Fighting in Libya spread to western towns near Tripoli Feb. 25, as cities in the east organized interim governments, raising the old flag from before Moammar Qaddafi came to power in 1969. Dueling rallies were held in Benghazi, where thousands celebrated their liberation from Qaddafi's regime, and in Tripoli, where the dictator himself appeared at the capital's Green Square. Qaddafi called on his partisans to "defend Libya," pledging, "If needs be, we will open all the arsenals." Before the Tripoli pro-regime rally, security forces fired on protesters, leaving several dead. Oblivious to the deadly repression that preceded his address, the strongman appealed to Libya's youth to "dance and sing, Moammar Qaddafi is with you."

In a televised speech from an undisclosed location Feb. 24, embattled Libyan strongman Moammar Qaddafi addressed the elders of a town west of the capital, where he said a drug-crazed mob of youth spurred on by al-Qaeda had killed four police officers. He urged the elders of az-Zawiyah to bring their youth under control. As a popular uprising seizes control of ever more of the country, leaving Qaddafi-loyal forces in only a shrinking ring around Tripoli, the dictator portrays the revolution as an insidious design by the international terrorist network:

The Algerian Council of Ministers on Feb. 22 approved a draft ordinance repealing the country's 19-year state of emergency, delivering on a promise made the week before. The draft ordinance will have the force of law upon publication in the Official Journal of Algeria, which the Council of Ministers said would be "imminent." The state of emergency, which has been in place since a series of decrees in 1992, gave the government power to limit political freedoms and even peaceful protests. Opponents also claimed that the state of emergency gave rise to arbitrary detentions.

Moammar Qaddafi's regime has lost vast swathes of Libya's east to insurrectionists, it became clear Feb. 23. Opponents of Qaddafi appear firmly in control of Libya's coastal east, from the Egyptian border through to the cities of Tobruk and Benghazi, with government soldiers switching sides to join the uprising. Fighting has been reported near the capital, Tripoli.

Veteran Cuban leader Fidel Castro in his column "Reflections of Comrade Fidel" writes that "NATO's Plan is to Occupy Libya." The piece is dated Feb. 21—the same day that European diplomats broached the use of NATO to enforce a no-fly zone over Libya. It is unclear if Fidel's piece was in reaction to the diplomats' comments, or predictive of them.

The Libyan UN Mission—breaking with the regime of Moammar Qaddafi—requested an emergency meeting of the Security Council about the situation in Libya Feb. 21, urging the world body to install a no-fly zone over the country to prevent the regime from using warplanes and helicopters to bomb its own population. Deputy Permanent Representative Ibrahim Dabbashi said Libyans had to be protected from "genocide." After meeting once the following day, the Council took no action but said it would meet again soon. (Afrol News, Radio Australia, Feb. 22)

Protesters, apparently joined by members of the security forces, seized control over several eastern Libyan cities and towns Feb. 21, including Benghazi, al-Bayda and Durna. The cities were the scene of fierce fighting over the weekend, with protesters forming militias, evidently with the aid of defecting members of the security forces. The regime is reportedly resorting to "mercenaries" from African countries to beat back the militias. Fighting has now spread to the capital, Tripoli, where helicopters and warplanes are reportedly firing from the air on protesters. State TV headquarters, the Interior Ministry building and the offices of the "People's Committees" that are the pillar of the regime were torched by the Tripoli protesters. The whereabouts of strongman Moammar Qaddafi are not known.

Hundreds of protesters clashed with police and government supporters the night of Feb. 15 in the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi, after human rights lawyer Fathi Tarbel was arrested. Police used water cannon and teargas against what began as a protest begun by relatives of prisoners killed in a 1996 massacre who were demanding the release of the lawyer. Opposition supporters have called for a nationwide "day of rage" on Feb. 17. Several journalists and longtime dissident Idris al-Mismari are reported detained. Facebook, Twitter and YouTube were all briefly blocked, as were AlJazeera and al-Arabiya television. State TV showed crowds of pro-government supporters shouting slogans in Tripoli's Green Square. Reports of two killed in the street fighting could not be confirmed. (The Guardian, Feb. 16)