Rebels retake border crossing, as fighting spills onto Tunisian territory.

UK Foreign Secretary William Hague updated parliament yesterday on events in Libya, saying that we are clear that Gaddafi should go, and it is impossible to see a viable or peaceful way forward for Libya until he does so.

The UK Defence Secretary, Dr Liam Fox, and Chief of the Defence Staff, General Sir David Richards, have met with their American counterparts in Washington to discuss current operations including Libya and Afghanistan.

Rebels say humanitarian deliveries affected in besieged city, as battles rage for control of port rage on.

The Libyan struggle for self-determination must be rooted in its core by a strong civic society, scholar argues.

Supply of basic goods is dangerously low as the besieged Libyan city’s port comes under fire.

A UN team is due to arrive in Tripoli to investigate allegations of human rights violations in Libya since the start of the conflict in February.

Government forces bombard port in Misurata and Berber towns in the western mountains as NATO allies mull way ahead.

Civilians reportedly killed in shelling as Tripoli accuses NATO of killing 45 people with raid on Gaddafi's compound.

Trois semaines apres le debut de l'operation Harmattan, l'armee de l'Air s'appuie sur un solide dispositif mis en place a Solenzara pour conduire ses missions de combat au-dessus de la Libye. Premier bilan.

Artillery fire continue to hit Misurata and Berber towns in the Nafusa mountain range as NATO bombs Gaddafi's compound.

Despite having his airforce destroyed, Gaddafi learned to maintain ground power from past conflicts in the desert.

The US military has confirmed the first strike by an unmanned Predator drone aircraft in Libya.

Larbi Sadiki examines the liberation movements in Libya, both internal and external, and how they benefit civic life.

The success of the air and naval intervention against Libya in 2011, in which Britain is playing a prominent role, should be judged in terms of the effect it has on the Libyan people, their quality of life, and the cohesion of their country.

Deaths reported in besieged Libyan city as US offers "non-lethal" aid to rebels fighting Gaddafi forces.

Libyan official criticises British plan to send team to support pro-democracy opposition forces in Benghazi.

Almost daily, ministers deny that Britain is immersing itself ever more deeply into a civil war in Libya.

The Foreign Secretary, William Hague, has announced that the National Security Council has decided to expand the diplomatic team already in Benghazi, led by Christopher Prentice, to include an additional military liaison advisory team.

Interviewee: Robert E. Hunter, Senior Advisor, The Rand Corporation - Interviewer: Bernard Gwertzman, Consulting Editor, CFR.org

Italy's Eni and others have to deal with rebels and loyalists, essentially shutting down operations until the outcome is clearer

Sortie figures show that, whilst NATO is undertaking extensive operations over Libya, it could - and should - be doing more.

The war in Libya is at a stalemate. Britain should avoid becoming beholden to the rebels and shun regime change, but ensure that any settlement is a self-enforcing equilibrium

Arming the Libyan rebels in the hope of expediating the ousting of the Qadhafi regime would be at best misguided, at worst detrimental to their cause.

Western policymakers may weigh up a number of ways to help the rebels in Libya - what should not be in doubt, however, is their obligation to provide some much-needed assistance.

The back-and-forth nature of the Libyan conflict thus far underlines the need for external actors to facilitate a decisive change of fortune

The battle for Misrata is the battle for Tripolitania. Losing this densely populated area to the rebellion would spell doom for Gaddafi's regime. Ground troops may be needed to save Misrata from certain destruction and should be given a very clear and limited humanitarian mandate.

The future in Libya is extremely hard to predict and that, too, has been the ultimate triumph of the Gaddafi regime. It ensured that there should be no potential alternative and the legacy it bequeathes to the country it saw as the ultimate political laboratory will be chaos and uncertainty.

What can the European Union do to help such a difficult and uncertain birth of a new political system for Libya? Libyans will not welcome patronising advice, or predesigned schemata for economic and political reform. What they will need and welcome is technical advice on how to achieve their goals, not what those goals should be, together with the short-term financial support they will need to achieve them until the consequences of the current sanctions regime have disappeared.

The Gaddafi era is almost certainly over. It remains nonetheless problematic to assess and provide policy options that would adequately resolve the present conflict in Libya. How can the present deadlock be resolved without negotiating with the key figure who has so strongly defined it over the past four decades? Despite the wave of international diplomatic condemnation, UN and NATO military involvement and the unquestionable evidence of Gaddafi’s atrocities, we still find that internal support for him remains. The future of the revolution is at stake as we face a protracted military battle, leaving the most pertinent question still yet to be asked - what are Gaddafi’s supporters fighting for?


So we confront the dichotomy of the Libyan situation. Not a civil war in a traditional sense for control of the state, but rather a battle characterised by conflicting aspirations and motives. On the one side, freedom – the freedom to build an egalitarian, democratic country – and on the other side survival. A battle to survive an uncertain future for those who have enjoyed privilege and protection by Gaddafi – in other words the beneficiaries of his policy of patronage and favouritism.


We should be careful not to led astray by orientalist interpretations, when attempting to understand the conflict, the most dangerous of which is to overestimate the tribal structure of Libya. To view Libya as a primitive, tribal society implies the conflict is pervaded with mysterious, irrational objectives incomprehensible to the outside world, and this would be a serious mistake. Rather we should diagnose the situation more accurately: that a meritocratic Libya is feared by the privileged sections of Libyan society. The pro-Gaddafi elements of support, the ‘Gaddafists’, do not recite from the Green Book in their marches on the streets, and do not appear to believe or even adhere to its most basic tenets. Musa Ibrahim, the recently appointed regime spokesman, as of March 2011 began to talk of democratic reforms and a constitution. In this apparent admission of guilt, it seems that not even the regime officials believe in their own Green Book ­ideology. ...

La situation politique et militaire en Libye préoccupe actuellement tous les observateurs pour des raisons diverses. Pour les voisins, à cause de leurs compatriotes coincés à l’intérieur de ce pays par une guerre fratricide, et aussi parce que c’est de l’avenir politique de la Libye que dépend en partie l’avenir de la construction démocratique chez eux. Pour les autres puissances mondiales, à cause du pétrole et des problèmes géopolitiques que posent en Méditerranée les événements que connaît la Libye.

Mais ce qui tient actuellement le monde en haleine, ce sont les affrontements militaires entre les forces de Kadhafi et celles des insurgés concentrés dans la zone du pétrole d’Adjedabia-Brigua jusqu’à Ras Lanouf, c’est-à-dire jusqu’à la porte de Syrte. Pourquoi cet acharnement des deux côtés sur cette zone ? A cause du pétrole ? Parce que Kadhafi est originaire de Syrte et que le maintien ou la perte de cette ville est d’un grand poids symbolique pour celui-ci ? Bien sûr, mais il y a une autre réponse à cette question, peut-être beaucoup plus crédible. C’est ce que nous allons développer ici.

En réalité, la question de Syrte soulève beaucoup d’autres problèmes concernant les issues possibles de cette guerre fratricide, qui ne semble pas près de se terminer. La plus importante est peut-être celle-ci : Kadhafi peut-il encore tenir son pouvoir dans la région de la Tripolitaine ? Et, s’il y parvient, à quoi peut-on imputer cette capacité de manœuvre et de résistance ? Pour y répondre, il faut comprendre autrement les enjeux de la guerre de Syrte. ...

Libya's foreign minister says a British plan to send a military team to advise rebels fighting Col Gaddafi would harm chances of peace in the country.

Libyan official criticises British plan to send team to support pro-democracy opposition forces in Benghazi.

French commandos should be deployed on the ground in Libya to help guide air strikes, a senior French official says.

Libyan air campaign's force and targeting evolve.

L'OTAN prend le controle de l'ensemble des operations militaires en Libye. La coalition va devoir s'integrer dans une structure reactive mais complexe, sous la houlette d'une instance politique incertaine. Comment seront dirigees les operations ? Explications.

Latest-model Russian-made SA-24 anti-aircraft missiles turn up in Tripoli.

The intervention in Libya shows that democratic empowerment is just a geopolitical tool used by the great powers.

Fall of the regime in the east has revealed once-secret security files that show extent of Libyan government's spying.

Anti-government forces hold sway in key town but frontline fighters complain of lack of supplies and fear infiltrators.

The UK is to hold "urgent talks" at the United Nations about the "dire" humanitarian crisis affecting residents in western Libya.

US, British and French leaders have said in a joint letter there can be no peace in Libya while Muammar Gaddafi stays in power.

The Obama administration's reluctant involvement in the Libya operation recalls the Biblical adage, "One man sows, another reaps." The United States agreed to undertake the heavy lifting needed to get the air campaign started, with the understanding that responsibility would subsequently be transferred onto the shoulders of others. The consensus assessment is that this has not worked out according to plan.

Glancing around the hospital ward full of broken bodies, a weary Libyan surgeon gave his explanation of the conflict in the besieged city of Misrata.

A military stalemate could result in de facto partition of Libya, with Muammar Qaddafi controlling the west and rebels the east. That wouldn't be good for Libya or regional stability.

Huge oil and financial deals play major part in Beijing's support for Libya's despot and halt to foreign intervention.

The Russian government has managed to balance its competing interests regarding Libya. Russia voted in the U.N. to impose sanctions against Moammar Gadhafi's regime, but abstained on the vote authorizing the use of force. After Western countries initiated military operations, Russian officials complained that they were exceeding the limits of the U.N. mandate. What explains Moscow's Libyan strategy?

Leaders of Britain, France and US say leaving Gaddafi in power will be an "unconscionable betrayal" of Libyan people.

France and UK agree to increase military operations on Gaddafi's regime ahead of a NATO strategy meeting in Germany

The military crisis in Libya highlights an existential crisis for NATO.

Ministers argue over how to deliver aid to Libyan rebels.

Despite rhetoric of promise, Obama's policy in Libya is fuelled by insider politics and motives.

The Libyan opposition based in Benghazi is just the latest in a long history of rebel governments, from the U.S. Confederacy to the recently victorious opposition in Ivory Coast. Is it time for the international community to rethink the process of recognizing such de facto states?

African mediators are holding talks aimed at brokering a peace deal in Libya. The African Union delegation, which includes three African presidents, has met with Moammar Gadhafi and rebel leadership to discuss, what they called, a road map for peace. The rebels rejected the plan, said they would not consider any option that did not include the departure of Gadhafi and his family. The Libyan leader has reportedly accepted the mediators' proposal, in principle. To talk more about the African Union's mediation efforts, host Michel Martin speaks with Professor Mwangi Kimenyi, Director of the Africa Growth Initiative at the Brookings Institution.

Foreign ministers from Nato countries are due to meet in Berlin, with Libya at the top of the agenda.

The Obama administration has condemned what it says are "renewed atrocities" by Libyan forces loyal to Colonel Muammar Gaddafi.

An international fund could be set up to provide financial support for rebels trying to overthrow Col Gaddafi in Libya, the foreign secretary has said.

This article reports on political conditions in Libya related to the 2011 Libyan conflict and the rebellion against leader Muammar Qaddafi. The article discusses the Arabian Gulf Oil Company (Agoco) and infighting there related to how to manage the industry during the conflict. Information is also provided on unrest related to the rebel forces, the foreign military intervention, and governance..

Online title: Libya: NATO assumes 'sole command' of coalition air operations

The military operation in Libya is supported by a remarkably broad UN mandate and has gained wide international backing. With a no-fly zone quickly established, it has succeeded in protecting large numbers of civilians. However, as Gaddafi has changed tactics, the allies are struggling to identify new military targets. Yet NATO’s biggest challenge is the lack of agreement concerning the political outcome of the mission. If the Alliance sticks with its declared impartiality, it faces a potentially long engagement without a clear exit strategy. If it considers extending stronger support to the rebels, it risks a major internal rupture.