Gadhafi: Withdrawal a tactical move

Welcome to our live rolling coverage of the continuing events in Libya as the battle for Tripoli enters its third day. Heavy fighting still continues across the country after rebel forces seized control of Col Muammar Gadhafi's compound in the capital. The whereabouts of the embattled colonel remain unknown. Here we will bring you the latest developments as they happen.

5:15 am

The UN Security Council met behind closed doors Wednesday afternoon upon the request from the Unites States to discuss whether to unfreeze 1.5 billion U.S. dollars Libyan assets.

4:40 am

Four Italian journalists have been taken hostage in conflict-torn Libya as they were travelling from Zawiya to the capital city of Tripoli, the Italian Foreign Ministry said Wednesday.

3:35 am

Foreign ministers of the Arab League countries underlined here Wednesday the necessity to speed up actions for the stability, security and peace in Libya.

2:20 am

The contact group meeting due on September 1 is very important and the transition authority of Libya needs more aid, both in terms of security and economy, Libyan rebel leader Mahmoud Jibril said Wednesday besides French President Nicolas Sarkozy during a joint press conference in the Elysee Palace.

1:10 am

Libya's rebel troops Wednesday took control of the Mazraq al-Shams army base in Libya's port city of Zuara, some 60 km from the Tunisian border, the Dubai-based Al Arabiya TV reported.

00:20 am

Forces loyal to Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, who have been fighting to retake Tripoli, are firing at rebels inside the Bab al-Azizya compound and bombing other areas of the central capital, the pan-Arab al-Jazeera TV reported Wednesday.

11:20 pm

The Arab League (AL) voiced intentions on Wednesday to help the war-torn Libya rebuild its health sector. The efforts will be exerted within the frame of the Arab Council of Health Ministers, aiming to better the humanitarian situation in Libya, official news agency MENA reported.

10:38 pm

Croatia pledged on Wednesday to ensure full cooperation with Libya's National Transitional Council (NTC) once it takes power.

10:07 pm

Libya's rebel council said on Wednesday it was offering an amnesty to any of Muammar Gaddafi's entourage who kill or capture him.

9:42 pm

Forces loyal to Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, who have been fighting to retake Libyan capital of Tripoli, are firing at rebels inside and around the Bab al- Azizya compound, the pan-Arab al-Jazeera reported on Wednesday.

9:32 pm

A research centre near Tripoli has stocks of nuclear material that could be used to make a "dirty bomb", a former senior UN inspector said on Wednesday, warning of possible looting during turmoil in Libya.

9:15 pm

Britain is closely following developments in the Tripoli hotel where foreign journalists are staying, confined by fighting and guarded by gunmen loyal to Muammar Gaddafi, Foreign Secretary William Hague said on Wednesday.

9:01 pm

Algeria expressed concern for the Libyan National Transitional Council (NTC), with whom contacts have already been established, local media quoted an diplomatic source as saying on Wednesday.

8:48 pm

Germany intends to assume a more proactive role in Libyan reconstruction so as "to provide lasting stability for the country," German foreign minister said here on Wednesday.

8:24 pm

Britain is working to unfreeze Libyan assets blocked from embattled Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, British Foreign Secretary William Hague said here on Wednesday.

7:22 pm

The Damascus-based Islamic Hamas movement congratulated Wednesday the Libyan people on the success of popular uprising, saying it hopes the Palestinian question would as usual remain among the top priorities of the Libyan people.

6:55 pm

A beleaguered Muammar Gaddafi vowed on Wednesday to fight on to death or victory after jubilant rebels forced him to abandon his Tripoli stronghold in an apparently decisive blow.

6:46 pm

The head of Libya's National Transitional Council (NTC) Mustafa Abdul Jalil met Wednesday in Benghazi with Morocco's Foreign Minister Taib Fassi Fihri, the first Arabic foreign minister that visited the rebel stronghold since the Libyan uprising.

6:30 pm

A Libyan rebel government would honour all the oil contracts granted during the Muammar Gaddafi era, Ahmed Jehani, a senior rebel representative for reconstruction told Reuters in an interview.

6:15 pm

The sound of heavy gunfire could be heard on Wednesday coming from the area around the Rixos hotel in Libya's capital, said a Reuters reporter, who was near the hotel.

5:52 pm

Libya's National Transitional Council has sent a delegation to Tripoli, making preparation for the NTC to move to Tripoli, head of NTC Mustafa Abdul Jalil told visiting Morocco foreign minister on Wednesday.

5:38 pm

Mahmud Nacua, the Libyan charge d'affairs at the Libyan embassy in London, tells Sky News he believes Colonel Gadhafi is hiding with friends at a farm on the outskirts of Tripoli.

He urged the Loyalist gunmen at the siege at the Rixos hotel to let the journalists go free.

5:30 pm

BBC Middle East correspondent Wyre Davies reporting from outside Col Gadhafi's compound says while the outer walls have been breached, the inner sanctum is still a dangerous place with loyalist fighters holding out in the maze of tunnels and bunkers. The men inside, he says, are professional soldiers, probably members of Gadhafi's tribe, highly trained with nothing to lose.

5pm

More now from the Rixos Hotel in Tripoli where 35 foreign nationals are being held hostage by Gadhafi loyalists. CNN's Matthew Chance tweets: “We do not want to prompt any dangerous action. We are trying to stay as safe as possible.”