– The rumors of Moammar Gadhafi's Venezuelan vacation are greatly exaggerated: The embattled Libyan leader made a bizarre, minute-long appearance on state TV at 2am local time, declaring, "I am in Tripoli and not in Venezuela. Do not believe the channels belonging to stray dogs." Gadhafi appeared in a small vehicle, reports MSNBC, and was holding an umbrella; it has rained heavily in Tripoli for two days. Gadhafi may not have fled, but his regime is crumbling around him, with diplomats and a minister resigning, pilots who were ordered to fire on protesters defecting, and reports of up to 160 dead in the chaos. "What we are witnessing today is unimaginable," an activist tells al-Jazeera. "Warplanes and helicopters are indiscriminately bombing one area after another. There are many, many dead. Our people are dying. It is the policy of scorched earth."

Expand this summary.
Leader appears on state TV briefly to signal defiance in the face of mounting revolt against his 41-year rule. 
  
 There have been widespread reports that Libyan soldiers have used live ammunition on protesters [Reuters] Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi has appeared on state television to signal his defiance in the face of a mounting revolt against his 41-year rule. 
  
  
  
 "I am in Tripoli and not in Venezuela. Do not believe the channels belonging to stray dogs," Gaddafi told Libyan state TV, which said he was speaking outside his house on Tuesday. LIVE BLOG On Monday, William Hague, the British foreign minister, had suggested that Gaddafi had fled to Venezuela, a report that the government of that country denied. Gaddafi, in his first televised appearance since protests to topple him began last week, was holding an umbrella in the rain and leaning out of a van. 
  
  
  
 "I wanted to say something to the youths at the Green Square (in Tripoli) and stay up late with them but it started raining. Thank God, it's a good thing," Gaddafi said in a 22-second appearance. 
  
  
  
 State TV reported earlier that pro-government demonstrations were taking place in Green Square in the capital. 
  
  
  
 Libyan forces loyal to Gaddafi have fought an increasingly bloody battle to keep the veteran leader in power with residents reporting gunfire in parts of the capital Tripoli and warplanes reportedly bombing protesters. Scores of people have been reported killed in continuing violence in Tripoli amid escalating protests across the north African nation. "In a sense this is a pariah regime that will not have any chance of governing anymore and the international community could come to terms on whether this is a genocide and whether there should be international intervention to protect the Libyan people from the militias of the regime," said Marwan Bishara, Al Jazeera's senior political analyst. 
  
  
  
 "We've heard even a NATO spokesman saying that the Libyan regime should stop committing war crimes against its people so I think there is momentum out there but certainly it's not quick enough." Deep cracks were showing and Gaddafi seemed to be losing vital support, as Libyan government officials at home and abroad resigned, air force pilots defected and major government buildings were targeted during clashes in the capital. At least 61 people were killed in the capital city on Monday, witnesses told Al Jazeera. Protesters called for another night of defiance against the Arab world's longest-serving leader, despite a crackdown by authorities 'Unacceptable bloodshed' Libya's deputy ambassador to the United Nations, Ibrahim Dabbashi, spoke to Al Jazeera Hillary Clinton, the US secretary of state, has said it is "time to stop this unnacceptable bloodshed" in Libya. 
  
  
  
 A group of army officers issued a statement urging fellow soldiers to "join the people" and help remove Gaddafi. 
  
  
  
 The justice minister resigned in protest at the "excessive use of violence" against protesters and diplomats at Libya's mission to the United Nations called on the Libyan army to help overthrow "the tyrant Muammar Gaddafi". 
  
  
  
 Both Libya and Venezuela denied reports that Gaddafi had fled to the South American country. Two Libyan fighter jets landed in Malta, their pilots defecting after they said they had been ordered to bomb protesters, Maltese government officials said. Libyan authorities have cut all landline and wireless communication in the country, making it impossible to verify many reports. With reports of large-scale military operations under way in Tripoli, a spokesperson for Ban Ki-moon said the UN chief held extensive discussions with Gaddafi on Monday, condemned the escalating violence in Libya and told him that it "must stop immediately”. UN, Arab League meetings The UN Security Council will hold a closed-door meeting on Tuesday to discuss the crisis in Libya, diplomats said. 
  
  
  
 They said the meeting, referred to as "consultations", had been requested by Ibrahim Dabbashi, the Libyan deputy ambassador, and would start at 1400 GMT. 
  
  
  
 Dabbashi and other diplomats at Libya's mission to the UN on Monday said they sided with protesters in Libya. 
  
  
  
 Earlier, Hamad Bin Jassim Bin Jabr Al-Thani, Qatar's prime minister and foreign minister, called for an extraordinary meeting of the Arab League to take place on Tuesday. 
  
  
  
 The aim is to discuss the current crisis in Libya and to put additional "pressure" on the government, Al-Thani told Al Jazeera. He said the international community must act now. "I feel a big sympathy for the Libyan people. We don't accept using force in this way or any way against the people or against any nation from their governments," he said. The comments came just hours after Ahmed Elgazir, a human-rights researcher at the Libyan News Centre (LNC) in Geneva, Switzerland, told Al Jazeera that security forces were "massacring" protesters in Tripoli. Speaking to Al Jazeera, Ahmad Jibreel, a Libyan diplomat, confirmed that the justice minister, Mustapha Abdul Jalil, had sided with the protesters. Jibreel further said that key cities near Libya's border with Egypt were now in the hands of protesters, which he said would enable the foreign media to enter the country. Meanwhile, the Egyptian military on Tuesday said it was reinforcing the border with Libya, but that it would leave it open throughout the day for those who require medical or other assistance. The army says it has set up two field hospitals and camps to receive Egyptians and Libyans who cross the border into Egypt. ||||| A suggestion that Gadhafi may have fled was fueled when British Foreign Secretary William Hague said he had "some information" the dictator was heading for Venezuela. 
  
 U.K.-based opposition activist Ahmed Sawalem, who is keeping in touch with protesters in Libya, told msnbc.com that there were reports of planes bombing a weapons store south of Benghazi in Ajdabiya "so the protesters cannot get hold of them, to use them to fight." He said a number of people in the area were thought to have been killed in the attack. 
  
 Sources said the fighter pilots defected because they would not fire on the Tripoli protesters. 
  
 They had left from a base near Tripoli and had flown low over Libyan airspace to avoid detection. They arrived shortly after two civilian helicopters carrying seven people claiming to be French landed after a flight from Libya. 
  
 Fighter pilots claim asylum Reuters reported that two Libyan fighter jets flown by Libyan air force colonels were granted permission to land in Malta after asking for political asylum. 
  
 A group of Libyan army officers issued a statement urging fellow soldiers to "join the people" and help remove Gadhafi, Al Jazeera reported on Monday. 
  
 Communications into the capital appeared to have been cut, and mobile phones of residents could not be reached from outside the country. State TV showed images of hundreds of Gadhafi supporters rallying in central Green Square Monday evening, waving pictures of the Libyan leader and palm fronds. 
  
 Snipers had taken position on the roofs of buildings around Tripoli, apparently to stop people from outside the capital from joining the march, according to Mohammed Abdul-Malek, a London-based opposition activist in touch with residents. 
  
 Gadhafi's regime appeared to be preparing a new major assault in the capital Monday night. State TV at nightfall announced that the military had "stormed the hideouts of saboteurs" and called on the public to back the security forces as protesters called for a new demonstration in central Green Square and in front of Gadhafi's Tripoli residence. 
  
 "But I think Gadhafi is going to put up a fight ... in Libya more than any other country in the region, there is the prospect of serious violence and outright conflict," he said. 
  
 "These really seem to be last, desperate acts. If you're bombing your own capital, it's really hard to see how you can survive, " said Julien Barnes-Dacey, Control Risks' Middle East analyst. 
  
 An analyst for London-based consultancy Control Risks said the use of military aircraft on his own people indicated the end was approaching for Gadhafi. 
  
 One of Gadhafi's sons, Seif al-Islam, has vowed that his father and security forces would fight "until the last bullet." 
  
 "The toll is also likely to rise because of the shortage of medicine which the country is facing," the statement said. 
  
 The International Federation for Human Rights said in a statement Monday that at least 300 to 400 people had been killed since Feb. 15, citing the Libyan League for Human Rights, which is a member of the federation. 
  
 The accounts came as deep cracks opened in Gadhafi's regime, with diplomats abroad and the justice minister at home resigning, air force pilots defecting and a fire raging at the main government hall after the clashes in the capital Tripoli. Protesters called for another night of defiance in Tripoli's main square despite the government's heavy crackdown. 
  
 Another man, identified only as “Victory,” told msnbc.com after touring Tripoli, “We could hear firing every 15 minutes, I don’t know from where really.” 
  
 "Our people are dying. It is the policy of scorched earth," he said. 
  
 "What we are witnessing today is unimaginable," Adel Mohamed Saleh, an activist in the capital, told Al Jazeera television. His accounts could not be independently confirmed. "Warplanes and helicopters are indiscriminately bombing one area after another. There are many, many dead. 
  
 Gadhafi spoke hours after reports that Libyan military aircraft fired live ammunition at crowds of anti-government protesters in Tripoli on Monday. 
  
 "I am in Tripoli and not in Venezuela. Don't believe those misleading dog stations," he said, referring to media reports that he had left the country. 
  
 Gadhafi was seated in the passenger seat of a small vehicle holding an umbrella up through the open door. It had been raining in the capital for two days. His remarks were aired about 2 a.m. local time (7 p.m. Monday ET). 
  
 Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi appeared for less than a minute Tuesday morning on state television and made brief remarks to say he was in the capital Tripoli and to deny rumors he had fled to Venezuela amid the violent revolt against his 41-year rule. 
  
 However, a senior government source in Caracas denied that and a U.K. official said Hague had been referring only to unconfirmed media reports. 
  
 Leaders break with Gadhafi 
  
 Libya's ambassadors at the United Nations called for Gadhafi to step down as the country's ruler. Deputy Ambassador Ibrahim Dabbashi said Monday that if Gadhafi does not relinquish power, "the Libyan people will get rid of him." 
  
 The staff of Libya's mission to the United Nations declared allegiance to the people of Libya, instead of to Gadhafi, a spokesman said Monday. 
  
 "The members of the Libyan mission are representing only the Libyan people and not anyone else," the spokesman, Dia al-Hotmani, said by telephone. 
  
 Justice minister Mustafa Abdel-Jalil reportedly resigned from his post to protest the "excessive use of force against unarmed protesters." 
  
 The Libyan ambassador to the United States also said he could no longer support Gadhafi, and the ambassador to India resigned. Almost all Libyan diplomats at the United Nations backed deputy ambassador Ibrahim Dabbashi's pleas to Gadhafi to end his 40-year rule and to the international community to intervene. 
  
 A Libyan diplomat in China, Hussein el-Sadek el-Mesrati, told Al-Jazeera, "I resigned from representing the government of Mussolini and Hitler." 
  
 Libya's former ambassador to the Arab League in Cairo, Abdel-Moneim al-Houni, who a day earlier resigned from his post to side with protesters, issued a statement demanding Gadhafi "be put on trial along with his aides, security and military commanders over the mass killings in Libya." 
  
 "Gadhafi's regime is now in the trash of history because he betrayed his nation and his people," al-Houni said. 
  
 The U.N. spokesperson's office said late Monday that the Security Council had scheduled consultations on the situation in Libya for Tuesday morning. 
  
 Earlier, Dabbashi had said he was writing to the Security Council calling for action to stop the bloodshed. 
  
 As diplomatic support for Gadhafi began to crumble, Dabbashi warned that if he doesn't leave, "the Libyan people will get rid of him." 
  
 Celebration in Benghazi 
  
 Protesters celebrated in the streets of the country's second largest city, Benghazi, claiming they were in control after days of bloody fighting and after anti-government unrest. Celebrating protesters raised the flag of the country's old monarchy, toppled in 1969 by a Gadhafi-led military coup, over Benghazi's main courthouse and on tanks around the city. 
  
 "Gadhafi needs one more push and he is gone," said Amal Roqaqie, a lawyer at the Benghazi court, saying protesters are "imposing a new reality ... Tripoli will be our capital. We are imposing a new order and new state, a civil constitutional and with transitional government." 
  
 Cars honked their horns in celebration and protesters in the streets chanted "Long live Libya." 
  
 There were fears of chaos as young men — including regime supporters — seized weapons from the Katiba and other captured security buildings. "The youths now have arms and that's worrying," said Iman, a doctor at the main hospital. "We are appealing to the wise men of every neighborhood to rein in the youths." 
  
 Youth volunteers were directing traffic and guarding homes and public facilities, said Najla, a lawyer and university lecturer in Benghazi. She and other residents said police had disappeared from the streets. 
  
 After seizing the Katiba, protesters found the bodies of 13 uniformed security officers inside who had been handcuffed and shot in the head, then set on fire, said Hassan, also a doctor. He said protesters believed the 13 had been executed by fellow security forces for refusing to attack protesters. 
  
 Rage in Tripoli 
  
 The capital was largely shut down, with schools, government offices and most stores closed, as armed members of pro-government organizations called "Revolutionary Committees" circulated in the streets hunting for protesters in Tripoli's old city, said one protester, named Fathi. 
  
 During the day Monday, a fire was raging at the People's Hall, the main hall for government gatherings where the country's equivalent of a parliament holds its sessions several times a year, the pro-government news web site Qureyna said. 
  
 The man identified as "Victory" told msnbc.com that telephone service went down at around 3 p.m. local time. 
  
 He said he saw helicopters overhead and a column of six tanks as he traveled through the city in the afternoon. He said for the most part the streets were empty of residents, but he came across security forces with machine guns. 
  
 Among the buildings attacked by protesters was the Ministry of Defense headquarters on Omar El Mokhtar Street, which was on fire, he said. 
  
 At 7:45 p.m. he said he saw military planes flying near the ground, close enough to see that they were full of passengers. 
  
 The man, who spoke to msnbc.com from the home he shares with his parents and four sisters and brothers, denied that the country was in the midst of a civil war. 
  
 “The situation on the streets is not a war,” he said. “The people don’t have anything, they use rocks, sometimes knives. We don’t have guns, we don’t have anything to fight them with.” 
  
 He said the residents of Tripoli were especially angered and frightened by the presence of what he called African militias brought in to fight protesters. 
  
 The last straw for many people was the speech Sunday night by Gadhafi ‘s son. 
  
 “The people, they want freedom,” he said. “Maybe 10 years ago, 20 years ago they would have listened. But not now — I don’t think we can accept that anymore … his father is not welcome in Libya anymore.” 
  
 The government “has fallen,” he said. “Gadhafi is not good for Libya.” Protesters planned new marches in the central Green Square and at the leader's residence for Monday evening. 
  
 Sunday evening, protesters from various parts of the city streamed into Green Square, all but taking over the plaza and surrounding streets in the area between Tripoli's Ottoman-era old city and its Italian-style downtown. That was when the backlash began, with snipers firing down from rooftops and militiamen attacking the crowds, shooting and chasing people down side streets, according to several witnesses and protests. 
  
 Gadhafi supporters in pickup trucks and cars raced through the square, shooting automatic weapons. "They were driving like mad men searching for someone to kill. ... It was total chaos, shooting and shouting," said one 28-year-old protester. 
  
 The witnesses reported seeing casualties, but the number could not be confirmed. One witness, named Fathi, said he saw at least two he believed were dead and many more wounded. After midnight, protesters took over the main Tripoli offices of two state-run satellite stations, Al-Jamahiriya-1 and Al-Shebabiya, one witness said. 
  
 Fight 'to the end' 
  
 “The overwhelming sentiment among Libyans is, ‘prepare to see this fight for our freedom to the end,’” Tarik Yousef, dean of the Dubai School of Government and a Libyan-American, told msnbc.com. “This is a 42-year dictatorship of the worst possible kind.” 
  
 “I think what happened in Libya is to some extent connected with what happened in Egypt and Tunisia," Yousef said. "There has been a huge contagion effect running across the three countries. The demonstration of the capacity of the public to effect change is a huge factor in what has happened.” 
  
 “I think this is an historic moment from the perspective of modern Arab history," Yousef said. "I can’t go back to the modern period and find a moment that resembles this kind of widely expressed people’s power movement that we see at the moment.” 
  
 Yousef has family in Benghazi and friends in Tripoli. 
  
 “The conditions for disintegration of the regime base are there,” Yousef said, noting the resignations of diplomats, the Libyan mission to the United Nations staff distancing itself from Gadhafi, and even the flying of the Libyan flag of independence at the Libyan Embassy in London. 
  
 “All of these are developments that suggest that a lot of the power base of the regime is slowly disintegrating and crumbling.” 
  
 “When you have tribes that have access to oil installations within their vicinity and can in fact affect the supply of oil — threaten to use that — that’s another source of weakening of the regime.” 
  
  
  
 International alarm 
  
 Gadhafi's regime has unleashed the bloodiest crackdown of any Arab country against the wave of protests sweeping the region, which toppled the leaders of Egypt and Tunisia. 
  
 U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon spoke to Gadhafi Monday by telephone, expressing deep concern over the escalating violence and saying it must stop immediately, a statement obtained by NBC News said. 
  
 The U.S. State Department ordered all embassy family members and non-emergency personnel in Libya to leave the nation, NBC News reported. It also urged Americans to delay travel to Libya or if already there to use extreme caution. 
  
 Violence and looting could continue for several days, it warned. 
  
 The White House said on Monday that it was analyzing Seif's speech to see what offers of meaningful reform it contained, NBC News reported. 
  
 Seif promised "historic" reforms in Libya if protests stop, and on Monday state TV said he had formed a commission to investigate deaths during the unrest. Protesters ignored the vague gestures. 
  
 Officials would seek more information from Libyan officials and reiterate the White House's call for the Libyan government to avoid using violence against those protesting peacefully and respect their rights, NBC added. 
  
 British Prime Minister David Cameron, visiting neighboring Egypt, called the Libyan government's crackdown "appalling." 
  
 "We can see what is happening in Libya which is completely appalling and unacceptable as the regime is using the most vicious forms of repression against people who want to see that country — which is one of the most closed and one of the most autocratic — make progress. The response they have shown has been quite appalling," he told reporters in Cairo. 
  
 The European Union on Monday sharply criticized Libyan authorities. The EU foreign ministers condemned "the ongoing repression against demonstrators in Libya and deplores the violence and death of civilians," said a statement released after the regular monthly meeting of the bloc's 27 foreign ministers. 
  
 EU President Herman Van Rompuy said in a separate statement he was "horrified by the growing number of human casualties among demonstrators." 
  
 Fragmentation is a real danger in Libya, a country of deep tribal divisions and a historic rivalry between Tripoli and Benghazi. The system of rule created by Gadhafi — the "Jamahiriya," or "rule by masses" — is highly decentralized, run by "popular committees" in a complicated hierarchy that effectively means there is no real center of decision-making except Gadhafi, his sons and their top aides. 
  
 Seif has often been put forward as the regime's face of reform and is often cited as a likely successor to his father. Seif's younger brother Mutassim is the national security adviser, with a strong role in the military and security forces, and another brother Khamis heads the army's 32nd Brigade, which according to U.S. diplomats is the best trained and best equipped force in the military. 
  
 Oil price jumps 
  
 The spiraling turmoil in Libya, an OPEC country that is a significant oil supplier to Europe, was raising international alarm and pushing oil prices sharply higher. 
  
 The oil price jumped $4.13 to $90.13 a barrel in the U.S. market for crude on fear the unrest could disrupt supplies. 
  
 Two leading oil companies, Statoil and BP, said they were pulling some employees out of Libya or preparing to do so. 
  
 Portugal sent a plane to pick up its citizens and other EU nationals and Turkey sent two ferries to pick up construction workers stranded in the unrest-hit country. 
  
 EU foreign ministers were discussing on Monday the possible evacuation of European citizens. Mobs attacked South Korean, Turkish and Serbian construction workers at various sites around the country, officials from each country said. 
  
 Benghazi's airport was closed, according to an airport official in Cairo. A Turkish Airlines flight trying to land in Benghazi to evacuate Turkish citizens Monday was turned away, told by ground control to circle over the airport then to return to Istanbul. |||||
– Ryktena om Moammar Gaddafis venezuelanska semester är mycket överdrivna: Den libyska ledaren gjorde ett bisarrt, minutlångt framträdande på delstats-TV klockan 2 på lokal tid, och förklarade: "Jag är i Tripoli och inte i Venezuela. Tro inte på de kanaler som tillhör herrelösa hundar." Gaddafi dök upp i ett litet fordon, rapporterar MSNBC, och höll ett paraply; det har regnat kraftigt i Tripoli i två dagar. Gaddafi kanske inte har flytt, men hans regim håller på att vittra runt honom, med diplomater och en minister som avgår, piloter som beordrats att skjuta på demonstranter som hoppar av, och rapporter om upp till 160 döda i kaoset. "Det vi bevittnar idag är ofattbart", berättar en aktivist för al-Jazeera. "Krigsflygplan och helikoptrar bombar urskillningslöst det ena området efter det andra. Det finns många, många döda. Vårt folk är döende. Det är den brända jordens politik." Utöka denna sammanfattning.
– Rumors of Moammar Gaddafi's Venezuelan holiday are very exaggerated: The Libyan leader made a bizarre, minute-long appearance on state television at 2:00 p.m. in local time, explaining: "I'm in Tripoli and not in Venezuela. Do not believe in the channels of stray dogs." Gaddafi appeared in a small vehicle, reports MSNBC, and held an umbrella; it has been raining heavily in Tripoli for two days. Gaddafi may not have fled, but his regime is crumbling around him, with diplomats and a minister resigning, pilots ordered to shoot at protesters dropping out, and reports of up to 160 dead in the chaos. "What we are witnessing today is unimaginable," an activist tells al-Jazeera. "Warplanes and helicopters indiscriminately bomb one area after another. There are many, many dead. Our people are dying. It's the politics of the burned earth." Extend this summary.
Ledaren dyker upp på statlig TV för att kort signalera trots inför den ökande revolten mot hans 41-åriga styre. Det har förekommit omfattande rapporter om att libyska soldater har använt levande ammunition mot demonstranter [Reuters] Libyska ledaren Muammar Gaddafi har framträtt i statlig TV för att signalera sitt trots mot en växande revolt mot hans 41-åriga styre. "Jag är i Tripoli och inte i Venezuela. Tro inte på kanalerna som tillhör herrelösa hundar," berättade Gaddafi för libysk statlig TV, som sade att han talade utanför sitt hus på tisdag. LIVE BLOG I måndags hade William Hague, den brittiske utrikesministern, föreslagit att Gaddafi hade flytt till Venezuela, en rapport som regeringen i det landet förnekade. Gaddafi, i sitt första TV-sända utseende sedan protester för att störta honom började förra veckan, höll ett paraply i regnet och lutade sig ut ur en skåpbil. "Jag ville säga något till ungdomarna på Gröna torget (i Tripoli) och stanna uppe sent med dem men det började regna. Tack gode Gud, det är bra", sade Gaddafi i ett 22 sekunder långt framträdande. Delstats-TV rapporterade tidigare att regeringsvänliga demonstrationer ägde rum på Green Square i huvudstaden. Libyska styrkor som är lojala mot Gaddafi har utkämpat en allt blodigare strid för att hålla veteranledaren vid makten med invånare som rapporterar skottlossning i delar av huvudstaden Tripoli och krigsflygplan som uppges bomba demonstranter. Mängder av människor har rapporterats döda i det fortsatta våldet i Tripoli mitt under eskalerande protester över hela den nordafrikanska nationen. "På sätt och vis är detta en pariaregim som inte kommer att ha någon chans att styra längre och det internationella samfundet skulle kunna komma till rätta med om detta är ett folkmord och om det bör ske internationella ingripanden för att skydda det libyska folket från regimens miliser", sade Marwan Bishara, Al Jazeeras höga politiska analytiker. "Vi har hört en talesman från Nato säga att den libyska regimen borde sluta begå krigsförbrytelser mot sitt folk så jag tror att det finns fart där ute men det är verkligen inte snabbt nog." Djupa sprickor visade sig och Gaddafi tycktes förlora vitalt stöd, då libyska regeringstjänstemän hemma och utomlands avgick, flygvapenpiloter hoppade av och större regeringsbyggnader riktades mot vid sammandrabbningar i huvudstaden. Minst 61 personer dödades i huvudstaden i måndags, vittnen berättade Al Jazeera. Protestare krävde ytterligare en natt av trots mot arabvärldens ledare som tjänstgjort längst, trots ett ingripande från myndigheterna "Oacceptabel blodsutgjutelse" har Libyens ställföreträdande ambassadör i FN, Ibrahim Dabbashi, talat med Al Jazeera Hillary Clinton, USA:s utrikesminister, sagt att det är " dags att stoppa denna oacceptabla blodsutgjutelse" i Libyen. En grupp arméofficerare utfärdade ett uttalande där de uppmanade medsoldater att "ansluta sig till folket" och hjälpa till att avlägsna Gaddafi. Justitieministern avgick i protest mot det "överdrivna bruket av våld" mot demonstranter och diplomater vid Libyens beskickning till Förenta nationerna uppmanade den libyska armén att hjälpa till att störta "tyrannen Muammar Gaddafi". Både Libyen och Venezuela förnekade rapporter om att Gaddafi hade flytt till det sydamerikanska landet. Två libyska jaktflygplan landade på Malta, deras piloter hoppade av efter att de sagt sig ha beordrats att bomba demonstranter, sade maltesiska regeringstjänstemän. Libyska myndigheter har skurit ner all fast telefoni och trådlös kommunikation i landet, vilket gör det omöjligt att verifiera många rapporter. Med rapporter om storskaliga militära operationer som pågår i Tripoli sade en talesperson för Ban Ki-moon att FN-chefen höll omfattande diskussioner med Gaddafi i måndags, fördömde det eskalerande våldet i Libyen och sade till honom att det "måste upphöra omedelbart". FN, Arabförbundets möten FN:s säkerhetsråd kommer att hålla ett möte med stängda dörrar på tisdagen för att diskutera krisen i Libyen, sade diplomater. De sade att mötet, kallat "samråd", hade begärts av Ibrahim Dabbashi, Libyens vice ambassadör, och skulle börja klockan 1400 GMT. Dabbashi och andra diplomater på Libyens uppdrag i FN i måndags sade att de ställde sig på demonstranters sida i Libyen. Tidigare uppmanade Hamad Bin Jassim Bin Jabr Al-Thani, Qatars premiärminister och utrikesminister, till ett extra möte i Arabförbundet som skulle äga rum på tisdag. Syftet är att diskutera den rådande krisen i Libyen och att sätta ytterligare "tryck" på regeringen, berättade Al-Thani för Al Jazeera. Han sade att världssamfundet måste agera nu. "Jag känner stor sympati för det libyska folket. Vi accepterar inte att använda våld på detta sätt eller på något sätt mot folket eller mot någon nation från deras regeringar", sade han. Kommentarerna kom bara timmar efter Ahmed Elgazir, en forskare inom mänskliga rättigheter vid Libyska nyhetscentret (LNC) i Genève, Schweiz, berättade för Al Jazeera att säkerhetsstyrkor "massakrerade" demonstranter i Tripoli. Ahmad Jibreel, en libysk diplomat, bekräftade att justitieministern Mustafa Abdul Jalil hade ställt sig på demonstranternas sida. Jibreel sade vidare att nyckelstäder nära Libyens gräns mot Egypten nu var i händerna på demonstranter, vilket han sade skulle göra det möjligt för utländska medier att komma in i landet. Under tiden sade den egyptiska militären i tisdags att den förstärkte gränsen till Libyen, men att den skulle lämna den öppen hela dagen för dem som behöver medicinsk eller annan hjälp. Armén säger att den har inrättat två fältsjukhus och läger för att ta emot egyptier och libyer som korsar gränsen till Egypten. Ett förslag om att Gaddafi kan ha flytt tankades när den brittiske utrikesministern William Hague sade att han hade "viss information" diktatorn var på väg mot Venezuela. Den brittisk-baserade oppositionsaktivisten Ahmed Sawalem, som håller kontakt med demonstranter i Libyen, berättade för msnbc.com att det fanns rapporter om flygplan som bombade en vapenaffär söder om Benghazi i Ajdabiya "så demonstranterna inte kan få tag på dem, för att använda dem för att slåss." Han sa att ett antal personer i området troddes ha dödats i attacken. Källor sa att stridspiloterna hoppade av för att de inte skulle skjuta mot Tripoli-demonstranterna. De hade lämnat från en bas nära Tripoli och hade flugit lågt över libyskt luftrum för att undvika upptäckt. De anlände kort efter att två civila helikoptrar med sju personer som påstod sig vara fransmän landat efter en flygning från Libyen. Stridspiloter söker asyl Reuters rapporterade att två libyska jaktflygplan som flögs av libyska flygvapenöverstar fick tillstånd att landa på Malta efter att ha begärt politisk asyl. En grupp libyska arméofficerare utfärdade ett uttalande där de uppmanade medsoldater att "ansluta sig till folket" och hjälpa till att avlägsna Gaddafi, rapporterade Al Jazeera i måndags. Kommunikationer till huvudstaden verkade ha skurits ner, och man kunde inte nå de boendes mobiltelefoner från länder utanför landet. Delstats-TV visade bilder på hundratals Gaddafi-anhängare som samlades på centrala Gröna torget måndagskvällen och viftade med bilder av den libyske ledaren och palmfronderna. Krypskyttar hade tagit ställning på taken på byggnader runt Tripoli, uppenbarligen för att hindra människor från utanför huvudstaden från att ansluta sig till marschen, enligt Mohammed Abdul-Malek, en Londonbaserad oppositionsaktivist i kontakt med invånare. Gaddafis regim verkade förbereda ett nytt stort överfall i huvudstaden måndag kväll. Delstats-TV vid skymningen meddelade att militären "stormat sabotörernas gömställen" och uppmanade allmänheten att backa upp säkerhetsstyrkorna då demonstranterna krävde en ny demonstration på centrala Green Square och framför Gaddafis residens i Tripoli. "Men jag tror att Gaddafi kommer att sätta upp en kamp ... i Libyen mer än något annat land i regionen, det finns utsikter till allvarligt våld och ren konflikt," sade han. "Dessa verkar vara sista, desperata handlingar. Om man bombar sitt eget kapital är det svårt att se hur man kan överleva, säger Julien Barnes-Dacey, Control Risks Mellanösternanalytiker. En analytiker för London-baserade konsulttjänster Control Risks sade att användningen av militära flygplan på sitt eget folk indikerade slutet närmade sig för Gaddafi. En av Gaddafis söner, Seif al-Islam, har lovat att hans far och säkerhetsstyrkor skulle strida "intill den sista kulan". "Tolken kommer sannolikt också att stiga på grund av den brist på medicin som landet står inför", sade uttalandet. Internationella federationen för mänskliga rättigheter sade i ett uttalande på måndag att minst 300 till 400 människor hade dödats sedan 15 februari, med hänvisning till Libyska förbundet för mänskliga rättigheter, som är medlem i federationen. Räkenskaperna kom som djupa sprickor öppnade i Gaddafis regim, med diplomater utomlands och justitieministern hemma avgår, flygvapenpiloter hoppar av och en brand rasar i regeringshuset efter sammandrabbningarna i huvudstaden Tripoli. Protesterna krävde ännu en trotsig natt på Tripolis torg trots regeringens kraftiga repressalier. En annan man, identifierad endast som "Victory", berättade msnbc.com efter att ha turnerat i Tripoli, "Vi kunde höra bränning varje 15 minuter, jag vet inte varifrån egentligen." "Vårt folk dör. Det är den brända jordens politik, sade han. "Det vi bevittnar idag är ofattbart", berättade Adel Mohamed Saleh, en aktivist i huvudstaden, för Al Jazeera TV. Hans räkenskaper kunde inte bekräftas självständigt. "Krigsflygplan och helikoptrar bombar urskillningslöst det ena området efter det andra. Det finns många, många döda. Gaddafi talade timmar efter rapporter om att libyska militära flygplan avfyrade levande ammunition mot folkmassor av regeringsfientliga demonstranter i Tripoli i måndags. "Jag är i Tripoli och inte i Venezuela. Tro inte på dessa vilseledande hundstationer," sade han och hänvisade till medias rapporter om att han hade lämnat landet. Gaddafi satt i passagerarsätet på ett litet fordon som höll upp ett paraply genom den öppna dörren. Det hade regnat i huvudstaden i två dagar. Hans kommentarer sändes omkring klockan 02.00 lokal tid (7.00 måndag ET). Den libyske ledaren Moammar Gaddafi framträdde i mindre än en minut tisdagsmorgon i statlig TV och gjorde korta anmärkningar för att säga att han befann sig i huvudstaden Tripoli och för att förneka rykten hade han flytt till Venezuela mitt i den våldsamma revolten mot hans 41-åriga styre. En högre regeringskälla i Caracas förnekade dock detta och en brittisk tjänsteman sade att Haag endast hade syftat på obekräftade medierapporter. Ledare bryter med Gaddafi Libyens ambassadörer vid FN uppmanade Gaddafi att avgå som landets härskare. Vice ambassadör Ibrahim Dabbashi sade måndagen att om Gaddafi inte avstår från makten kommer "det libyska folket att göra sig av med honom". Personalen vid Libyens beskickning till Förenta nationerna förklarade sig trohet till Libyens folk, istället för till Gaddafi sade en talesman måndagen. "Medlemmarna i det libyska uppdraget representerar bara det libyska folket och inte någon annan", sade talesmannen Dia al-Hotmani per telefon. Justitieminister Mustafa Abdel-Jalil uppges ha avgått från sin post för att protestera mot "det överdrivna bruket av våld mot obeväpnade demonstranter". Den libyske ambassadören i USA sade också att han inte längre kunde stödja Gaddafi, och ambassadören i Indien avgick. Nästan alla libyska diplomater vid FN stödde vice ambassadör Ibrahim Dabbashis vädjan till Gaddafi att avsluta sitt 40-åriga styre och till världssamfundet att ingripa. En libysk diplomat i Kina, Hussein el-Sadek el-Mesrati, berättade för Al-Jazeera, "Jag avgick från att representera Mussolinis och Hitlers regering." Libyens tidigare ambassadör i Arabförbundet i Kairo, Abdel-Moneim al-Houni, som en dag tidigare avgick från sin post till sida med demonstranter, utfärdade ett uttalande där han krävde att Gaddafi "skulle ställas inför rätta tillsammans med sina medhjälpare, säkerhets- och militära befälhavare över massmorden i Libyen." "Gadhafis regim är nu i historiens sopor eftersom han förrådde sin nation och sitt folk", sa al-Houni. FN:s talespersons kontor sade sent på måndagen att säkerhetsrådet hade planerat samråd om situationen i Libyen till tisdag morgon. Tidigare hade Dabbashi sagt att han skrev till säkerhetsrådet och uppmanade till åtgärder för att stoppa blodsutgjutelsen. Då diplomatiskt stöd för Gaddafi började falla sönder varnade Dabbashi att om han inte ger sig av kommer "det libyska folket att göra sig av med honom". Firandet i Benghazi Protesters firades på gatorna i landets näst största stad, Benghazi, och hävdade att de hade kontroll efter dagar av blodiga strider och efter regeringsfientliga oroligheter. Firande demonstranter hissade flaggan för landets gamla monarki, störtad 1969 av en Gaddafiled militärkupp, över Benghazis huvuddomstol och på stridsvagnar runt om i staden. "Gadhafi behöver ytterligare en knuff och han är borta", sade Amal Roqaqie, en advokat vid Benghazi-domstolen, och sade att demonstranter "utgör en ny verklighet ... Tripoli kommer att bli vår huvudstad. Vi inför en ny ordning och en ny stat, en civil konstitutionell och med övergångsregering." Bilar tutade sina horn i fest och demonstranter på gatorna skanderade "Länge leve Libyen". Det fanns farhågor för kaos när unga män — däribland regimanhängare — beslagtog vapen från Katiba och andra tillfångatagna säkerhetsbyggnader. "Ungdomarna har nu vapen och det är oroande", sade Iman, en läkare på huvudsjukhuset. "Vi vädjar till de vise männen i varje grannskap att tygla ungdomarna." Unga volontärer ledde trafiken och vaktade hem och offentliga lokaler, sade Najla, en advokat och universitetsadjunkt i Benghazi. Hon och andra invånare sa att polisen hade försvunnit från gatorna. Efter att ha gripit Katiba fann demonstranter kropparna av 13 uniformerade väktare inuti som hade blivit handfängslade och skjutna i huvudet, sedan satt i brand, sade Hassan, även en läkare. Han sade att demonstranterna trodde att de 13 hade avrättats av säkerhetsstyrkor för att de vägrade att attackera demonstranter. Rage i Tripoli Huvudstaden stängdes till stor del, med skolor, statliga kontor och de flesta butiker stängda, då beväpnade medlemmar av regeringsvänliga organisationer kallade "Revolutionära kommittéer" cirkulerade på gatorna jakt efter demonstranter i Tripolis gamla stad, sade en demonstranter, vid namn Fathi. Under dagen måndag rasade en brand på Folkets sal, den stora salen för regeringssammankomster där landets motsvarighet till ett parlament håller sina sessioner flera gånger om året, sade den regeringsvänliga nyhetswebbplatsen Qureyna. Mannen som identifierades som "Victory" berättade för msnbc.com att telefontjänsten gick ner runt klockan 15.00 lokal tid. Han sa att han såg helikoptrar ovanför och en kolonn av sex stridsvagnar när han reste genom staden på eftermiddagen. Han sa att gatorna till största delen var tomma på invånare, men han stötte på säkerhetsstyrkor med kulsprutor. Bland de byggnader som anfölls av demonstranter fanns försvarsministeriets högkvarter på Omar El Mokhtar Street, som brann, sade han. Klockan 19.45 sa han att han såg militära plan flyga nära marken, tillräckligt nära för att se att de var fulla av passagerare. Mannen, som talade med msnbc.com från hemmet han delar med sina föräldrar och fyra systrar och bröder, förnekade att landet var mitt uppe i ett inbördeskrig. — Situationen på gatorna är inte ett krig, sade han. — Människorna ha ingenting, de använda stenar, ibland knivar. Vi har inga vapen, vi har inget att bekämpa dem med. Han sade invånarna i Tripoli var särskilt arga och skrämdes av närvaron av vad han kallade afrikanska miliser som fördes in för att bekämpa demonstranter. Det sista strået för många människor var Gaddafis sons tal söndagskväll. — Folket, de vill ha frihet, sade han. — Kanske för 10 år sedan, för 20 år sedan skulle de ha lyssnat. Men inte nu — jag tror inte att vi kunna acceptera det längre ... hans far är inte välkommen i Libyen längre.» »Regeringen har fallit», sade han. “Gadhafi är inte bra för Libyen.” Protesters planerade nya marscher på det centrala gröna torget och på ledarens bostad för måndag kväll. Söndagskväll strömmade demonstranter från olika delar av staden in på Green Square, alla utom att ta över torget och omgivande gator i området mellan Tripolis Osmanska gamla stad och dess italienska stil centrum. Det var då bakslaget började, med prickskyttar som sköt ner från hustak och milissoldater som attackerade folkmassorna, sköt och jagade människor längs sidogator, enligt flera vittnen och protester. Gadhafi supportrar i pickuper och bilar tävlade genom torget, skjuta automatvapen. "De körde som galningar som letade efter någon att döda. ... Det var totalt kaos, skottlossning och skrik," sade en 28-årig demonstranter. Vittnena rapporterade att de såg förluster, men antalet kunde inte bekräftas. Ett vittne, som hette Fathi, sade att han såg minst två han trodde var döda och många fler sårade. Efter midnatt tog demonstranter över de viktigaste Tripoli-kontoren på två statliga satellitstationer, Al-Jamahiriya-1 och Al-Shebabiya, ett vittne sade. Kämpa "till slutet" "Den överväldigande känslan bland libyer är, "förbereda sig på att se denna kamp för vår frihet till slutet," Tarik Yousef, dekanus för Dubai School of Government och en libysk-amerikan, berättade msnbc.com. “Detta är en 42-årig diktatur av värsta möjliga slag.” “Jag tror att det som hände i Libyen i viss mån hänger samman med vad som hände i Egypten och Tunisien,” Yousef sade. "Det har skett en enorm spridningseffekt i de tre länderna. Demonstrationen av allmänhetens förmåga att genomföra förändringar är en enorm faktor i vad som har hänt.” “Jag tror att detta är ett historiskt ögonblick ur den moderna arabiska historiens perspektiv”, sade Yousef. "Jag kan inte gå tillbaka till den moderna perioden och hitta ett ögonblick som liknar denna typ av allmänt uttryckta människors maktrörelse som vi ser för tillfället." Yousef har familj i Benghazi och vänner i Tripoli. “Förutsättningarna för upplösning av regimen basen finns,” Yousef sade, notera diplomaternas avgång, den libyska uppdraget till FN-personal distanserar sig från Gaddafi, och även förandet av den libyska flaggan av självständighet på den libyska ambassaden i London. “Alla dessa är utvecklingar som tyder på att en hel del av regimens maktbas långsamt håller på att upplösas och vittra sönder.” “När ni har stammar som har tillgång till oljeanläggningar i deras närhet och faktiskt kan påverka tillgången på olja – hotar att använda det – är det en annan källa till försvagning av regimen.” Internationellt larm Gaddafis regim har släppt lös det blodigaste ingripandet från något arabland mot den våg av protester som sveper över regionen, vilket störtade ledarna i Egypten och Tunisien. FN: s generalsekreterare Ban Ki-moon talade med Gaddafi måndag per telefon, uttryckte djup oro över det eskalerande våldet och sade att det måste upphöra omedelbart, ett uttalande som erhållits av NBC News sade. USA:s utrikesdepartement beordrade alla ambassadens familjemedlemmar och icke-nödlidande personal i Libyen att lämna nationen, rapporterade NBC News. Parlamentet uppmanar också amerikanerna att skjuta upp resorna till Libyen eller om de redan är där för att vara ytterst försiktiga. Våld och plundring kunde fortsätta i flera dagar, varnade den. Vita huset sade i måndags att det analyserade Seifs tal för att se vilka erbjudanden om meningsfulla reformer det innehöll, rapporterade NBC News. Seif lovade "historiska" reformer i Libyen om protesterna skulle upphöra, och på måndagen sade statlig TV att han hade bildat en kommission för att utreda dödsfall under oroligheterna. Protestanterna ignorerade de vaga gesterna. Tjänstemän skulle söka mer information från libyska tjänstemän och upprepa Vita husets uppmaning till den libyska regeringen att undvika att använda våld mot dem som protesterar fredligt och respektera sina rättigheter, tillade NBC. Den brittiske premiärministern David Cameron, som besökte grannlandet Egypten, kallade den libyska regeringens repressalier för "aptalling". "Vi kan se vad som händer i Libyen, vilket är fullständigt skrämmande och oacceptabelt eftersom regimen använder de mest ondskefulla formerna av förtryck mot människor som vill se detta land – som är ett av de mest slutna och enväldiga – göra framsteg. Det svar de har visat har varit ganska skrämmande," sade han till reportrar i Kairo. Europeiska unionen kritiserade i måndags skarpt de libyska myndigheterna. EU:s utrikesministrar fördömde "det pågående förtrycket mot demonstranter i Libyen och beklagar våld och död för civila", sade ett uttalande som släpptes efter det regelbundna månatliga mötet mellan blockets 27 utrikesministrar. EU:s ordförande Herman Van Rompuy sade i ett separat uttalande att han "förskräcks av det ökande antalet dödsoffer bland demonstranter". Fragmentering är en verklig fara i Libyen, ett land med djupa stamindelningar och en historisk rivalitet mellan Tripoli och Benghazi. Det styressystem som skapats av Gaddafi – "Jamahiriya" eller "härska av massor" – är i hög grad decentraliserat, styrt av "folkliga kommittéer" i en komplicerad hierarki som effektivt innebär att det inte finns något verkligt centrum för beslutsfattandet förutom Gaddafi, hans söner och deras främsta medhjälpare. Seif har ofta framförts som regimens ansikte för reformer och anförs ofta som en trolig efterträdare till sin far. Seifs yngre bror Mutassim är den nationella säkerhetsrådgivaren, med en stark roll inom militären och säkerhetsstyrkorna, och en annan bror Khamis leder arméns 32:a brigad, som enligt amerikanska diplomater är den bäst utbildade och bäst utrustade styrkan inom militären. Oljepriset hoppar Den spiralartade turbulensen i Libyen, ett OPEC-land som är en betydande oljeleverantör till Europa, höjde det internationella larmet och pressade oljepriserna kraftigt högre. Oljepriset steg 4,13 till 90,13 dollar per fat på den amerikanska marknaden för rå på rädsla för att oroligheterna skulle kunna störa försörjningen. Två ledande oljebolag, Statoil och BP, sade att de drog ut några anställda från Libyen eller förberedde sig för att göra det. Portugal skickade ett plan för att hämta sina medborgare och andra EU-medborgare och Turkiet skickade två färjor för att hämta byggnadsarbetare som strandat i det orolighetsdrabbade landet. EU:s utrikesministrar diskuterade i måndags en eventuell evakuering av EU:s medborgare. Mobs attackerade sydkoreanska, turkiska och serbiska byggnadsarbetare på olika platser runt om i landet, tjänstemän från varje land sade. Benghazis flygplats stängdes, enligt en flygplatstjänsteman i Kairo. En Turkish Airlines-flygning som försökte landa i Benghazi för att evakuera turkiska medborgare måndagen vändes bort, omtalades av markkontrollen att kretsa över flygplatsen då för att återvända till Istanbul. Â°°
The leader appears on state television to briefly signal defiance of the increasing revolt against his 41-year rule. There have been extensive reports that Libyan soldiers have used live ammunition against protesters [Reuters] Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi has appeared on state television to signal his defiance of a growing revolt against his 41-year rule. "I'm in Tripoli and not in Venezuela. Do not believe in the channels belonging to stray dogs," Gaddafi told Libyan state television, who said he spoke outside his house on Tuesday. LIVE BLOG On Monday, William Hague, the British Foreign Minister, had proposed that Gaddafi had fled to Venezuela, a report that the government of that country denied. Gaddafi, in his first televised appearance since protests to overthrow him began last week, held an umbrella in the rain and leaned out of a van. "I wanted to say something to the young people in Green Square (in Tripoli) and stay up late with them but it started raining. Thank God, that's good," Gaddafi said in a 22-second appearance. State television previously reported that pro-government demonstrations took place in Green Square in the capital. Libyan forces loyal to Gaddafi have fought an increasingly bloody battle to keep the veteran leader in power with residents reporting shootings in parts of the capital Tripoli and warplanes reportedly bombing protesters. Lots of people have been reported dead in the continued violence in Tripoli amid escalating protests across the North African nation. "In a sense, this is a pariah regime that will have no chance of ruling any longer and the international community could come to terms with whether this is genocide and whether there should be international intervention to protect the Libyan people from the regime's militias," said Marwan Bishara, Al Jazeera's senior political analyst. "We've heard a NATO spokesman say that the Libyan regime should stop committing war crimes against its people so I think there's momentum out there but it's really not fast enough." Deep cracks turned out and Gaddafi seemed to lose vital support, as Libyan government officials at home and abroad resigned, air force pilots defected and major government buildings were targeted at in clashes in the capital. At least 61 people were killed in the capital on Monday, witnesses told Al Jazeera. Protesters demanded another night of defiance of Arab world leaders who served the longest, despite an intervention by the authorities "Unacceptable bloodshed", Libya's deputy ambassador to the United Nations, Ibrahim Dabbashi, has spoken to Al Jazeera Hillary Clinton, U.S. Secretary of State, saying it is "time to stop this unacceptable bloodshed" in Libya. A group of army officers issued a statement urging fellow soldiers to "join the people" and help remove Gaddafi. The Minister of Justice resigned in protest of the "excessive use of violence" against protesters and diplomats at Libya's mission to the United Nations called on the Libyan army to help overthrow "tyrannan Muammar Gaddafi". Both Libya and Venezuela denied reports that Gaddafi had fled to the South American country. Two Libyan fighter aircraft landed in Malta, their pilots defected after they said they were ordered to bomb protesters, Maltese government officials said. Libyan authorities have cut down all fixed telephony and wireless communications in the country, making it impossible to verify many reports. With reports of large-scale military operations ongoing in Tripoli, a spokesperson for Ban Ki-moon said the UN chief held extensive discussions with Gaddafi on Monday, condemning the escalating violence in Libya and telling him it "must cease immediately". UN, Arab League meetings The UN Security Council will hold a meeting with closed doors on Tuesday to discuss the crisis in Libya, diplomats said. They said the meeting, called "consultation", had been requested by Ibrahim Dabbashi, Libya's deputy ambassador, and would begin at 1400 GMT. Dabbashi and other diplomats on Libya's mission to the UN on Monday said they sided with protesters in Libya. Previously, Hamad Bin Jassim called Bin Jabr Al-Thani, Qatar's Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, for an extraordinary meeting of the Arab League to take place on Tuesday. The purpose is to discuss the current crisis in Libya and to put further "pressure" on the government, Al-Thani told Al Jazeera. He said that the international community must act now. "I feel great sympathy for the Libyan people. We do not accept to use violence in this way or in any way against the people or against any nation from their governments," he said. The comments came just hours after Ahmed Elgazir, a human rights researcher at the Libyan News Centre (LNC) in Geneva, Switzerland, told Al Jazeera that security forces "massacred" protesters in Tripoli. Ahmad Jibreel, a Libyan diplomat, confirmed that the Attorney General Mustafa Abdul Jalil had sided with the protesters. Jibreel further said key cities near Libya's border with Egypt were now in the hands of protesters, which he said would allow foreign media to enter the country. Meanwhile, the Egyptian military said on Tuesday that it reinforced the border with Libya, but that it would leave it open all day to those in need of medical or other assistance. The army says it has set up two field hospitals and camps to receive Egyptians and Libyans crossing the border with Egypt. A suggestion that Gaddafi may have fled was fueled when British Foreign Minister William Hague said he had "some information" the dictator was heading for Venezuela. British-based opposition activist Ahmed Sawalem, who keeps in touch with protesters in Libya, told msnbc.com that there were reports of aircraft bombing a gun deal south of Benghazi in Ajdabiya "so the protesters cannot get their hands on them, to use them to fight." He said a number of people in the area were believed to have been killed in the attack. Sources said the fighter pilots dropped out so they wouldn't fire on the Tripoli protesters. They had left from a base near Tripoli and had flown low across Libyan airspace to avoid detection. They arrived shortly after two civilian helicopters with seven people claiming to be French landed after a flight from Libya. Combat pilots seek asylum Reuters reported that two Libyan fighter aircraft flown by Libyan Air Force colonels were given permission to land in Malta after requesting political asylum. A group of Libyan Army officers issued a statement urging fellow soldiers to "join the people" and help remove Gaddafi, Al Jazeera reported on Monday. Communications to the capital appeared to have been cut, and mobile phones from outside the country could not be reached. State television showed footage of hundreds of Gaddafi supporters gathering in downtown Green Square Monday night waving pictures of the Libyan leader and palm fronds. Snipers had taken a stand on the roofs of buildings around Tripoli, apparently to prevent people from outside the capital from joining the march, according to Mohammed Abdul-Malek, a London-based opposition activist in contact with residents. Gaddafi's regime appeared to be preparing a new major assault in the capital on Monday night. State television at dusk announced that the military was "storming the hiding places of the saboteurs" and urged the public to back up the security forces as the protesters demanded a new demonstration in downtown Green Square and in front of Gaddafi's residence in Tripoli. "But I think Gaddafi will set up a fight ... in Libya more than any other country in the region, there are prospects of serious violence and pure conflict," he said. "These seem to be last, desperate actions. If you bomb your equity, it's hard to see how to survive," says Julien Barnes-Dacey, Control Risks Middle East analyst. An analyst for London-based consulting services Control Risks said that the use of military aircraft on his own people indicated the end was approaching for Gaddafi. One of Gaddafi's sons, Seif al-Islam, has promised that his father and security forces would fight "until the last bullet". "The interpreter will likely also rise due to the lack of medicine facing the country," said the statement. The International Federation of Human Rights said in a statement on Monday that at least 300 to 400 people had been killed since February 15, citing the Libyan League of Human Rights, which is a member of the Federation. The accounts came as deep cracks opened in Gaddafi's regime, with diplomats overseas and the Attorney General at home departing, air force pilots defecting and a fire raging in the government house following the clashes in the capital Tripoli. The protests required another defiant night in Tripolis Square despite the government's heavy reprisals. Another man, identified only as "Victory", told msnbc.com after touring Tripoli, "We could hear burning every 15 minutes, I don't know where really." "Our people die. It's the politics of the burned earth," he said. "What we are witnessing today is unimaginable," Adel Mohamed Saleh, an activist in the capital, told Al Jazeera TV. His accounts could not be independently confirmed. "Warplanes and helicopters indiscriminately bomb one area after another. There are many, many dead. Gaddafi spoke hours after reports that Libyan military aircraft fired live ammunition at crowds of anti-government protesters in Tripoli on Monday. "I'm in Tripoli and not in Venezuela. Do not believe in these misleading dog stations," he said, referring to media reports that he had left the country. Gaddafi was sitting in the passenger seat of a small vehicle holding up an umbrella through the open door. It had been raining in the capital for two days. His comments were broadcast at around 2:00 a.m. local time (7.00 p.m. Monday ET). Libyan leader Moammar Gaddafi appeared for less than a minute Tuesday morning on state television and made brief remarks to say he was in the capital Tripoli and to deny rumors he had fled to Venezuela amid the violent revolt against his 41-year rule. However, a higher government source in Caracas denied this and a British official said The Hague had only referred to unconfirmed media reports. Leaders break with Gaddafi Libya's ambassadors to the United Nations urged Gaddafi to resign as the country's ruler. Deputy Ambassador Ibrahim Dabbashi said Monday that if Gaddafi does not relinquish power, "the Libyan people will get rid of him". The personnel of Libya's mission to the United Nations declared allegiance to the people of Libya, instead of to Gaddafi, a spokesman said Monday. "The members of the Libyan mission represent only the Libyan people and not anyone else," said spokesman Dia al-Hotmani by phone. Minister of Justice Mustafa Abdel-Jalil reportedly resigned his post to protest "the excessive use of violence against unarmed protesters". The Libyan ambassador to the United States also said he could no longer support Gaddafi, and the ambassador to India resigned. Almost all Libyan diplomats at the United Nations supported Deputy Ambassador Ibrahim Dabbashi's appeal to Gaddafi to end his 40-year rule and to the international community to intervene. A Libyan diplomat in China, Hussein el-Sadek el-Mesrati, told Al-Jazeera, "I resigned from representing Mussolini's and Hitler's government." Libya's former ambassador to the Arab League in Cairo, Abdel-Moneim al-Houni, who one day earlier resigned from his post to side with protesters, issued a statement calling for Gaddafi "to be tried with his aides, security and military commanders over the mass murders in Libya." "Gadhafi's regime is now in the garbage of history because he betrayed his nation and his people," al-Houni said. The office of the UN spokesperson said late Monday that the Security Council had planned consultations on the situation in Libya until Tuesday morning. Previously, Dabbashi had said that he wrote to the Security Council calling for measures to stop the bloodshed. As diplomatic support for Gaddafi began to crumble, Dabbashi warned that if he does not leave, "the Libyan people will get rid of him". Celebration in Benghazi Protesters was celebrated on the streets of the country's second largest city, Benghazi, claiming they were in control after days of bloody fighting and after anti-government unrest. Celebrating protesters hoisted the flag of the country's old monarchy, overthrown in 1969 by a Gaddafiled military coup, over the main court of Benghazi and on tanks around the city. "Gadhafi needs another push and he's gone," said Amal Roqaqie, a lawyer at the Benghazi court, saying that protesters "exist a new reality ... Tripoli will become our capital. We are introducing a new order and a new state, a civil constitutional and with transitional government." Cars honked their horns in party and protesters in the streets chanted "Long live Libya". There were fears of chaos when young men — including regime supporters — seized weapons from Katiba and other captured security buildings. "The young people now have weapons and it's worrying," said Iman, a doctor at the main hospital. "We appeal to the wise men of every neighborhood to restrain the young." Young volunteers led traffic and guarded homes and public premises, said Najla, a lawyer and university lecturer in Benghazi. She and other residents said the police had disappeared from the streets. After arresting Katiba, protesters found the bodies of 13 uniformed guards inside who had been handcuffed and shot in the head, then were on fire, Hassan said, also a doctor. He said the protesters believed the 13 had been executed by security forces for refusing to attack protesters. Rage in Tripoli The capital was largely closed, with schools, state offices and most stores closed, as armed members of pro-government organizations called "Revolutionary committees" circulated on the streets looking for protesters in Tripolis' old town, said a protester, named Fathi. During the day Monday, a fire raged at the People's Hall, the large hall for government gatherings where the country's counterpart to a parliament holds its sessions several times a year, said pro-government news website Qureyna. The man identified as "Victory" told msnbc.com that telephone service went down around 3:00 p.m. local time. He said he saw helicopters above and a column of six tanks as he traveled through the city in the afternoon. He said the streets were mostly empty of residents, but he encountered security forces with machine guns. Among the buildings attacked by protesters was the Ministry of Defence headquarters on Omar El Mokhtar Street, which was on fire, he said. At 7:45 p.m., he said he saw military planes flying near the ground, close enough to see they were full of passengers. The man, speaking to msnbc.com from the home he shares with his parents and four sisters and brothers, denied that the country was in the midst of a civil war. ‘The situation on the streets is not a war,’ he said. — People have nothing, they use stones, sometimes knives. We have no weapons, we have nothing to fight them with; he said the inhabitants of Tripoli were particularly angry and were frightened by the presence of what he called African militias brought in to fight protesters. The last straw for many people was Gaddafi's son's speech Sunday night. — The people, they want freedom, he said. “Maybe 10 years ago, 20 years ago they would have listened. But not now — I don't think we can accept it anymore ... his father is not welcome in Libya anymore." "The government has fallen," he said. “Gadhafi is not good for Libya.” Protesters planned new marches on the central green square and at the leader’s residence for Monday night. Sunday night, protesters from various parts of the city flocked into Green Square, all except to take over the square and surrounding streets of the area between the Tripolis Ottoman old town and its Italian style center. It was then that the setback began, with snipers shooting down from rooftops and militiamen attacking the crowds, shooting and chasing people along side streets, according to several witnesses and protests. Gadhafi supporters in pickup trucks and cars raced through the square, shooting automatic weapons. "They were driving like lunatics looking for someone to kill. ... It was total chaos, shooting and screaming," said a 28-year-old protester. The Witnesses reported seeing losses, but the number could not be confirmed. A Witness named Fathi said he saw at least two he thought were dead and many more wounded. After midnight, protesters took over the main Tripoli offices at two state satellite stations, Al-Jamahiriya-1 and Al-Shebabiya, a witness said. Fight "to the end" "The overwhelming feeling among Libyans is, "prepare to see this struggle for our freedom to the end," Tarik Yousef, dean of the Dubai School of Government and a Libyan-American, told msnbc.com. “This is a 42-year dictatorship of the worst possible kind.” “I think what happened in Libya is to some extent related to what happened in Egypt and Tunisia,” Yousef said. "There has been a huge spill-over effect in the three countries. The demonstration of public ability to implement change is a huge factor in what has happened.” “I think this is a historic moment from the perspective of modern Arab history,” Yousef said. "I can't go back to the modern period and find a moment similar to this kind of commonly expressed people's power movement as we see at the moment." Yousef has family in Benghazi and friends in Tripoli. “The conditions for the dissolution of the regime base exist,” Yousef said, noting the resignation of diplomats, the Libyan mission to UN personnel distances themselves from Gaddafi, and also the conduct of the Libyan flag of independence at the Libyan embassy in London. “All these are developments that indicate that a lot of the regime’s power base is slowly disintegrating and crumbling.” “When you have tribes that have access to oil facilities in their vicinity and can actually affect the supply of oil – threatening to use it – it is another source of weakening the regime.” International alarm Gaddafi’s regime has unleashed the bloodiest intervention from any Arab country against the wave of protests sweeping the region, which plunged leaders in Egypt and Tunisia. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon spoke to Gaddafi Monday by phone, expressed deep concern about the escalating violence and said it had to stop immediately, a statement obtained by NBC News said. The U.S. State Department ordered all embassy family members and non-emergency personnel in Libya to leave the nation, NBC News reported. It also called on the Americans to postpone their journeys to Libya or if they were already there to be extremely careful. Violence and looting could continue for several days, it warned. The White House said on Monday that it analyzed Seif's speech to see what offers of meaningful reforms it contained, NBC News reported. Seif promised "historic" reforms in Libya if protests were to end, and on Monday state television said he had formed a commission to investigate deaths during the unrest. The Protestants ignored the vague gestures. Officials would seek more information from Libyan officials and repeat the White House's call to the Libyan government to avoid using violence against those protesting peacefully and respecting their rights, NBC added. British Prime Minister David Cameron, who visited neighboring Egypt, called the Libyan government's reprisals "aptalling". "We can see what is happening in Libya, which is completely frightening and unacceptable because the regime uses the most vicious forms of oppression against people who want to see this country – which is one of the most closed and autocratic – make progress. The answer they have shown has been quite frightening," he told reporters in Cairo. The European Union strongly criticised the Libyan authorities on Monday. EU foreign ministers condemned "the ongoing repression of protesters in Libya and deplore the violence and death of civilians," said a statement released after the regular monthly meeting of the block's 27 foreign ministers. EU President Herman Van Rompuy said in a separate statement that he is "terrified by the increasing number of casualties among protesters". Fragmentation is a real danger in Libya, a country with deep tribal divisions and a historical rivalry between Tripoli and Benghazi. The system of government created by Gaddafi – "Jamahiriya" or "rule by masses" – is highly decentralised, governed by "folk committees" in a complicated hierarchy that effectively means that there is no real center of decision-making except Gaddafi, his sons and their chief aides. Seif has often been presented as the face of the regime for reform and is often cited as a likely successor to his father. Seif's younger brother Mutassim is the National Security Advisor, with a strong role in the military and security forces, and another brother Khamis leads the Army's 32nd Brigade, which according to U.S. diplomats is the best-trained and best-equipped force in the military. Oil price jumps The spiralling turbulence in Libya, an OPEC country that is a significant oil supplier to Europe, raised international alarm and pushed oil prices significantly higher. The oil price rose $4.13 to $90.13 per barrel in the U.S. market for raw on fears that the unrest could disrupt supply. Two leading oil companies, Statoil and BP, said they were pulling some employees out of Libya or preparing to do so. Portugal sent a plane to pick up its citizens and other EU citizens and Turkey sent two ferries to pick up construction workers stranded in the troubled country. On Monday, EU foreign ministers discussed the possible evacuation of EU citizens. Mobs attacked South Korean, Turkish, and Serbian construction workers in various locations around the country, officials from each country said. Benghazi Airport was closed, according to an airport official in Cairo. A Turkish Airlines flight attempting to land in Benghazi to evacuate Turkish citizens Monday was turned away, referred to by ground control to orbit the airport then to return to Istanbul. <unk>