Coalition air raids hit Gaddafi's birth place

Backed by the airpower of Western forces, the rebels in Libya say that they have seized control of Sirte, the birthplace of Colonel Gaddafi.

This comes after they re-captured a string of towns over the weekend following US, British and French air strikes on government positions.

There were also at at least nine explosions overnight in the capital, Tripoli.

The government said the air strikes gave the rebels an unfair advantage in the conflict and it accused international forces, now under Nato command, of going beyond the UN mandate to protect civilians.

The mood among rebels is jubilant after their apparent success in Sirte, the BBC's Kevin Connolly reports from their headquarters of Benghazi.