France became the first country to recognize Libya’s opposition as its rightful government, while Qaddafi’s forces succeeded in taking the oil hub of Ras Lanuf from its rebel defenders.
In a move to head off protests, Morocco’s King Mohammed VI announced a constitutional reform that recognizes the importance of Amazigh (Berber) culture for the national identity.
Moammar Qaddafi is simultaneously playing the al-Qaeda card to rally US imperialism to his side and playing the US imperialism card to rally the Libyan people to his side.
The UN appointed a team of special prosecutors to investigate allegations that Libyan leader Moammar Qaddafi has ordered forces to torture and abduct opponents.
International consensus is growing for some kind of foreign military intervention in Libya as Qaddafi’s forces continue to press their offensive against rebels both east and west of Tripoli.
Moammar Qaddafi defended his military’s right to put down the rebels by invoking Israel’s offensive in the Gaza Strip, and insisted he still has “very good relations with the United States.”
Heavy gunfire broke out in Tripoli, as a militia led by the dictator’s son Khamis Qaddafi is said to have carried out a massacre while re-taking the rebel-held city of Zawiyah.
Police fired tear gas to disperse protesters demanding the ouster of Moammar Qaddafi in Tripoli, while rebels clashed with Qaddafi-loyalist forces for control of Raslanuf oil compound.
An Israeli company is said to be recruiting mercenaries to support Moammar Qaddafi, while Zimbabwe’s defense minister was grilled by opposition MPs over similar charges.
Venezuela’s Hugo Chávez has spoken to Moammar Qaddafi about creating a bloc of friendly nations—tentatively dubbed the Committee of Peace—to mediate a resolution to Libya’s crisis.
Libyan rebels drove Qaddafi’s forces from the key eastern oil port of Brega, as two US warships entered the Mediterranean, bound for Libya on an officially “humanitarian” mission.
Veteran Tuareg guerilla fighters who Qaddafi backed in Mali and Niger are now said to be serving as mercenaries for his regime—while indigenous Tuareg tribes in Libya have joined the revolution.
