Libya uprising - Thursday 10 March

9.17am: Good morning. Welcome to live coverage of events in Libya and the response of the international community to the crisis.

Here's a summary of the latest developments:

• A fresh bombardment has been launched on the eastern oil port of Ras Lanuf, rebel fighters and witnesses said. Bombs or missiles were landing a few km from Ras Lanuf oil refinery and close to a building of the Libyan Emirates Oil Refinery Company building, a Reuters witness said. "One bomb landed on a civilian house in Ras Lanuf," rebel fighter Izeddine Sheikhy told Reuters. He said the bombardment seemed to have come from the direction of the sea. This could not be confirmed.

• Britain is pressing for an EU emergency summit declaration calling for Muammar Gaddafi to step down. EU foreign ministers are meeting in Brussels today to discuss the crisis in Libya. In a joint letter with Germany, Foreign Secretary William Hague said the EU should agree a declaration that "the EU and its member states will not work or co-operate with Gaddafi and that he has to step aside to allow for a true democratic transformation of the country".

• Nato defence ministers are also meeting in Brussels to discuss their response to events in Libya, including the possibility of a no-fly zone. But Nato's secretary general Anders Fogh Rasmussen said the alliance had no intervention of intervening and would only do so if the security council called for it. However, he did indicate its stance could change "if the regime continue to attack their own people". A Nato source said not only would there be no decision on a no-fly zone by the notoriously slow-moving organisation, but it was unlikely there would be a joint communique either. Gaddafi, in spite of outrageous acts against his own people, had not done enough to trigger intervention under international law, the source admitted.

• The UK defence secretary, Liam Fox, who will be attending the Nato meeting, has rejected a claim by US Defence Secretary Robert Gates that enforcing a no-fly zone would have to begin with a military attack to destroy Libya's air defences. Asked if his American counterpart was wrong, he told BBC Radio 4's Today: "That is one military option but there are other military options. "In Iraq that was not the way that we carried out the no-fly zone - there are alternatives. Rather than taking out air defences, you can say that 'if your air defence radar locks on to any of our aircraft, we regard that as a hostile act and we would take subsequent action'. "We would want to look at all of these."

• Russia is to ban all weapons sales to Libya, the Kremlin said in a statement today, effectively suspending billions of dollars worth of arms contracts with the Gaddafi regime. The Kremlin decree brings Moscow in line with an arms embargo and other punitive measures imposed in a 26 February United Nations security council resolution against Libya. Russia's state-owned arms export monopoly Rosoboronexport said yesterday it had lost $2bn (£1.2bn) worth of arms contracts with Gaddafi's government due to the UN sanctions against Tripoli. The daily Kommersant reported last week Russia had also been near to closing deals to sell military aircraft and anti-aircraft missiles worth another $1.8 billion.

• Journalists working for the BBC in Libya have been arrested, tortured and subjected to a mock execution by security forces of Colonel Muammar Gaddafi's regime.

Photograph: Reuters

9.29am: Gaddafi would agree to talks on the transition of power, Portuguese daily Publico reported today (via Reuters). The report comes after the Portuguese foreign minister, Luis Amado, met the Libyan leader's envoy in Lisbon.

Publico said the emissary of the Libyan leader told Amado that Tripoli would accept "to begin a negotiations process for a transition". But it emphasised that the message had to be taken with caution as it was given in response to Amado's proposals for a cessation of hostilities against the rebels and a peaceful change of power in the north African country.

The Portuguese foreign ministry said the envoy met Amado to explain Tripoli's view of the conflict. Portugal was chosen this week to chair the United Nations security council's committee on sanctions. The ministry did not name the Libyan envoy and gave no further details of the meeting.

Photograph: Philippe Wojazer/REUTERS

9.50am: The French president, Nicolas Sarkozy, is to meet with two envoys from Libya's opposition leadership today (thanks to @littleriver in the comments section for highlighting that). The Elysee presidential palace said the meeting with the two Libyans would provide a "chance to discuss the general situation in Libya, and in particular the humanitarian situation and the actions of the Libyan National Council".

Meanwhile, Gaddafi continues his diplomatic blitz ahead of the EU and Nato meetings. One of his envoys is holding a meeting with Greek representatives after talks were held with Portugal's foreign minister Luis Amado last night.

Mohamed Tahir Siala is meeting the Greek deputy foreign minister, Dimitris Dollis, and with the ministry's secretary, Ioannis Zeppos, in Athens. Greece has traditionally had good relations with Libya. Prime Minister George Papandreou received a phone call from Gaddafi on Tuesday night and urged the Libyan leader to do all he could to stop further bloodshed and a descent into full-blown civil war.

10.04am: A new weapon has been unleashed by Gaddafi's forces in their battle against the opposition - gunboats. Both al-Jazeera and Reuters are reporting that gunboats have been attacking rebel positions in eastern Libya.

10.12am: France has just become the first major European power to recognise the Libyan national council in Benghazi as the legitimate representative of Libyan people.

France is to open an embassy in Benghazi and will allow the Libyan embassy in Paris to reopen.

This will be welcomed by the Libyan council, which has been pushing for such recognition.

10.27am: Libya is in a civil war, according to the International committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), which says it has seen increasing numbers of wounded civilians arriving in hospitals in Ajdabiya and Misrata

ICRC President Jakob Kellenberger said in Misrata 40 patients were treated for serious injuries and 22 dead were taken there. He said the Red Cross surgical team in Ajdabiya operated on 55 wounded this past week and "civilians are bearing the brunt of the violence".

He also called on Libyan authorities to grant the humanitarian agency access to western areas including the capital Tripoli and reminded both sides that civilians and medical facilities must not be targeted. Kellenberger told a news conference:

We have now a non-international armed conflict, or what you would call civil war. We see increasing numbers of wounded arriving at hospitals in the east and we are extremely worried.

10.39am: At least three bombs have been dropped in Ras Lanuf this morning, al-Jazeera's Tony Birtley, who is in the oil port, is reporting.

10.48am: The Guardian's Chris McGreal, in Benghazi says there has been a shake-up in the opposition forces amid the bombardment by Gaddafi's forces of other rebel-held territory in recent days.

The rebels seem to be becoming better organised militarily. They've now got a new experienced leader, Omar Hariri. He used to be one of Gaddafi's officers, in fact was part of the coup that brought him to power 40 years ago. They're digging in their defences around Ras Lanuf, strengthening them. It's not clear whether that means they're intending, for now, to simply sit there and try and resist Gaddafi's forces if they now turn their intentions east once they are dealt with Zawiyah, if they have indeed dealt with Zawiyah, that situation remains unclear or whether the rebels intend to continue to advance towards Tripoli...

One of the things that has happened is that the military leadership is clearing out all of the hundreds upon hundreds of young men who simply grabbed weapons in Benghazi and around from military bases and headed towards the front to fight. They have been very poorly disciplined, they have no experience, they have shot at the slightest provocation and they have become a danger to themselves, and to the rebel cause in some way. They are now being replaced by more experienced soldiers, people who have served with Gaddafi's army, in an effort to give some coordination and discipline.

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10.57am: Further proof of how the Gaddafi regime treats journalists comes from the Guardian's Peter Beaumont who says security forces are confiscating equipment from reporters on their departure from the airport.

Twitter screengrab

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10.59am: Opposition forces on the main front line between the Mediterranean oil port of Ras Lanouf and the city of Bin Jawad, appear to have established better supply lines, bringing heavy weapons like multiple-rocket launcher trucks and small tanks to the battle, Reuters reports.

Youssef Fittori, a major in the opposition force, said a mix of defectors from Gadhafi's special forces and civilain rebels were fighting government forces about 12 miles west of Ras Lanouf on the main coastal road to Bin Jawwad.
"Today, God willing, we will take Bin Jawwad. We are moving forward," he said.

11.07am: Germany has frozen "billions" of assets of the Libyan Central Bank and other state-run agencies, AP reports.

Economy Minister Rainer Bruederle said in a statement that the "measures are a clear reaction to the developments in Libya the brutal suppression of the Libyan freedom movement can now no longer be financed from funds that are in German banks".

The ministry had already provisionally blocked Libyan accounts on 1 March.

11.10am: My colleague Angelique Chrisafis in Paris has some more detail on France's decision to recognise the rebel Libyan National Council as the only legitimate representative of the Libyan people.

France will now send a French ambassador to Benghazi and receive a Libyan envoy in Paris. The announcement by the Elysee came after Nicolas Sarkozy held talks with two Libyan National Council representatives, Mahmoud Jibril and Ali Essaoui, to discuss the uprising and the humanitarian situation in Libya.

France is keen to act fast and redeem its standing in the Arab world after the government's clumsy handling of the Tunisian and Egyptian revolutions. The government's foot-dragging and reticence in supporting the anti-government protest movements in Tunisia and Egypt and the Elysee's hamfisted response damaged France's diplomatic standing.

The president, embarrassed by French ministers' ties to dictators and his own warm welcome of Gaddafi to France in 2007, is keen to position himself at the forefront of international efforts to resolve the conflict in Libya. He has repeatedly called for Gaddafi to
leave Libya. An Elysee official said France had received no requests to meet with Gaddafi's envoys and that in any case "there is not a lot of enthusiasm" to meet with them. Sarkozy's office has said the France is keen to help the Libyan National Council "politically."

11.13am: Hassan Bulifa, a member of the board of east Libya's Arabian Gulf Oil Co (Agoco), a unit of state oil firm National Oil Corp, has told Reuters Agoco is arranging to market oil direct to foreign buyers instead of through its state-owned parent.

My colleague Martin Wainwright has blogged about another UK university being linked with the Gaddafi regime, after the controversy over LSE, which saw director Howard Davies quit his post. The institution under the spotlight now is Huddersfield University:

The university has a dozen members of Colonel Gaddafi's police force studying forensic science, uncontroversially until the rebellions spread along North Africa's Mediterranean coast.

If Gaddafi clings on, their presence may fade back into obscurity, but meanwhile all sorts of critics are making a stir. The Huddersfield Examiner is following the story painstakingly, including protests from the Police Federation whose members have not forgotten the murder of PC Yvonne Fletcher outside the Libyan embassy in London in 1984.

The 12 officers are among 103 Libyans doing masters in forensic science at the university, normally seen with other foreign students as a welcome source of income and spreading British – maybe even northern – values in an imperfect world. They're here following approval in 2007 by the then Home Secretary Jacqui Smith – she of the video-hiring expenses husband – of a contract by the National Policing Improvement Agency to give the Libyan force a hand.

11.21am: Portugal has followed France in recognising the Libyan national council in Benghazi as the legitimate government of the Libyan people, al-Jazeera is reporting.

11.25am: There is fierce fighting around Bin Jawad, Reuters is reporting. Salem Abdel Wahad, a 30-year-old rebel soldier, told the news agency that Gaddafi's forces have tanks and warplanes, making it difficult for rebels to advance with their relatively light arms.:

Right now, there is a bloody fight ... between us and Gaddafi's mercenary force for Bin Jawad. They are exchanging rocket fire at the front.

11.38am: Two tanks manned by Gaddafi's forces are moving towards rebel positions near the eastern Libyan oil town of Ras Lanuf, a witness has told Reuters.

The tanks moved towards the oil terminal town and fired on rebel positions as they approached a few kilometres away, the witness said.

11.44am: There is some worrying news from Libya about the Guardian correspondent, Ghaith Abdul-Ahad. He is missing, having not been in touch with the paper since Sunday, when he was on the outskirts of Zawiyah.

The Guardian has been in contact with Libyan government officials in Tripoli and London and asked them to urgently give all assistance in the search for Abdul-Ahad and to establish if he is in the custody of the authorities.

11.50am: The eastern oil town of Brega has also been bombed by Gaddafi's forces today, Reuters reports. The town saw fierce fighting on Wednesday last week at the beginning of the counteroffensive by troops loyal to the regime.

Brega is about 90 km east of Ras Lanuf, which has also been bombed today. Rebel fighter Mohamed Othman told Reuters over the phone:

There's just been an airstrike on Brega - two jets, two bombs.

11.54am: There is a meeting of Nato defence ministers in Brussels today. Our correspondent Ewen MacAskill is there and says it's unlikely that the alliance will intervene in Libya "unless there is a major atrocity that provokes a sense of outrage among the American public". He writes:

Forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi have already racked up a long list of abuses against their own people, but these, no matter how abhorrent, have not made a serious impact on the American public. It would take a major massacre of civilians to awaken the sense of outrage needed to put pressure on the White House to act. Unless that happens, Washington will continue to resist calls by Britain, France and others to intervene with a no-fly zone that would require shooting down any Libyan planes and destroying Libyan air
defences and airfields.

At today's meeting the US defence secretary, Robert Gates, will oppose such calls again.
The White House has been mulling a no-fly zone, which would be consistent with the doctrine of liberal interventionism that Obama espoused during his 2008 election campaign and immediately after becoming president. But the Pentagon is adamantly against it.

Ewen says there are a number of reasons why the Pentagon does not want to get caught up in a no-fly zone. He goes on:

It would be costly at a time when the Pentagon, like every other government department in the US is having to cut expenditure. But it the Pentagon is opposed for strategic reasons too. It argues that you cannot intervene everywhere, and in the case of Libya it could prove counter-productive, confirming Arab suspicion that the US is primarily
interested in oil.

Another Pentagon argument against is that the public tend to exaggerate the extent to which air power can influence events on the ground. So Nato today will do nothing, and that position will not change, unless evidence emerges of Gaddafi's forces going way beyond anything they have done so far.

11.57am: The EU has extended its financial sanctions against Libya, adding five financial institutions whose assets and resources will be frozen to a list of more than two dozen individuals close to the Libyan leader, AP reports.

12.04pm: The hospital in Ras Lanuf has been hit by an airstrike and evacuated, al-Jazeera's Tony Birtley reports. There is no word on casualties. Birtley says: "We know people have been wounded, we don't know how many."

12.07pm: Chris McGreal tweets that the provisional national council in Benghazi has welcomed its recognition by France and wants the UK to do likewise.

Twitter screengrab

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12.13pm: CNN Spanish's Middle East correspondent tweets (link in Spanish) that Gaddafi forces are advancing on Ras Lanuf with artillery tanks and ships. It also reports mortar fire in the hospital car park.

Photograph: Sasha Mordovets/Getty Images

12.34pm: Russia's foreign minister Sergei Lavrov has warned that foreign intervention in Libya would be "unacceptable" - a clear indication that Russia is prepared to exercise its veto on the UN security council if the proposal gets that far. Lavrov did say that Russia would, however, "closely study" any such initiatives to provide support to opposition forces. He said:

In the United Nations charter and other international accords, it is clearly stated that each nation has the right to decide its own future. Intervention in internal affairs, especially military interference, is unacceptable.

Lavrov also warned that attempts to interfere in the revolt could bring greater long-term problems for Libya, and urged forces on both sides of the Libyan fighting to hold talks.

"Any reckless action, based on foreign models that were used in other parts of the world, could lead to serious problems which will then have to be faced by the African countries themselves."

12.56pm: The UK has responded to the plea from the Libyan national council for recognition as the legitimate voice of the Libyan people with a sort of halfway recognition, describing the council as "valid interlocutors". A foreign office spokesman told Reuters:

The UK recognises states, not governments. The interim national council are valid interlocutors, with whom we wish to work closely. We've made it clear that Gaddafi must go now. We are working closely with international partners to achieve this. We are considering a range of options and look forward to discussing these with President Sarkozy and the other partners at tomorrow's European council.

1pm: Here's a summary of events so far today:

• Pro-Gaddafi forces are advancing on the oil town of Ras Lanuf, forcing the evacuation of the hospital. The eastern oil town of Brega has also been bombed and there is fierce fighting around Bin Jawad.

• The International Committee of the Red Cross has described the situation in Libya as a civil war

• The UK and Germany are calling on the EU to issue a declaration stating that the union will not work with Gaddafi and telling him "to step aside to allow for a true democratic transformation"

• France has become the first country to formally recognise the Libyan rebels' newly created interim governing council

• Germany has followed the US, the UK, Switzerland and Austria and others in freezing billions in assets belonging to the Libyan central bank and other state-run agencies

• The UK and France are pushing for the creation of a no-fly zone in Libyan airspace in the face of continuing US reluctance. The matter will be discussed later today at a Nato defence ministers' summit

• There are fears for the safety of the Guardian correspondent Ghaith Abdul-Ahad, who has not been in contact with the paper for four days. He was last heard from on the outskirts of Zawiyah

1.12pm: It is still unclear who controls Zawiyah, which was the focus of intense fighting yesterday, Reuters reports:

One fighter said rebels had retaken the heart of Zawiyah, the closest city - 50 km (30 miles) west - to Gaddafi's main stronghold Tripoli, from the army overnight. The centre appeared to change hands twice during the day in a hard-fought battle. "We fought until after three in the morning. It's all quiet here this morning," said the insurgent, named Ibrahim, by phone.

Mohamed, a Libyan in exile abroad who got through to a relative on the outskirts of Zawiyah on Thursday morning, said it was simply not clear who was winning the battle for the city but the army had it under siege to break the rebels' will. "Yesterday [rebel sympathisers] tried to bring food and medicine from Subratha but failed. Government troops surround Zawiyah from everywhere. It is unclear who controls the centre. It changes all the time. It's street to street fighting."

Photograph: Geert Vanden Wijngaert/AP

1.21pm: Nato's secretary general, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, has been delivering his opening remarks to a meeting of the bloc's defence ministers. He said:

"We stand ready to consider other options [than a purely humanitarian response]."

Three requirements would have to be satisfied before such additional action was taken:

1. Demonstrable need
2. A clear legal basis
3. Regional support

"In the long run no society can ignore the will of the people ... we are currently seeing the start of a new era of freedom," he said.

1.33pm: A little more on the situation in Ras Lanuf, courtesy of AP, which has spoken to a rebel fighter in the town. He tells the agency that he and his fellow fighters are being outgunned:

Shells fell near a hospital in Ras Lanuf and hit a series of residential buildings as Gaddafi's tanks moved closer to the city on the Mediterranean coast than they have been since the rebels seized it.
An opposition fighter with a Kalashnikov rifle said he had fled the frontline outside Ras Lanuf to move deeper into the rebel-controlled east.
"We don't have any heavy weapons," he said. "There are people with heavier weapons."

1.51pm: This from Reuters on the bombardment of Ras Lanuf:

Bombs or missiles landed a few miles from Ras Lanuf oil refinery and close to a building of the Libyan Emirates Oil Refinery Company near the frontline in the east where rebels and government forces are fighting.
"One bomb landed on a civilian house in Ras Lanuf," rebel fighter Izeddine Sheikhy told Reuters. He said the bombardment seemed to have come from the direction of the sea.
"I saw ships yesterday and today. Missiles were being fired from them," said rebel fighter Mohd Fadl.
Reuters correspondents also saw an air strike from a plane over Ras Lanuf. Witnesses said it struck near the town's eastern checkpoint. There were no immediate reports of casualties.

2.02pm: AP is reporting that rebels are pulling out of Ras Lanuf as the bombardment continues, fleeing eastwards in cars and pick-up trucks mounted with machine guns

2.18pm: According to Le Monde (in French), France is backing air strikes to knock out Gaddafi's air force and stop the bombing of opponents and civilians.

2.40pm: William Hague tweets:

Have spoken to #Libya opposition representative Jabril about pressure on the regime, humanitarian help & no fly zone planning

2.47pm: Video showing the French government's official recognition of Libya's opposition national council:

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2.54pm: A Libyan rebel crouches on the ground as shells rain down on Ras Lanuf. The Guardian has a gallery of some powerful images from Ras Lanuf, effectively the frontline of the battle between Gaddafi's troops and opposition forces.

Photograph: Roberto Schmidt/AFP/Getty Images

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3.08pm: The Brazilian journalist Andrei Netto, who went missing while travelling with the Guardian's Ghaith Abdul-Ahad, is being freed, his paper Estado de SP reports (in Portuguese).
There is no news of Abdul-Ahad in the article, which says Netto was arrested for incorrectly filling in forms on entering the country. (Link and translation from my colleague @estheraddley)

3.16pm: Our correspondent Chris McGreal in Benghazi says the transitional national council there is concentrating its diplomatic effort on three countries in its attempts to get a no-fly zone implemented, amid dismay at the US failure to act:

They are pursuing a diplomatic approach with three countries. France is one of them, Britain and Turkey are the others. They seem to have largely given up on the US for the moment.

3.31pm: Ras Lanuf appears to be under the control of pro-Gaddafi forces, according to al-Jazeera's Tony Birtley. He said "dozens" have been killed. Birtley said he fled the town with an opposition commander who said "all of his men were killed".

3.34pm: A clarification to an earlier post, which cited al-Jazeera saying Portugal has also recognised the provisional national council in Benghazi. It has not categorically made the type of declaration made by the French, but foreign minister Luis Amado did say "the Gaddafi regime is over, it's legitimacy is over".

3.38pm: Libya is considering severing ties with France after news broke that Paris would recognise the rebel Libyan national council in Benghazi, the official Libyan news agency Jana has reported (via Reuters). An unnamed foreign ministry official said:

Libya will think about severing its relations with France because of information being circulated about France's damaging intervention in Libya's internal affairs.

3.39pm: The EU has voted to recognise the Libyan national council in Benghazi, al-Arabiya is reporting.

3.49pm: AP has joined al-Jazeera in reporting that Gaddafi's forces have retaken Ras Lanuf. It reports that the opposition were driven from the oil town in the face of a barrage of artillery fire:

Fleeing rebels said government forces were showering rockets or tank shells on the city in preparation for a full-scale advance. The lightly armed opposition sped back to their territory by the hundreds, fleeing eastward in cars and pick-up trucks mounted with machine guns.

Taking back Ras Lanuf would be a major victory for Gadhafi, re-establishing his power over a badly damaged but vital oil facility and pushing his zone of control further along the main coastal highway running from rebel territory to the capital, Tripoli.

Retreating through the pancake-flat desert scrubland along the highway and scanning the skies for government warplanes, the rebels pleaded for military help from western powers. "We need help from the international community, but we just hear promises," said Mohammed Ali Al Zuaiee, a 48-year-old rebel fighter. "They are doing nothing."

4.00pm: Nato's secretary general, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, is giving a press conference following today's meeting. He says "ministers agreed further planning would be needed" with respect to a no-fly zone, which would need a UN resolution.

4.04pm: Rasmussen said two things were decided:

• To increase the presence of Nato maritime assets in the central Mediterranean.

• To direct the military authorities to urgently draw up detailed plans with regard to humanitarian assistance, which would require a UN security council resolution.

4.19pm: Here's a summary of today's events:

• Ras Lanuf has been retaken by government forces according to reports. The strategic oil town has been bombarded from the air, land and sea, forcing the evacuation of the hospital. An al-Jazeera correspondent said "dozens" had been killed.

• Brega, close to Ras Lanuf, has also been targeted by air strikes and there have been reports of fierce fighting around Bin Jawad.

• France has become the first country to formally recognise the Libyan rebels' newly created interim governing council. It will now send an ambassador to Benghazi and receive a Libyan envoy in Paris. The EU has also recognised the council, according to one report.

• The prospect of a Nato enforced no-fly zone seemed far away as secretary general Anders Fogh Rasmussen said "further planning would be needed" and set out strict criteria of what would be needed for intervention. He said it would require demonstrable need to be proven, a clear legal basis and regional support.

• The International Committee of the Red Cross has described the situation in Libya as a civil war. It said it has seen increasing numbers of wounded civilians arriving in hospitals in Ajdabiya and Misrata

• There are fears about the safety of the Guardian correspondent Ghaith Abdul-Ahad, who has not been in contact with the paper for four days. He was last heard from on the outskirts of Zawiyah. Abdul-Ahad was travelling with Brazilian journalist Andrei Netto, whose paper reported that he will be released today. It did not have information on Abdul-Ahad.

4.39pm GMT: Libyan state television is reporting that the three Dutch marines detained during a rescue mission last month have been released.

The three marines were arrested near Sirte on 27 February, after an abortive mission to assist stranded Dutch nationals.

The TV news item said the three were being handed over to a delegation from Malta and Greece but gave no further details.

This is Richard Adams in the Guardian's Washington bureau taking over live blogging duties.

4.55pm GMT: The office of Brazilian president Dilma Rousseff has released a statement regarding the arrested Brazilian journalist Andrei Netto:

President Rousseff is closely following the situation regarding the Brazilian journalist Andrei Netto of the newspaper O Estado de Sao Paulo, who has been detained in Libya, and has instructed the deputy minister of foreign affairs, ambassador Ruy Nogueira, to ensure his physical safety and release.

The president has been informed by the foreign ministry that the journalist was in the town of Sabratha, 60km from Tripoli. Brazil's ambassador in Libya, George Ney de Souza Fernandes, is pledging every effort necessary with authorities in the region for a prompt resolution of the case.

Netto had been travelling with the Guardian's Ghaith Abdul-Ahad near Zawiyah when both men went missing. There is still no news regarding Abdul-Ahad.

5.20pm GMT: Journalists from The Times and ITN appear to be the first western journalists to enter Zawiya after its recapture by pro-Gaddafi forces today. The Times's report is behind a web paywall but here's a brief extract:

The scene, of mangled tank parts, rubble, glass, scorched walls, looked like the aftermath of some of the worst clashes in the darkest days of the Iraq war.

Gaping holes punched by rockets or tank rounds pitted many of the buildings that surround the square, while the top of a minaret that stands at one end had been completely destroyed in more than two weeks of heavy fighting.

There was no trace of the rebels who only as recently as last Sunday were in control of the square – demonstrated by their tri-colour flags, which today were no where to be seen.

The reporters also saw evidence of the fighting, including 20 graves dug in one corner of a square in the city centre, but that efforts were already being made to erase signs of the fighting.

ITV News international editor Bill Neely – seen here reporting from Zawiya – was one of the first journalists to see the aftermath of fighting in Zawiya

5.39pm GMT: ITV News international editor Bill Neely was the first journalist into Zawiya today after its recapture by pro-Gaddafi forces, and he has filed an account for the Guardian.

It's being edited right now but here are the first extracts of what he saw:

It is certainly the worst devastation I've seen in any town centre. Mix a huge IRA bomb with a tank battle and add the aftermath of an artillery barrage and you get some idea of the damage to the centre of this town of a quarter of a million people.

Neely also spoke to some of the remaining residents of Zawiya:

We talked to one man who said "People are being arrested for no reason, people who stayed in their homes for the whole seven days of the fighting. You cannot imagine what is happening here". He put the death toll at around 150 but no-one really knows.

Looking at the rocket and bullet holes in the town's buildings, it wouldn't be surprising to learn that Gaddafi's troops had fired tens of thousands of rounds. The minaret of the mosque, perhaps a hundred feet [30 metres] high when I last saw it, has been shorn in two, the top now a mess of mangled concrete.

We'll have more when we post the full article shortly.

5.50pm GMT: This just in – Saif al-Islam Gaddafi has given an interview to Reuters in which he vows an all-out assault on the rebels:

Libya is preparing full-scale military action to crush a rebellion and will not surrender even if Western powers intervene in the conflict, Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi's most prominent son, Saif al-Islam, said on Thursday.

"It's time for liberation. It's time for action. We are moving now," he told Reuters in an English-language interview.

Asked if the government was preparing to step up its military campaign, he said: "Time is out now. It's time for action... We gave them two weeks (for negotiations)."

"We will never ever give up. We will never ever surrender. This is our country. We fight here in Libya. The Libyan people, we will never ever welcome Nato, we will never ever welcome Americans here. Libya is not a piece of cake."

6.04pm GMT: France's Nicolas Sarkozy is said to have discussed bombing targets in Libya with his political allies, Reuters reports from Paris.

If true that would make Sarkozy the most aggressive of the Nato leaders – in stark contrast to France's role during the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003.

According to Reuters, sources from the Union pour un Mouvement Populaire (UMP) said Sarkozy raised the idea of targeted bombings in Libya during talks between members:

Sarkozy, who is pressing for rapid international action to curb Muammar Gaddafi's repression of an uprising, told UMP party members that limited, targeted bombing was among ideas being considered, the UMP party sources contacted by Reuters said.

6.15pm GMT: Reuters continues to post more details of its interview today with Saif al-Islam Gaddafi:

Saif al-Islam described rebels determined to end [Muammar] Gaddafi's 41-year rule as terrorists and armed gangsters and said thousands of Libyans had volunteered to fight them.

"Now it's too late for them. We are so united, we are so strong. And Libya will be free and peaceful soon," said Saif al-Islam at a Tripoli compound designed in the shape of a luxury tent, as Gaddafi supporters shouted defiant slogans in the background.

6.23pm GMT: In Yemen, meanwhile, President Saleh is still struggling to placate the opposition movement there, announcing plans for a new constitution.

The Washington Post's Portia Walker reports from Yemen:

Speaking to more than 40,000 supporters at a stadium in the capital, Sanaa, Saleh said the initiative would transfer some powers from the executive branch to a parliamentary system and grant greater financial and administrative authority to local governing bodies. The proposal, he said, would be submitted for public approval by the end of the year.

The president's offer was turned down by the opposition, which vowed to continue daily demonstrations against the government.

"This initiative is too late. The demands on the street go beyond that and are bigger than that," said Mohammed Qahtan, an opposition spokesman.

6.30pm GMT: The rebel forces are being pushed out of the coastal town and key oil facility of Ras Lanuf, under heavy assault, the Guardian's Chris McGreal reports from Benghazi:

On Thursday rebel fighters said they did not have the heavy weapons to resist Gaddafi's tanks, artillery and warplanes striking at Ras Lanuf, which is the frontline of the rebel-held swathes of territory in the east.

The town has largely emptied of its 10,000 residents. The rebels said they had been shelled by warships off the coast. Witnesses said dozens of rebels were killed.

At first some of the less experienced fighters, carrying guns looted from military bases, turned and fled as Gaddafi's forces attacked. Then even the more experienced fighters, some of them defectors from Gaddafi's army, were eventually forced in to retreat. They pulled out of Ras Lanuf towing anti-aircraft guns and weapons mounted on the pickup trucks, aiming to establish new defensive lines.

6.40pm GMT: British foreign secretary William Hague has responded to Saif al-Islam Gaddafi's threats of all-out war against the rebels, telling the BBC:

If there were to be large-scale bombing attacks that the world could see and understand, and that could be verified, on civilians, on populated areas in Libya, then that would massively strengthen the case for the introduction of a no-fly zone.

Hague also said a no-fly zone could be set up "very quickly" since Britain and France had prepared the way for the UN Security Council to vote on a resolution, while Nato was already planning for a zone to be established.

6.58pm GMT: Some good news regarding the Guardian correspondent Ghaith Abdul-Ahad – Libyan government officials have confirmed that he is in custody:

The foreign ministry in the capital Tripoli said that Libyan authorities were holding Abdul-Ahad along with a Brazilian journalist, Andrei Netto. The two are believed to have been detained close to the coastal town of Sabratha on Monday.

Abdul-Ahad entered Libya from Tunisia and was last in touch with the paper through a third party on Sunday. He was then on the outskirts of Zawiya, a strategic town west of Tripoli which has seen fierce fighting between government and rebel forces in the past few days.

The Guardian has been in contact with Libyan officials in Tripoli and London and asked them urgently to give all assistance in the search for Abdul-Ahad and to guarantee his safety and wellbeing.

Meanwhile, Andrei Netto has been released and is at the Brazilian ambassador's residence in Tripoli. Netto's newspaper, Estado de Sao Paulo, reports that he is in good health and will leave Libya tomorrow.

7.05pm GMT: Bahrain's government appears to be gearing up for further conflict with opposition forces in the tiny state – with this advertisement appearing in Pakistan recruiting drill instructors, anti-riot instructors and security guards for the Bahrain National Guard.

Clashes have been reported today at a school in the tiny Gulf state, while a march on the king's palace is planned for tomorrow, risking a direct confrontation between protesters and the ruling royal family.

7.12pm GMT: Reports are coming in that police in Saudi Arabia used gunfire and percussion grenades to disperse a group of around 200 protesters in the city of Qatif, in the east of the country.

According to the Associated Press:

A witness in the eastern city of Qatif says gunfire and stun grenades were fired at several hundred protesters marching in the city streets Thursday. The witness, speaking on condition of anonymity because he feared government reprisal, said police in the area opened fire. The witness saw at least one protester injured.

The price of crude oil appears to have risen sharply as a result:

Benchmark West Texas Intermediate for April delivery fell below $101 on weak economic news from the US and China, but rallied back quickly after the report from Saudi Arabia to be down just 67 cents at $103.73 per barrel in trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

7.26pm GMT: Nato said imposing a no-fly zone over Libya would need "demonstrable need" as well as UN approval and support from other countries in the region, after a meeting of ministers from member states in Brussels.

We bear in mind the sensitivities of the region. Any NATO operation must show added value, have a clear legal mandate and regional supportless than a minute ago via web

Nato's secretary general Anders Fogh-Rasmussen is doing some post-summit tweeting.

7.45pm GMT: The Gaddafi regime appears to be celebrating its recent success in driving rebel forces out of the town of Ras Lanuf, according to this chilling news via AP:

In Tripoli, Gaddafi's son Seif al-Islam vowed to retake the eastern half of the country, which has been in the opposition's hands since early on in the three-week-old uprising.

"I have two words to our brothers and sisters in the east: We're coming," he told a cheering crowd of young supporters, depicting Libyans in the east as being held "hostage" by terrorists.

8pm GMT: CNN's Ben Wedeman is in eastern Libya, and sends this tweet:

Anti-Qaddafi forces advising civilians leave the Al-Brega area concerned government forces will continue eastward advance. #Libyaless than a minute ago via webbenwedeman
bencnn

In other recent tweets, Wedeman reported that doctors in al-Brega were receiving dead and wounded from the fighting in Ras Lanuf.

8.13pm GMT: Asked to respond to reports of gunfire used to disperse protesters in Saudi Arabia, a national security council spokesperson in Washington says: "We're going to support a set of universal values in every country in the region."

8.22pm GMT: Al-Jazeera – now available in the UK on Freeview – has a claim by the Libyan deputy foreign minister Khaled al-Koaem that pro-Gaddafi forces captured more than 1,500 rebel fighters:

You can tell from the way they dress – the beard, the turban, the trousers – for us it's clear, they are really part of al-Qaida. Some of them I'm sure are not al-Qaida members. But the core of these attacks are the al-Qaida elements.

Al-Koaem then attacked the media for telling lies about the situation in Libya.

8.28pm GMT: News is coming through of a joint Franco-British statement, saying that Muammar Gaddafi and his camp must leave to end the killing in Libya.

More on this when it is available.

Nicolas Sarkozy (left) and David Cameron have jointly authored a letter calling on Gaddafi to step down.

8.32pm: Here is the text of a joint letter from British prime minister David Cameron and French president Nicolas Sarkozy, to the president of the European council, calling the Gaddafi regime's actions "utterly unacceptable" and concluding: "To stop further suffering of the Libyan people, Muammar Gaddafi and his clique should leave":

Since the Libyan people have started to rise against Muammar Gaddafi's brutal regime, the world is witnessing on a daily basis an unacceptable continuation of violence and repression in Libya. Ignoring UN Security Council resolution 1970 demands as well as calls from regional organisations and the whole international community, Gaddafi's regime continues to attack his own people including with aircraft and helicopters. It is clear to us that the regime has lost any legitimacy it may have once had.

This deliberate use of military force against civilians is utterly unacceptable. As warned by the Security Council, these acts may amount to crimes against humanity. All those involved in deciding, planning or executing such actions must know that they will be held accountable.

France and the UK are committed to the sovereignty, independence, territorial integrity and national unity of Libya. We support the Libyan peoples desire to choose their own leadership and to decide their own political system. We welcome the formation of an Interim Transitional National Council based in Benghazi and we are engaging with the Council and its members to develop a cooperative dialogue.

When the Libyan people win their fundamental rights, we should be ready to support them with the necessary assistance and cooperation, in order to promote stability and development in Libya, for the benefit of all Libyans.

Today's priority is to cope with the political and security situation.

To that end, we propose to our European partners, our Allies, and our Arab and African friends to undertake the following steps:

1. To stop further suffering of the Libyan people, Muammar Gaddafi and his clique should leave.

2. We support the efforts of the Libyan Interim Transitional National Council to prepare for a representative and accountable government. We should send the clear political signal that we consider the Council to be valid political interlocutors, and an important voice for the Libyan people in this phase.

3. We condemn, and call for an immediate halt to, the use of force against civilians by the Gaddafi regime. We support continued planning to be ready to provide support for all possible contingencies as the situation evolves on the basis of demonstrable need, a clear legal basis and firm regional support. This could include a no-fly zone or other options against air attacks, working with Allies and partners, especially those in the region. We are working together on elements of an appropriate UNSCR.

4. We call upon the UN to evaluate and closely monitor the humanitarian situation in Libya, and to make proposals to ensure full access for humanitarian organisations and assistance to displaced people. We stand ready to help in this endeavour.

5. We support the investigation announced by the International Criminal Court Prosecutor, and the message this sends that the regime will be held to account for its actions.

6. We call on all countries to implement fully the arms embargo, including banning the provision of armed mercenary personnel and to take measures to discourage such recruitments, or departure of planes or convoys to that end, and we stand ready to co-operate with them in this regard.

7. Regarding displaced persons outside Libya, should the situation deteriorate, we should all be ready to act through further financial and material assistance, including military assets, in cooperation with international organisations and countries concerned.

8.43pm: The Guardian's Ewen MacAskill reports from Brussels on the Nato meeting – and pours cold water on hopes for a no-fly zone happening anytime soon:

[Nato's] moves are minimal and represent a victory for the US and Germany, which are opposed to military intervention, in particular the no-fly zone backed by Britain and France. Unless there is an atrocity in Libya, the chances of military intervention are increasingly slim.

[Nato's secretary general, Anders Fogh] Rasmussen set out three conditions for Nato intervention. "Firstly, there has to be demonstrable need for Nato action. Secondly, there has to be a clear legal basis. And thirdly, there has to be firm regional support," he said.

9.02pm GMT: Hillary Clinton has announced that she will meet with representatives from Libyan opposition when she visits Egypt and Tunisia next week – the highest level official contact so far between the US and the anti-Gaddafi rebel movement.

The US secretary of state also said that the US was suspending relations with Libya's current embassy in the US, a step below completely cutting off diplomatic relations.

9.19pm GMT: ITV News international editor Bill Neely's eyewitness account of the post-fighting devastation inside Zawiya is now live on the Guardian's site:

Soon there will be no sign of what I saw: blackened tanks being loaded on to transporters; militia vehicles burned and peppered with bullet holes; the clothing of the newly dead, shot in a battle in Gaddafi's backyard.

9.30pm GMT : Brazilian journalist Andrei Netto – arrested alongside the Guardian's Ghaith Abdul-Ahad by pro-Gaddafi forces – recounts his experience in prison:

Netto says he was not physically assaulted in prison but suffered psychological isolation. "I was alone without seeing the sunlight. I felt the wind blowing in my face for the first time in eight days," said the journalist after he was released.

9.43pm GMT: Reuters publishes the transcript of its interview with Saif al-Islam Gaddafi earlier today:

Q: Is your father angry?

A: "Everybody is angry."

9.51pm GMT: In another sign of the diplomatic noose tightening around the Gaddafi regime, a meeting of Gulf Arab ministers in Riyadh said the Libyan government has lost its legitimacy, according to a report from the United Arab Emirates news agency.

The Gulf Cooperation Council called on the Arab League to help stop the fighting in Libya, including the imposition of a no-fly zone over Libya to protect civilians.

10pm GMT: Here's a summary of today's events:

• Ras Lanuf in the east and Zawiya in the west appear to have been retaken by government forces, with heavy casualties among rebel fighters. Brega, close to Ras Lanuf, has also been targeted by air strikes and there has been fierce fighting around Bin Jawad.

• Journalists who entered Zawiya after the fighting had stopped said there was evidence of a prolonged and heavy battle, and saw many freshly dug graves in the centre of the city.

• Saif al-Islam Gaddafi vowed an all-out effort to crush the rebels in an interview with Reuters, and said that he and his father would "never surrender".

• Nato ministers, led by Germany and the US, rejected calls for a no-fly zone over Libya, unless there was a "demonstrable need for Nato action," agreement by the UN security council and support from other governments in the region.

• The leaders of France and Britain sent a joint letter to the president of the European council, saying that the Gaddafi clan had to leave Libya to bring a halt to the bloodshed.

• In Saudi Arabia, police used gunfire and stun grenades to disperse a group of 200 protesters during a demonstration by Shia in the east of the country, sending world oil prices higher.

• The International Committee of the Red Cross has described the situation in Libya as a civil war. It said it has seen increasing numbers of wounded civilians arriving in hospitals in Ajdabiya and Misrata

• The Guardian correspondent Ghaith Abdul-Ahad – who has been missing for several days – appears to be custody, according to Libyan government officials. A Brazilian journalist who was arrested alongside Abdul-Ahad was released unharmed.

Unverified video said to be of the protests in the Saudi city of Qatif

10.24pm GMT: The Saudi interior ministry said that police fired over the heads of protesters in the kingdom's Eastern Province after demonstrators attacked policemen, an Interior Ministry spokesman said on Thursday.

Reuters reported the ministry spokesman saying that three people had been injured during the protest in the city of Qatif, one of them a policeman, but did not say how the injuries were caused.

Earlier, eyewitnesses said the protesters had been mainly Shia, while the police had used gunfire and stun grenades to disperse the crowd.

"There was firing, it was sporadic," one witness said. Another said: "They were not targeting the people directly. It was indirect firing.... It seems they don't mean to kill. We think this is a message not for Qatif but for all Saudis about tomorrow."

In Saudi, along with many other Middle Eastern countries, protests are planned after prayers on Friday.

10.42pm GMT: The African Union says it has set up a panel of five heads of state to travel to Libya, according to the union's Peace and Security Council.

The council is opposed to to any foreign military intervention.

11pm GMT: The White House has carefully distanced itself from remarks earlier today by national intelligence director James Clapper, who said that the strength of the Pro-Gaddafi forces meant that eventually "the regime will prevail."

Tom Donilon, the president's national security adviser, called Clapper's remarks "a static and one-dimensional assessment"

AP later reported:

Obama does not think Gaddafi will prevail, a senior administration official said, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss Obama's position on Clapper's comments. The official reiterated Obama's stand that Gadhafi has lost legitimacy and should leave power.

12.32am: Three-quarters of Libya remains cut off from humanitarian assistance, the UN's deputy emergency relief coordinator, Catherine Bragg, has warned.

AP reports:

"Inside Libya, we have scanty information on the humanitarian fallout from the intense fighting in the past few days. Medical needs are a major concern, particularly as we are receiving reports of hospital closures at a time when people most need medical care. We need nurses, and wounded civilians need to reach these facilities."

Bragg told more than 100 diplomats at a briefing on the Libyan crisis that the new special envoy to Libya, Abdelilah Al-Khatib, and the UN's new humanitarian coordinator for Libya, Rashid Khalikov, will travel to Tripoli, possibly this weekend as part of its efforts to gain access to all areas of the country and assess the humanitarian needs of civilians.

Red Cross president Jakob Kellengerger said in Geneva that "it's unacceptable that, 24 days after the fighting started, a major part of the country remains effectively cut off from humanitarian aid."

Local doctors said the past few days had seen a sharp increase in casualties arriving at hospitals in Ajdabiya, in the rebel-held east, and Misrata, in government territory, he added. According to "reliable sources" 40 patients were treated for injuries, some very serious, at a medical facility in Misrata, and 22 bodies were also taken there.

"This is but one sign that the conflict is intensifying. Our concern is that civilians are bearing the brunt of the violence. We believe that many people in western Libya have been even more severely affected by the fighting than those in the east."

12.43am: We're wrapping up our live coverage of events in Libya now. But there'll be a fresh live blog tomorrow.