Libya protests: Col Gaddafi under mounting pressure

Col Muammar Gaddafi's regime is under pressure amid unprecedented protests in the Libyan capital and defections by senior diplomats.

Protesters out on the streets of Tripoli late on Sunday were met by security forces using live ammunition and tear gas.

Benghazi, the country's second city, now appears to be largely under the control of protesters.

But Col Gaddafi's son, Saif al-Islam, has warned that civil war could ignite.

In a lengthy TV address, he offered significant political reforms but also vowed that the regime would "fight to the last bullet" against "seditious elements".

'Massacre'

On Monday, reports from Tripoli suggested the streets were mainly quiet, with government forces still patrolling Green Square after crushing protests in what witnesses called a "massacre".

A central government building, the People's Hall, was said to have been set ablaze and firefighters were trying to put out the flames.

Libya's envoy to the Arab League, Abdel Moneim al-Honi, announced he was "joining the revolution" and its ambassador to India, Ali al-Essawi, told the BBC he was resigning in protest against his government's violent crackdown on demonstrators.