6.00pm: Good evening and welcome to our continuing coverage of the Libya crisis. Our earlier live coverage can be found here. Let's start with a summary.

• Allied air strikes have virtually wiped out Muammar Gaddafi's forces that were attacking the rebel-held town of Misrata. The aerial attacks have ended five days of bloody assault that cost nearly 100 lives.

• The rebel council in Benghazi has created a governing body. Mahmoud Jibril, a US-educated planning expert who defected from the Gaddafi regime, has been named as its head.

• Gaddafi promised victory to an enthusiastic crowd in his first public appearance in a week late on Tuesday. He said there would be "no surrender" to powers who belonged "on the dust heap of history".

6.21pm: Our colleague, Mona Mahmood, has been scanning the Arabic and Libyan press for comments. After an earlier post, here are some more snippets.

Al-Shams, a Libyan newspaper based in Tripoli

This aggression will be foiled in the same way the US barbaric aggression against Libya in 1986 was foiled and our slogan is " Victory or Martyrdom", it is not a strange slogan to us, we the son of hero martyr " Omer Al-Mukhtar" who held this slogan against the Italian invaders.



Libya Al-Youm, a Libyan newspaper based in Switzerland

Misratta is still standing and steadfast because of the bravery of its young men. The signals of collapse in Gaddafi 's regime became very clear and that means the balance of victory is going in the direction of the people revolution forces and the coming weeks will carry a lot of surprises.

6.34pm: To Syria briefly now, and Amnesty International has condemned last night's attack on a mosque by Syrian security forces who are reported to have killed at least seven people..

The human rights organisation said that internet activists were among at least 93 people detained in a wave of arrests across the country.

Amnesty said that videos sent by human rights activists appear to show armed forces shooting in the mosque area while civilians plead for them to stop.

It quoted local sources who named those those killed as 'Omar 'Abd al-Wali, Muhammad Abu al-Eyoun, Hamid Abu Nabbout, Dr Ghassan 'Ali al-Mahameed, Ashraf Masalma, Ibtisam Masalma and Tahir Masalma.

The 93 who were arrested are believed to be aged between 14 and 45 and include five women. Some did not take part in the street protests but appear to have been arrested for their activities on the internet, according to Amnesty.

6.40pm: British aircraft flew over Libya today but for the second day running took no part in attacks, according to defence officials, reports Richard Norton-Taylor, the Guardian's security expert.

British aircraft flew over Libya today but for the second day running took no part in attacks, according to defence officials, reports Richard Norton-Taylor, the Guardian's security expert. The commander of British aircraft operating over Libya has said that Colonel Muammar Gaddafi's air force "no longer exists as a fighting force". Air Vice-Marshal Greg Bagwell said the allies could now operate "with near impunity" over the skies of Libya. He was speaking during a visit to RAF aircrew based at Gioia del Colle in southern Italy. Ten Eurofighter/Typhoons and eight Tornado GR4s ground attack aircraft are now based there. "We are watching over the innocent people of Libya and ensuring that we protect them from attack" Bagwell said. "We have the Libyan ground forces under constant observation and we attack them whenever they threaten civilians or attack population centres." US, British, and French aircraft have flown more than 300 sorties over Libya since Saturday and more than 162 Tomahawk cruise missiles have been fired. Four Tornado planes based at RAF Marham in Norfolk flew direct to Libya on the first two nights. The Trafalgar class submarines , HMS Triumph, has fired Tomahawk cruise missiles but less than its full complement of 16, it is understood. David Cameron told MPs that the Qataris on Tuesday deployed Mirage aircraft while Kuwait and Jordan would be providing "logistical contributions", adding that "further support will be forthcoming" from Arab countries. He said 11 nations had contributed 150 aircraft to operations over Libya but a "lot more remained to be done".

6.44pm: Canadian forces have carried out their first attacks in the UN-sponsored campaign to enforce a no-fly zone over Libya, dropping four laser-guided bombs on an ammunition depot, according to the Associated Press news agency.

Maj.-Gen. Tom Lawson, the deputy chief of air force staff, said that four CF-18 jet fighters, supported by two air-to-air refueling aircraft, conducted two separate bombing runs on Tuesday night and Wednesday morning.

The first attack took place overnight near Misrata, Libya's third-largest city, located east of Tripoli. He had no information on where the second attack place or what kind of damage it may have inflicted.

6.48pm: From the naval air base of Sigonella in Italy, a key stating post for the air strikes on Libya, Tom Kington has some more detail shedding light on the injuring of a number of villagers close to where a US fighter jet crased on Monday night:

American fighter aircraft fired cannons to protect a downed US pilot in Libya on Tuesday, close to where local residents were reportedly injured by gunfire, a US military source revealed. The source's statement on Wednesday could explain how at least eight Libyans near the scene were wounded by gunfire. The US military denied early reports that two helicopters arriving to collect the pilot in the early hours of Tuesday fired on locals. The source said Harrier jump jets that had arrived at the scene before the helicopters "strafed" the ground as they flew low over a group of vehicles indicated as a potential threat to the pilot. A second source told the Guardian the vehicles were targeted about three miles from the stranded pilot, about 30 minutes before the helicopters arrived. The pilot and a crew member had parachuted from their F-15E Strike Eagle aircraft after it suffered a mechanical failure during a raid near Benghazi, parachuting to separate locations. Two Osprey tiltrotor aircraft were dispatched from the USS Kearsarge off the Libyan coast to pick up the pilot, located thanks to a GPS signal, the source said. The second crew member could not be traced by rescuers because his GPS was not transmitting, he said. He was met by locals who took him and gave him shelter. He is now reportedly at Aviano air base in northern Italy.

6.51pm: The US defence secretary Robert Gates has acknowledged thar there is no clear end to the international military enforcement of a no-fly zone over Libya, and says no one was ever under any illusion that the assault would last just two or three weeks.

He added that the US could turn over control of the operation as soon as Saturday, but could not say how the coalition operation might be resolved, the Associated Press news agency reports.

"I think there are any number of possible outcomes here and no one is in a position to predict them," Gates told reporters in Egypt.

#Libya campaign reaching a 'now what' point. Can civilians ever be safe without 2 words Obama wants never to utter - regime change? Martin Chulov

martinchulov

7.01pm: Martin Chulov, the Guardian's Iraq correspondent tweets that the ghosts of military interventions of times past could come back to haunt the coalition.

7.02pm: Vladimir Putin has continued to express criticism of the air strikes, saying today that he was concerned by the number of civilian deaths.

"What do we see today? Strikes are being carried out across the entire territory of the country," the Russian President said during a visit to Belgrade, where Serbia is preparing to mark its bombing by NATO.

"How can you, with the aim of protecting the peaceful population, choose means that lead to an increase of deaths among the civilian population?"

Russia did not use its veto power and instead abstained from the vote on the UN Security Council resolution authorising the use of force to protect civilians the Libyan regime's troops.

7.08pm: Some more apparent psychological warfare now, this time from the US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton.

She has urged Gaddafi to leave Libya, adding that his inner circle should "make the right decision", the Associated Press news agency reports.

Observers have suggested that one of the primary aims of the coalition mounting air strikes in libya is to force 'palace coup'.

7.12pm: Just to clarify, the death toll in Syria from a crackdown on anti-government demonstrators now seems to be at least 13, according to the news wires.

Reuters says that at least six were killed in the pre-dawn attack on the al-Omari mosque in the southern agricultural city of Daraa, where protesters have taken to the streets in calls for reforms and political freedoms, according to witnesses said.

An activist in contact with people in Daraa said police shot another three people protesting in its Roman-era city center after dusk. Six more bodies were found later in the day, the activist said.

7.15pm: The Libyan regime will release an Al Jazeera crew within 24 hours, the station is reporting.

The crew was detained near Benghazi last week. It includes two correspondents, one Tunisian and another Mauritanian, as well as two cameramen, one Norwegian and one British.

7.22pm: Eight explosions were heard in the east of Tripoli this evening and smoke was seen rising into the night sky, local residents have told Reuters.

7.29pm: As fighting continues to rage in Ajdabiya, some pictures sent from what is proving to be a key battle ground between rebels and forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi can be viewed here

7.32pm: A fourth successive night of air strikes on Tripoli is under way, according to Libyan state TV.

7.40pm: A doctor in the rebel-held city of Misrata has told Reuters that regime forces are closing in on the hospital where locals had described difficult conditions in recent days.

"Government tanks are closing in on Misrata hospital and shelling the area," said the doctor who was briefly reached by phone before the line was cut

7.50pm: A new name to throw into the mix now: Ali Tarhouni. He is a US based academic who the Libyan rebel national council has just named as the top financial official in a transitional government it says it is in the process of setting up.

A member of the Libyan opposition for 40 years while living in the US, he will head the financial and commercial committee, in effect acting as finance minister, Reuters reports.

Tarhouni has a doctorate in economics and finance from Michigan State University and teaches at the Foster School of Business at the University of Washington, Seattle.

"He understands the Western mentality," said a spokeswoman for the rebels.

8.24pm: Muammar Gaddafi's compound in Tripoli has been hit again by air strikes, a day after he addressed supporters there, Arabiya TV reports.

8.26pm: Tanks from forces loyal to Gaddafi are positioned at three different entrances to the city of Ajdabiya, according to Arabiya TV.

US military officials said earlier today that missiles from F-15 fighter jets ground forces outside the eastern gateway city of Ajdabiya, where rebels have been locked in a daily struggle with the regime's forces.

8.30pm: A peaceful 'green march' to Benghazi is being planned by members of Libya's biggest tribe, which is now anxious to be seen as a loyal pillar of the regime.

Ian Black, the Guardian's Middle East editor, has filed a report from Bani Walid, the centre of the Warfalla tribe.

The tribe's geographical distribution means it is well-placed to help heal bitter divisions by joining a peaceful "green march" to the eastern city to promote reconciliation and avoid the Korea-style partition of the country many fear. It is also highly likely that this innocent-sounding mass movement – involving large numbers of civilians carrying olive branches through a war zone – is a government-inspired propaganda stunt intended to complicate military operations by the coalition and the rebels. But Salman al-Dagil insists it is not. "We will talk to them, not use guns, to discuss their demands," said the Bani Walid doctor. "Some are youths who want things but have been exploited. Do they want to divide the country? No, we will not agree to that. Do they want a constitution? The majority must agree. No one wants to replace Muammar Gaddafi. But the problem is a conspiracy against Libya." Locals insist that no significant Warfalla figure is involved in the opposition despite early claims that the entire tribe had defected. There has been talk of large cash payments to ensure they did not – or changed sides again. According to rumours in Tripoli, key tribes have been offered large sums of money to ensure that they toe the line at this time of unprecedented danger to the regime. Tribal leaders can be seen in their finery in the capital's best hotel and being driven around in the sleek government vehicles reserved for VIPs.

8.44pm: Our colleague, Mona Mahmood, has been scanning the Arabic and Libyan press for comments. After an earlier post, here are some more snippets.

Al-Diyar, a Lebanese newspaper

In a way Gaddafi tried to bribe states like Russia, India, Brazil and Japan and called their ambassadors to declare that he will give them the right in investing oil in Libya if their states stand against the military intervention to save the Libyan people. But when he could not stop that, he showed up yesterday to describe the European intervention as Crusade invasion and it is always the ready made accusation in such occasions and that Libya people have right in their wealth, forgetting that he had ignored this right for 42 year, the longest term for a ruler all over the history.

Al-Sabah, a Tunisian newspaper



Indeed, Gaddafi 's behaviour is a message to his people that he won't let them enjoy Libya and its oil and they won't see stability and security after him. He is telling them, " I will bring the west to bring you back to the era of colonization and you will be a high price." Gaddafi is killing his people in different ways by his attacks against civilians like in Misrata and by arming the Libyan people to kill their Libyan brothers. We hope that the Libyan people will be aware and won't follow Gaddafi's lies specially those who will be used as human shields to protect Gaddafi military bases.

8.56pm: As operations in the skies above Libya continue tonight, so too has the squabbling over the leadership of the military effort

The Guardian's Ian Traynor in Brussels and Nicholas Watt report on developments that have included a call by Turkey for the campaign to be led by Nato, in order to limit operations, while France seeks a broader 'coalition of the willing'

A flotilla of warships has begun patrolling the Mediterranean under Nato command to block attempts by Muammar Gaddafi to replenish his combat forces with arms and mercenaries.

The Turkish position put Ankara at odds with France, which has successfully thwarted strong US and British pressure to put Nato at the political helm of the air campaign overseeing the UN-decreed no-fly zone over Libya. Paris insisted that the governments of the "coalition of the willing" taking part in the strikes against Gaddafi's military infrastructure would lead and make the decisions. "It is important to make clear that the leadership is not Nato," said Alain Juppé, the French foreign minister. "We see this as a UN operation under a UN mandate. It is implemented by a coalition of European, North American and Arab countries." Nato's policy-making North Atlantic Council, grouping ambassadors of the 28 member states, met in Brussels for a third day to try to hammer out a facesaving deal amid frantic transatlantic diplomacy. "We've not yet decided to go for a no-fly zone," said a Nato official. "We've moved on from planning. That's complete. But now the allies have to decide what decisions to take in terms of next steps."

9.03pm: The impact of nearly 12 hours of allied air strikes on the balance of power between rebels and the Libyan regime is examined in this piece by Chris McGreal in the rebel held city Benghazi, Ewen MacAskill in Washington and Richard Norton-Taylor in London.

While the regime continues to hold Ajdabiya, despite air raids, a siege has ended in the key town of Mistrata.

The apparent breaking of the siege will be a blow to the Libyan ruler's attempts to reassert control over the entire west of the country. It may also serve as a further deterrent, along with the destruction of Gaddafi's tanks, artillery and soldiers that were attacking Benghazi, to those still fighting for the dictator. But it did not stop the regime's forces from continuing to put up stiff resistance around the strategic town of Ajdabiya in the east, despite repeated coalition bombing raids. Ali described the past five days of attack on Misrata as "hell". "It was crazy in the last five days. The hospital was overwhelmed. Ninety four people were killed. Sixty of them were civilians. Whole families were wiped out driving in their cars," he said. "The injured were more than 1,300. About 115 serious cases were kept in hospital. Everyone without life threatening injures was sent home. I've seen people who've just had a leg amputated sent home." Ali said that the town has had no water or electricity for nine days. The medical centre is running on a generator. The air strikes in and around Misrata suggest that what appears to be a tactic of Gaddafi's forces to shelter in residential areas, in response to the destruction of tanks and guns on the open desert road near Benghazi, has not provided protection. Residents of the town said that the coalition aircraft managed to destroy the regime's armour without any known civilian casualties.

9.12pm: Air strikes have hit Muammar Gaddafi's compound in Ajdabiyah, according to Arabiya TV, not the one in Tripoli as reported earlier.

9.24pm: Air strikes hit positions of Libyan government forces in the rebel-held city of Misrata this evening, but government snipers firing from rooftops killed 16 people, a rebel spokesman has told Reuters.

10.30pm: To Yemen for a moment now, where British embassy officials are being withdrawn from the country with "immediate effect", the Foreign Office said in a statement this evening.

The department said only a "small core" of staff will remain in the country, and it urged other British nationals to leave.

A spokesman said: "In light of the rapid deterioration in the security situation in Yemen and the high risk of increased tension in Sana'a and likely protests on Friday 25 March which might result in violent clashes, part of the British Embassy team in Sana'a is being temporarily withdrawn, leaving a small core staff in place.

"This will take immediate effect."

10.42pm: Air strikes have hit civilian and military targets in Jafar, southwest of the capital Tripoli, Libyan state TV claimed this evening, according to Reuters.

11.24pm: Barack Obama's handling of military operations in Libya is coming under pressure from Republicans, Reuters reports.

A letter from the House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner pressed the US president over the mission's cost, leadership and exit strategy

Obama was asked how he would measure success in Libya and whether Muammar Gaddafi had to depart before the US military involvement ends.

"I respect your authority as Commander-in-Chief and support our troops as they carry out their mission," Boehner wrote.

"But I and many other members of the House of Representatives are troubled that U.S. military resources were committed to war without clearly defining for the American people, the Congress, and our troops what the mission in Libya is and what America's role is in achieving that mission."

11.40pm: The team of UK pilots flying jets over Libya includes a woman who is understood to be the first to undertake combat missions in the RAF's new Typhoon fighter, reports Nick Hopkins, the Guardian's defence and security correspondent.



Pictured (above) on Wednesday before taking off from the Italian air force base of Gioia del Colle, near Bari, the pilot has been helping to enforce the no-fly zone.

12.06am: Can the coalition forces using force in Libya under the UN Security Council's resolution lawfully target Muammar Gaddafi personally? The answer is 'yes' according to this article by Kenneth Anderson, a law professor at Washington College of Law who blogs on topics including the theory of the just war.

12.09am: The Libyan regime has denied allegations that it has cut off water and electricity supplies to the rebel-held city of Misrata, Reuters reports.

Misrata residents say it is under attack by government forces who have severed their basic supplies and effectively besieged the last major rebel holdout in western Libya.

"We heard those rumours that the government has intentionally cut off supplies," said Deputy Foreign Minister Khaled Kaim. "It's just a technical problem because of damage and looting."

Speaking alongside Kaim, officials in charge of basic utilities said that water and electricity supplies as well as telecommunication services had been cut off to Misrata for the last four days but purely for technical reasons.

Omar al-Mislati, a planning manager for the state water company, told reporters that up to 70,000 people in Misrata - a city of about 300,000 - had no access to water due a technical problem and damage caused by some of the fighting.

12.36am: Here is a summary of recent developments:

• Western air strikes hit targets in Libya again on Wednesday night after the commander of British aircraft operating over the country said that Muammar Gaddafi's air force "no longer exists as a fighting force".

A flotilla of warships has meanwhile begun patrolling the Mediterranean under Nato command to block attempts by the Libyan regime to replenish his combat forces.

But the attempt at a Nato show of unity in policing a UN arms embargo was undermined by a third day of squabbling over who should be in charge of the air campaign.

Amid arguments over the scope and command of the air campaign against Tripoli, Turkey both blocked Nato planning on the no-fly zone and insisted that Nato be put in control of it, in order to be granted a veto over its operations, senior Nato officials said.

• On the ground, nearly 12 hours of allied air strikes appeared to have broken the Libyan regime's five-day bloody assault on the key rebel-held town of Misrata.

However, Muammar Gaddafi's tanks were reported to have rolled back into Misratah on Wednesday night under the cover of darkness and began shelling the area near the main hospital, residents and rebels said.

Hours earlier, residents said that the aerial bombardment destroyed tanks and artillery and sent many of Gaddafi's forces fleeing from Misrata, ending a siege and attack by the regime that cost nearly 100 lives from random shelling, snipers and bitter street fighting.

Rebels are also struggling against Gaddafi forces in the eastern gateway city of Ajdabiya.



• A US-based economist who was appointed finance minister in the Libyan rebels' first attempt at a government has admitted that they have made mistakes, missed opportunities and shown disorganization but he says they are not short of funding.

Ali Tarhouni, who teaches economics and finance at the University of Washington, was appointed to the post by the rebels' national council as part of an interim administration headed by another US-educated academic, Mahmoud Jibril.

• Barack Obama's handling of military operations in Libya is coming under pressure from Republicans.

A letter from the House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner pressed the US president over the mission's cost, leadership and exit strategy

Obama was asked how he would measure success in Libya and whether Muammar Gaddafi had to depart before the US military involvement ends.

The House Foreign Affairs Committee has meanwhile invited the US secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, or another US official to testify about Libya next week.

We are wrapping this blog up for now, but you can read the Guardian's latest story on events in Libya here.