Libya protests: Gaddafi flees Tripoli as parliament building set alight (story updated within the past half hour)
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* Protesters appear to have taken control of second city Benghazi
* Up to 400 feared dead after dozens killed in clashes
* Colonel Gaddafi on his way to Venezuela, say William Hague
* Justice minister resigns over ‘excessive use of violence’
* Mystery as two Libyan fighter jets land in Malta
* David Cameron declares regime response is ‘appalling and unacceptable’
* Gaddafi’s son says: ‘We will fight to the last minute, until the last bullet’
Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi is believed to have fled the capital Tripoli after anti-government demonstrators breached the state television building and set government property alight.
Protesters appear to have gained a foothold in Tripoli as banks and government buildings were looted while demonstrators have claimed they have taken control of the second city Benghazi.
It is thought up to 400 people may have died in the unrest with dozens more reported killed in Tripoli as protests reached the capital for the first time and army units were said to have defected to the opposition.
Colonel Gaddafi may be on his way to the Venezuela tonight, according to Foreign Secretary William Hague. He said he had seen ‘some information’ that suggests he is on his way to the South American country.
The Libyan justice minister has now resigned in protest at the ‘excessive use of violence’ against the protesters, according to the Quryna newspaper, while the Maltese Foreign Ministry said it is trying to establish why two Libyan fighter jets landed on the island today.
A coalition of Libyan Islamic leaders has issued a fatwa telling all Muslims it is their duty to rebel against the Libyan leadership and demanding the release of all jailed protesters.
The Network of Free Ulema of Libya also demanded the release of fellow Islamic scholar Sadiq al-Ghriani, who was arrested after criticising the government, and ‘all imprisoned demonstrators, including many of our young students’.