Libya (and Beyond) LiveBlog: A Coalition Too Slow?

2025 GMT: Opposition forces say that there was fighting on three fronts in Misurata, Libya's third-largest city, with shelling by regime troops and at least one resident killed.

2020 GMT: Egypt's Health Ministry has raised the death toll in the uprising against former President Hosni Mubarak to more than 800, well over double the previous estimate of 384.

The ministry said another 6400 people had been injured.

1905 GMT: Thousands of protesters have again come out in Yemen against the rule of President Ali Abdullah Saleh.

In the south of the country, security sources opened fire and shot tear gas to disperse hundreds of Aden University students in the city of Khormaksar.

Meanwhile, ambassadors from the six Gulf Cooperation Council countries met opposition representatives in Saudi Arabia to work on a deal for Saleh's exit. "The proposal is to have a governing council grouping all the various political parties and tribes for a period that would not exceed three months," an official told Reuters. "The council will set the way for elections."

1855 GMT: The European Parliament has "strongly" condemned the "violent repression by security forces of peaceful demonstrators in Bahrain, Syria and Yemen" and expressed "its solidarity with the people in Bahrain, Syria and Yemen, applaud[ing] their courage and determination, and strongly support[ing] their legitimate democratic aspirations".

1845 GMT: The New York Times reports on the visit of US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates to Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah today, portraying American support for the monarch:

Pentagon officials said Mr. Gates’s talks would focus on a recent $60 billion deal to sell arms to Saudi Arabia and the threat of Iran in the region, a major concern for the Saudis. The American officials skirted questions on whether Mr. Gates would criticize the king for sending troops into Bahrain last month to help crush a Shiite-led rebellion there.

“The king has fashioned himself as a reformer in the Saudi system,” said a senior defense official traveling with Mr. Gates. “They’re going to have to find their own path,” said the official, who under Pentagon ground rules refused to be named.

The officials’ positive comments underscored the desire of the Pentagon to put a hopeful face on what is likely to be a tense visit.

1835 GMT: The Director-General of the International Labour Office, Juan Somavia, has written the Bahraini Prime Minister to express "grave concern" over reports of widespread acts of anti-trade union discrimination, including the dismissal of workers for participating in protests against the regime and for reform.

1815 GMT: Many thanks to James Miller for taking everyone through the day on the LiveBlog.

Breaking news this evening is that Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi has written a three-page letter to President Obama, appealing to him to halt the NATO operation, an "unjust war against a small people of a developing country".

Qaddafi made clear to Obama, addressed as "our son", that the harm to Libya was more moral than physical, saying that a democratic society could not be built through missiles and aircraft and repeating his claim that his opponents are members of Al Qa'eda.

Qaddafi said he hoped that Obama would win re-election in 2012.

1526 GMT: Britain feeling the pressure? The British airforce has announced that it is moving four Typhoon fighter jets from an air defense role to a ground strike role, as criticism of NATO's lack of airstrikes mounts.

1517 GMT: Al Jazeera is reporting that pro-Gaddafi forces have shelled an oil field in Ojla, south of Ajdabiya. This news is occuring as rebels are loading oil into a tanker in Tobruk, where it will depart for Qatar.

Gaddafi forces are currently starved for oil, but rebels will soon be enjoying a steady stream of oil in the east, an important part of both choking Gaddafi's ability to re-arm and infusing the National Transitional Council with cash.  

1458 GMT: Bahrain's drug war - Bahraini Health Ministry Arab Board training co-ordinator Dr Nabeel Ansari stated yesterday that 5,000 vials of drugs are missing after anti-government were beseiged from within Manama's main hospital. The health minister said that the opposition protesters took the drugs so that they could claim the "chemical agent" was being used by security forces. 

1447 GMT: Turkey's Foreign Minister, Ahmet Davutoglu, met with Syria's President al-Assad and voiced Turkey's support for plans to reform Syria's political system. He encouraged the government to "respond positively" to the requests of the people. 

1442 GMT: France is accusing Gaddafi forces of using human shields to prevent NATO airstrikes in Libya. The French foreign minister, Alain Juppé, has stated that there is little NATO can do from the air to stop the snipers or artillery attacks in Misrata because of the mandate to avoid civilian casualties at all costs. 

The statements were condemned by General Abdel Fatah Younis, former interior minister and leader of the rebel forces. Younis has noted the lack of air support since the U.S. stopped airstrikes and handed operations to NATO:

"Nato blesses us every now and then with a bombardment here and there, and is letting the people of Misrata die every day. Nato has disappointed us.

"The reaction of Nato is very slow. One official calls another and then from the official to the head of Nato and from the head of Nato to the field commander. This takes eight hours.

"Nato says Gaddafi's forces are hiding among civilians. But we tell them that there are no civilians left in the areas where the Gaddafi forces are positioned. We urge them to destroy civilian property to take out the snipers and armed gangs."

1428 GMT: The latest from the front lines in Libya: experienced military commanders who defected from the Gaddafi regime are trying to stop rebels from advancing towards Brega. Gaddafi's main force in the region has advanced beyond Brega, according to reporters, and the military commanders with the rebels want to make sure that Ajdabiya is well defended. The rebels are still complaining that, since the U.S. has withdrawn its aerial bombardment campaign, NATO has failed to protect civilians from Gaddafi's heavy weapons, artillery, and missiles. 

1335 GMT: The New York based Human Rights Watch has released a statement condemning Syria's unjustified use of force against civilians. They have called on Syria's President Bashar al-Assad to call off the heavy security response to protests, and they have asked the UN to investigate the situation.

"For three weeks, Syria's security forces have been firing on largely peaceful protesters," Sarah Leah Whitson, the New York-based rights group's Middle East director, said in a statement late Tuesday.

"Instead of investigating those responsible for shootings, Syria's officials try to deflect responsibility by accusing unknown armed groups," Whitson said.

1324 GMT: Hundreds, or perhaps thousands, of workers have been fired in Bahrain for going on strike during pro-democracy protests. Many Bahraini unions called for strikes between March 13 and March 22, during anti-government protests at the time. Opposition groups, including Wefaq, are claiming that these firings are part of a larger government crackdown against dissent.

These firings are further raising concerns over sectarian tensions, as most of those fired have been Shi'ite, and the government and much of the leadership of some of Bahrain's largest companies are Sunni.

1319 GMT: According to AJE live, pro-Gaddafi forces have pushed the rebels back to the gates of Ajdabiya as the frustration amongst the rebels is increasing over the lack of NATO air strikes. According to a reporter on the ground, it is very unlikely the rebels will make any gains with the current level of heavy weaponry that Gaddafi has deployed in the area.

1309 GMT: Yemeni state media is busy covering developments in the region. Their top story - Yemen's participation in the International Renweable Energy Agency (IRENA) talks in Abu Dhabi. There are also several stories about Yemeni officials meeting with GCC and UN officials about the crisis in Yemen. The theme - that the international community is concerned about maintaining the "stability, security and territorial integrity" of Yemen and its government. 

0740 GMT: At least three people were killed and several injured by gunfire in the Yemeni capital Sana’a on Tuesday.

Rival security forces clashed in the central city of Taiz. Supporters of General Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar, who broke from the regime last month say they folied an assassination attempt on him. The state news agency said four men, attempting via tribal mediation to persuade Mohsen to rejoin President Ali Abdullah Saleh were killed.

0710 GMT: Claimed footage of Qaddafi forces blowing up an ammunition bunker near Benghazi in east Libya:

0540 GMT: Claimed footage of a demonstration last night in Harasta in southwest Syria:

0530 GMT: A website, "Free Emoodz", has been set up to support blogger Mohammed Al Maskati --- @emoodz on Twitter --- who was detained by Bahraini security forces at 3 a.m. lat Thursday.

His family received a call from him that evening to say that he was OK, but nothing has been heard from him since and his location is unknown. 

0510 GMT: The leading overnight news from Libya was the manoeuvring between the opposition and NATO, with Abdul Fatah Younis, the head of the insurgents' armed forces --- and the former Minister of Interior of the Qaddafi regime--- accusing NATO of acting too "slowly" in move to protect civilians.

Younis' statement should be read at two levels. First, it is a response to the public declaration by Washington that it is pulling back US forces from the coalition effort. Given that the initial intervention, largely with American strength, prevented Qaddafi's troops from overrunning the opposition last night, Younis is arguing that the threat must not arise again.

And there he had some indirect response. Speaking to a Congressional committee, General Carter Ham, the chief of the United States' Africa Command, put out the initial line that NATO is now in full command of operations, and the US is acting only in a supporting role.

However, once he got beyond that mantra, Ham made some telling additions. He said the US would still "go it alone...if US interests were specifically targeted" and, of more immediate relevance given Younis' concern, "[This is] like Afghanistan where NATO is in control but the US is clearly a key player."

So the US is still committed to the initial phase of the coalition campaign, safeguarding the opposition-held east Libya. More intriguing is whether it goes farther to support the insurgency. And that is where Younis' press conference intersects with another opposition declaration on Tuesday: Qaddafi must leave before talks for a resolution can take place.

That, of course, is regime change --- at least, at the very top of the Libyan leadership. Younis' concern can thus be translated as: 1) Will you help us hold on to the areas of west Libya where we are under regime attack? 2) Will you really take this to the point where Qaddafi leaves?