Why rebel against gaddafi

The court has identified at least nine incidents that could constitute crimes against humanity, including the alleged killing of people in Benghazi last month. Libyan government spokesman Moussa Ibrahim told the BBC the case was "close to a joke", built purely on media reports.

Jon Leyne reports from the rebel-held city of Benghazi, where people have been celebrating an end to Colonel Gaddafi's rule in the east of the country. But they're beginning to realise the fight for control of the whole country is a long way from over. Ian Pannell has been to an area of Libya's Sahara desert, now in the hands of rebels. He finds the threat that Colonel Muammar Gaddafi's forces could return ever present and the rebels' hold on their new territory precarious.

John Simpson in Aqayla in central Libya, which he says it is "not like the normal front line of a war zone". Ben Brown on the Libyan-Tunisian border, where an international effort has begun to rescue thousands of stranded people.

Navigate the map to see the latest reports from correspondents across the region as the crisis unfolds. Protests in the capital had centred on Green Square and various key buildings, like the headquarters of state TV and the People's Hall, were attacked and damaged. But Libyan leader, Muammar Gaddafi, and his supporters are very much in control of Tripoli.

Colonel Gaddafi has appeared several times on television from his compound in Bab al-Azizia making defiant speeches condemning the protests. The Libyan Army is a weak force of little more than 40,, poorly armed and poorly trained. Keeping the army weak is part of Colonel Muammar Gaddafi's long-term strategy to eliminate the risk of a military coup, which is how he himself came to power in The defection of some elements of the army to the protesters in Benghazi is unlikely to trouble the colonel.

His security chiefs have not hesitated to call in air strikes on their barracks in the rebellious east of the country. Libya produces 2. Accused of siding with Gaddafi, community seeks national reconciliation in order to return to their town. By Chris Arsenault. Published On 27 Dec More from News. Pakistan takes far-right leader off terror list to end protests. Who are we? Fight the Fake. A Reuters reporter at a hotel in the city centre said she could hear bursts of machine gun fire about every few minutes, and occasional booms from heavy weapons.

It was not immediately possible to verify his account independently. His security forces, facing rebel advances on three fronts, have not buckled as some rebels had predicted. The uprising appeared to be isolated to a few neighbourhoods, and had not spread to the whole city. The rebels said the uprising was being coordinated with anti-Gaddafi fighters outside the city.

They were fighting towards Tripoli from the town of Zawiyah, to the west, and also along the main highway to the south of the capital. A straightforward military conquest of Tripoli could be an enormous task for the poorly armed and trained rebel forces. Near the southern front line, rebels were gathering forces to try to advance on Al-Aziziyah, which is about 45 km 27 miles south of Tripoli and is the southern gateway to the capital.

At a checkpoint south of Al-Aziziyah, a Reuters reporter saw rebels bring mortar launchers up to the front.