Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi appeared on the national television of
Libya on Tuesday and said he had not left the country, RIA Novosti
reports.
Gaddafi made the speech at his house and said that he is in Tripoli,
not Venezuela. He was sitting in a car and holding a white umbrella.
A group of Libyan military officers urged the army to join the
protesters. The military proposed a march in Tripoli, Reuters cites Al
Jazeera as saying on Tuesday.
Libyan General-Lieutenant Abu Bakr Yunis Jaber, commander of the
armed forces, is under home arrest over his inability to cope with the
anti-government protests. Libyan border guards left their posts on the
border with Egypt.
The protests in Libya began on February 15. The protesters demand that
Gaddafi, who has been in power for 42 years, resign. International
organizations say that 500 people had been killed before Monday's
bombing of Tripoli protesters by military aviation started. Up to
4,000 people were injured.
The Russian Emergencies Ministry is preparing to evacuate Russian
citizens from Libya. They will be able to fly to Jamahiriya on
February 22.
Military helicopters were seen in Tripoli on Monday, ITAR-TASS
reports. The city suffered from lack of medicine, food and
electricity.
There were reports of mercenary gangs driving around the streets. BBC
says Jamahiriya authorities used mercenaries from other African states
to deal with the protesters. Sources say they get paid $12,000 for
each opposition member killed.
Combat aviation attacked resident districts of the city. At least 250
people in Tripoli were killed by air attacks. Gaddafi's son Seif
al-Islam rejected reports of air attacks. He said that ammo depots far
from resident areas were bombed.
Skynews says that 300 protesters in Benghazi were killed in clashes
with the military and special services.
Al-Jazeera reported that Libyan air forces attacked Ez-Zauiya, where
the country's largest oil extraction enterprise is located.
Some pilots refused to fulfill orders to attack civilians in Tripoli,
Benghazi and Ez-Zauia. Reports say that two such officers were killed
by mercenaries. Two Libyan fighters and two civilian planes landed in
Malta on Monday night. One of the pilots, a colonel of the air forces,
said that they were ordered to bomb protesters.
Egyptian military opened two field hospitals and a refugee camp for
Libyans. Hundreds of refugees have already arrived. They brought
numerous photos and videos of the violence in Libya.
