Latest Updates on Libya's Revolt and Mideast Protests - NYTimes.com

February 26, 2011, 9:06 am — Updated: 11:36 am -->

Latest Updates on Libya’s Revolt and Mideast Protests

By VICTOR MATHER

On Saturday, The Lede is following the uprising in Libya and protests in Egypt, Yemen, Bahrain, Iraq and the West Bank. Updates below mix alerts on breaking news with reports from bloggers and journalists on the ground. A stream of Twitter messages from the region is in this blog’s right column.

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11:34 A.M. |A Libyan King in Waiting?

When Colonel Qaddafi took over Libya in 1969, he ousted Idris, Libya's only king. Idris died in 1983, but his great nephew, Muhammad al-Senussi, the heir apparent, is now speaking out from his exile in London.

In an interview with Agence France-Presse, he offered support for the protesters and spoke of his pride in the re-emergence of the old Libyan flag.

"It's a human disaster, it's terrible. People are killed every day, the hospitals are full of bodies, wounded and dead bodies. They are short of medicines. The situation is a human disaster."
"This flag is becoming the symbol of the young people. That makes me very very, very happy. Because this flag is for freedom."

He is cagey about he possibility of his return: "I see myself as a servant to the Libyan people. They will decide what they want. My goal is to serve my people as much as I can."

Could the 21st century be bringing an unlikely revival of monarchies? In the Times, Mark Landler pointed out that thus far, presidents have been falling in the Middle East, while monarchs have weathered the storm.

Al Jazeera interviewed Mr. al-Senussi earlier in the week (the video includes a brief history lesson and some nice footage from 1969 of the old king and a smiling young Qaddafi):

11:09 A.M. |A Qaddafi on the Pitch

We've heard from Colonel Qaddafi's second oldest son, Seif al-Islam, today, but we don't want to forget his third son, Saadi, who once fancied himself a soccer player. The New York Times Goal blog has a fascinating look at his "career," in which, thanks to the encouragement of Libyan oil money, he actually played briefly in the top division of the Italian soccer league, despite having no apparent talent.

Sadly, footage of his soccer "skills" is hard to come by, but here's a clip from 2003 when he was captain (!) of the Libyan team against Canada showing him shaking a lot of hands after being substituted.

10:57 A.M. |Tunisian Protests Continue

It's not over yet in Tunisia. Agence France-Presse reports that  security forces used tear gas in the capital, Tunis, to break up a protest of about 300 people demanding faster change. "Go home. I'll show you what democracy is," a police officer was heard shouting, AFP says.

That protest was significantly smaller than Friday's, when as many as 100,000 people marched, calling for the ouster of Prime Minister Mohamed Ghannouchi.

Mr. Ghannouchi has promised elections by mid-July.

Reuters is reporting that Egyptians fleeing Libya are pouring into Tunisia. The Egyptians, guest workers in Libya, say they are being made scapegoats after Colonel Qaddafi and his sons blamed "foreigners" for the violence. They say they have been attacked and beaten by pro-government thugs who blamed them because Egypt's own uprising inspired the Libyan protests.

10:28 A.M. |More From Libya

As a counter to Seif al-Islam's point of view, there's a eye-opening new report from my colleagues David D. Kirkpatrick and Sharon Otterman that describes some of the carnage in Libya over the past few days. Among the gruesome details: troops shooting people from ambulances, antiaircraft weaponry turned on crowds, and removal of bodies from hospitals to disguise the number of dead.

Here is a video said to show protesters who have taken over the city of Kufra, in the southeast of the country. Note the display of the pre-Qaddafi red-black-and-green flag, rather than the Libya's current all-green flag. (Wikipedia has a quite complete look at the history of the Libyan flag.)

10:11 A.M. |Two Views of Libya

The Italian news agency AGI reports that Qaddafi's son Seif al-Islam is staying on message. Speaking of the reports of the killing of demonstrators, he said Saturday: "Soon you will discover that what you have heard about Libya is only a joke. A big joke. Here we laugh about the news speaking of hundreds or thousands of victims, bombings in Tripoli, Benghazi, Zawiya or any other place, and of mercenaries."

It increasingly appears that all of the country save Tripoli, the capital, is in the hands of the protesters.

This update from Al Jazeera includes video of Seif al-Islam in denial mode, as well as footage said to show Libyan army soldiers joyously joining demonstrators. It also includes some bloody scenes from Friday of protesters being fired upon.

9:35 A.M. |Bahraini Opposition Leader Returns

Reuters reports that Hassan Mushaima, a Shiite dissident and opposition leader, has returned to Bahrain from Britain this morning. (The monarchy is Sunni.) At the airport, Mr. Mushaima said, "We want a real constitution. They've promised us before and then did whatever they wanted to."

Mr. Mushaima has been arrested numerous times over the years in Bahrain, and indeed until recently had been on trial in absentia over his role in a supposed coup. But in the aftermath of the recent protests he is reported to have received a pardon.

9:16 A.M. |Security Council to Meet

Good morning from The New York Times newsroom. Victor Mather filling in for Robert Mackey this Saturday morning, bringing you all the news from protests around the Middle East as it happens.

First off, breaking news this morning: Helene Cooper and Mark Landler report that the United Nations Security Council has decided to meet today to consider imposing international sanctions, including an arms embargo and an asset freeze and travel ban against Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi,  his relatives and key members of his government. That meeting is scheduled for 3 p.m. Eastern.

For the last few days, all eyes have been on Libya, where the protests have been increasingly violent. Today, however, reports are that the country is mostly quiet for now.

via thelede.blogs.nytimes.com