20 March 2011
Last updated at 17:26 ET
Loud blasts have been heard in the Libyan capital Tripoli, witnesses say, as allied forces resume operations to enforce a no-fly zone.
A plume of smoke was seen rising from the area near the compound of Libyan leader Col Muammar Gaddafi.
A US military spokesman said the coalition were not targeting Col Gaddafi or his residence.
French planes patrolled over Libya on Sunday, but the Pentagon said Libya’s air defences were effectively degraded.
Plume of smoke
A BBC reporter in Tripoli says a heavy barrage of anti-aircraft fire has been heard in the city centre during the last hour.
At the scene
Characteristically defiant, Col Gaddafi called the Libyan people to revolution. The country’s weapons stores had been opened, he said. All the people had been armed to defend their country against imperialist and colonialists.
And in a reference to the rebels in the east, he said: we will eliminate the traitors who have joined forces with what he called the crusader alliance.
The government told us that the hospitals were filling up with wounded civilians, that ambulance crews were doing their best to save lives. Sixty-four civilians were dead, it said.
State television showed some of the bodies, all, apparently, of men, but did not say whether they were civilian or military.
It also showed some of the wounded in hospital – again, all men. One of them expressed his support for the Libyan leader.
Passionate and articulate supporters of Col Gaddafi have gathered all over the city with green flags and portraits of their leader. Their sincerity seems beyond dispute.
But what of the hundreds of thousands in Tripoli who do not join these demonstrations? What are they thinking in the quiet privacy of their own minds?
Publicly, a fervent patriotism is fused with devotion to the person of Col Gaddafi. He and Libya are the same thing. In this prevailing atmosphere, there is no public dissenting voice.
A column of smoke rose in the area of Bab al-Aziziya, where Col Gaddafi has his military base and compound, our reporter says.
However, he adds that it is believed there are anti-aircraft weapons close to Bab al-Aziziya, which may well have been targeted, rather than the compound itself.
Meanwhile, heavy gunfire and sporadic explosions were heard in the streets of central Benghazi on Sunday night, a witness told Reuters.
There were also unconfirmed reports of pro-Gaddafi fighters opening fire from cars in the city.
In a statement from the Pentagon on Sunday, US Vice Adm William Gortney said coalition raids were “judged to have been very effective” and no new Libyan air activity had been reported.
“Benghazi is not completely safe from attack but it is certainly under less threat than it was yesterday,” he said.
“We believe his [Gaddafi’s] forces are under considerable stress and suffering from isolation and a good deal of confusion.”
Meanwhile, Qatar is to send four planes to join the coalition enforcing the UN-mandated no-fly zone, the US and France have said.
The move would make Qatar the first Arab country to play an active part in the campaign against Col Gaddafi, who has been battling a month-long revolt.
Other Arab countries are also preparing to join the campaign against Col Gaddafi, Vice Adm Gortley said, adding that those governments would make their own announcements in due course.
Meanwhile, the build-up of forces to enforce the no-fly zone continues. The French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle has left the Mediterranean port of Toulon for Libya.
Denmark and Norway are each sending six planes. Spain has sent at least three planes, plus a refuelling aircraft, while Italy also has jets ready to deploy.
Arab League
The head of the Arab League, who supported the idea of a no-fly zone, has criticised the severity of the bombardment.
“What is happening in Libya differs from the aim of imposing a no-fly zone, and what we want is the protection of civilians and not the bombardment of more civilians,” said Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa.
Arab League support was a key factor in getting UN Security Council backing for the resolution authorising the move.
In a news conference on Sunday, a Libyan military spokesman said its armed forces had ordered a ceasefire across the entire country, beginning at 2100 local time (1900 GMT).
However, the BBC’s Allan Little in Tripoli says the government had been insisting that its troops were already observing a ceasefire order made on Friday.
Despite Friday’s announcement, our correspondent adds, pro-Gaddafi troops have tried to enter Benghazi and have been in action at Misrata.
A rebel spokesman in Misrata told the BBC that pro-Gaddafi forces had launched fresh attacks on Sunday with heavy shelling.
Col Gaddafi has ruled Libya for more than 40 years. An uprising against him began last month after the long-time leaders of neighbouring Tunisia and Egypt were toppled.
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Explosion in Tripoli – witnesses