"Gaddafi's No.2" Abdul Fatah Younis, Libyan minister of interior and army general - resigns

[The Straight Story]

10.11pm: Libya's defected interior minister has urged the Libyan army to join the people and respond to their "legitimate demands" echoing the language used by defecting Egyptian military leaders before the fall of president Hosni Mubarak.

10:04pm: "Gaddafi's No.2" Abdul Fatah Younis, Libyan minister of interior and army general - resigns. More to come.

10.00pm: Gaddafi spoke to Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi via telephone, telling him that Libya is fine and the truth about events in the country are being shown on state media.


9.56pm: Cal Perry adds that Italian air force sent jet fighters to establish visual contact with Libyan warship reportedly floating in Maltese waters.

http://blogs.aljazeera.net/africa/2011/02/22/live-blog-libya-feb-22#

[drm604]

1. C'mon Daffy, give it up already.

You gotta see that it's mate in two moves!

[sufrommich]

3. I don't think he's sane enough to recognize the series of events

in advance.

[drm604]

5. Yea

I think you're right.

[tabatha]

2. great news.

[tabatha]

4. Bush is in good company.

"10.29pm: While Libyan state TV shows footage of a pro-Gaddafi rally somewhere in the country, our colleagues over at Al Jazeera Arabic have just screened very different footage - of the crowd's reaction to Gaddafi's speech in the eastern city of Benghazi. The shoe-throwing starts 12 seconds in..."

[pampango]

6. "Joining a lengthening list of high-level defections, Abdul-Fatah Younis, the interior minister

and an army general, announced on Tuesday that he was now on the side of the uprising and urged the Libyan army to join it."

Meanwhile, the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, urged Libya's neighbours not to turn back those fleeing the violence, as hundreds of refugees streamed into Egypt on tractors and lorries, describing a wave of killing and banditry unleashed by the revolt.

Libyan guards have withdrawn from their side of the border and Egypt's new military rulers - who took power following the overthrow of Hosni Mubarak - said the main crossing would be kept open round the clock to allow the sick and wounded to enter.

Benghazi, Libya's second city, which had been the focal point of violence in recent days, has now been taken over by anti-government protesters, after military units deserted their posts and joined the demonstrators. According to the Paris-based International Federation for Human Rights, protesters are also in control of Sirte, Tobruk in the east, as well as Misurata, Khoms, Tarhounah, Zenten, Zawiya and Zouara.

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/africa/2011/02/201122214042786138.html

[brooklynite]

7. If he's lost control of the Security apparatus, I'd say we're talking hours instead of days...