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. Two Libyan fighter jets landed in Malta, their pilots defecting after they said they had been ordered to bomb protesters, Maltese government officials said. 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 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. He said the international community must act now. 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 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. "What we are witnessing today is unimaginable," Adel Mohamed Saleh, an activist in the capital, told Al Jazeera television. 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. Both Libya and Venezuela denied reports that Gaddafi had fled to the South American country. Do not believe the channels belonging to stray dogs," Gaddafi told Libyan state TV, which said he was speaking outside his house on Tuesday. 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. 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. They said the meeting, referred to as "consultations", had been requested by Ibrahim Dabbashi, the Libyan deputy ambassador, and would start at 1400 GMT. 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 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". The U.N. spokesperson's office said late Monday that the Security Council had scheduled consultations on the situation in Libya for Tuesday morning. 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”. 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.
– 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."