya's Ambassador to the United Nations while speaking at the National Press Club in Washington he proposed to replace the government of Moamer Kadhafi with the Transitional National Council of Libya.
  
  

• Timestamp: 

  0:00am

  More pictures coming in from AFP of today's fighting in eastern Libya. All taken in Ras Lanuf, the first image shows a rebel fighter reloading his weapon, the second a fire at an oil tank, and the third smoke rising from a bomb crater left by a Libyan air force fighter jet's bombardment.