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England v Ghana: gareth barry shrugs off concerns over lack of pace and expresses pride at winning captaincy
It was, for many, the defining image of England’s leaden World Cup campaign.
Leader of the pack: Gareth Barry has shrugged off concerns over his perceived lack of pace and is proud to lead England against Ghana Photo: GETTY IMAGES
By Jason Burt 10:30PM BST 28 Mar 2011
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The sight of Mesut Özil sprinting away from Gareth Barry to create Germany’s fourth goal in the Free State Stadium in Bloemfontein and consign Fabio Capello’s team to a humiliating exit. It seemed to encapsulate the two-speed approach of the two nations.
Barry was so far in the young German’s wake that he almost appeared to be going into reverse. After being dropped from even the bench for Saturday’s Euro 2012 qualifier against Wales — with the emergence of Scott Parker — it appears Barry’s England career is now floundering, too.
And yet he will wear the captain’s armband on Tuesday evening, in the friendly at home to Ghana. However, that is in the knowledge that with so many senior players missing, Barry is being rewarded for experience — it will be his 46th cap — rather than form, as his lack of speed around the pitch has also been exposed this campaign at Manchester City.
“That’s one thing that’s been aimed at me since I was 17, a lack of pace. But I’m no slower now,” Barry said. “That one incident people recall, from the Germany game, was on the highest stage at the World Cup, so it will be remembered. But I’m comfortable with it. My game’s no different.
“It’s just one incident that will be remembered by a lot of people. That’s the way it goes. You have to be strong and forget about it, play your normal game. I’m not going to go out and get some extra speed training. It doesn’t work like that. You are what you are. You’re picked to play and do your job.”
That afternoon in Bloemfontein clearly still hurts — he has not watched the match as it would be a “negative” – especially considering how important Barry was then to the England team.
It was his damaged ankle which was the pre-World Cup scare — although not quite on the scale of 2002 and Beckham’s metatarsal — and so key was Barry to Capello that the manager abandoned his demand that every player who went to South Africa was fully fit. Capello has, of course, abandoned even more of his dogma since, with John Terry being reinstated as captain.
But did Barry feel as if the team had almost been built around him? “That was the way it was being spoken about,” said the 30 year-old, who was earmarked for the key holding role that Capello wanted filled, even though he is no specialist in it.
“I was comfortable playing there and my form was good for England.” But was he fully fit? “It would be easy to say ‘no I wasn’t’, that I wanted to get out there and play for my country, but I’m not like that. I’m not looking for an excuse. I felt fit enough.”
Since then, Barry actually retained his place and started each of England’s qualifying games for Euro 2012, until he was dropped completely for the Wales match.
“On Saturday I wasn’t involved, and now I’m captain. That’s just football and the way things can change. I’m not sitting here thinking I’m a regular again for England, that I don’t have to keep my form. It doesn’t work like that,” Barry said.
“Obviously, the disappointment was there, but it was not a surprise. You just get on with it. You’re disappointed, but things can change quickly in football. I’m experienced now. I don’t let things affect me at my age as much as I did when I was 21.”
The halting nature of Barry’s career — a first cap more than a decade ago, then a long period being overlooked before a flurry of recognition under Steve McClaren and, more so, Capello — has made him sanguine. “It’s not easy to take, but you learn to deal with it in different ways,” he said.
Maybe there is recognition that with Jack Wilshere taking to international football so readily, Barry’s time may be drawing to a close. Not that he will declare it. “I won’t look too far into it,” Barry said. “I will try to play well on Tuesday, remind people what I can do, then go back to my club and try to keep my form there as well.”
When Capello was appointed England manager, Barry was one of the four candidates he considered seriously to be the permanent captain. Now that the Manchester City player has been given the honour, as a one-off, there are those mixed emotions.
“I’m well aware that there are a lot of players not here and, in different circumstances, I obviously wouldn’t be captain,” he said. “But, personally, I can’t let that take it away from me. I’m going to be leading my country out. As disappointed as I was on Saturday, it’s going to be a great honour to lead them out.”
world cup campaign, getty images, fabio capello, jason burt, germany game, gareth barry, rsquo, lack of speed, euro 2012, mdash, scott parker, speed training, leader of the pack, bloemfontein, manchester city, tuesday evening, emergence, bench, ghana, nbsp
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Libya as it happened: March 25
Follow our rolling coverage of events in Libya - where coalition strikes on Col Gaddafi's regime continue - and across the rest of the region including Syria and Yemen.
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By Peter Hutchison, Barney Henderson and Harriet Alexander 8:06AM GMT 26 Mar 2011
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2011-03-26 08:06:38.0
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/libya/8408224/Libya-Live.html?service=artBody
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• Cameron says UK has carried out 70 sorties in Libya
• British Tornados in co-ordinated strike on Gaddafi forces
• Hundreds of thousands protest in Yemen and Syria
Latest
22.20 That's all from the live blog tonight. Keep up to date with events unfolding in Libya here.
A Canadian weapons systems technician with 425 Tactical Fighter Squadron in Bagotville handles bombs and missiles before the installation on a CF-18 Hornet fighter jet at the Trapani air base in Sicily. Canada has provided six CF-18 (CF-188) Hornets to enforce the no-fly zone over Libya.
21.52 US President Barack Obama marked Greek independence day on Friday by thanking the Athens government for its solidarity as a NATO ally and said Athens was playing a critical role in the Libya operation.
Obama called Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou to congratulate him on the 190th anniversary of Greek independence, and hosted an annual cocktail party at the White House for the Greek American community. Obama said:
As we celebrate the independence of the Greek people, the United States and Greece are standing with our NATO allies to support the Libyan people as they stand up for their own freedom
21.24 At least 114 people have been killed and 445 wounded in four days of coalition strikes on Libya, a health ministry official said on Friday.
21.07 Gaddafi forces pounded the rebel-held city of Misurata with artillery on Friday night, killing a mother and her four children, a witness told AFP. "The artillery shelling has been going on since Thursday night," said the witness contacted by telephone. "They are firing on everything that moves."
"A mother and her four children were killed," he said, while blasts could be heard in the background.
According to the witness residents of Libya's third largest city, 214 kilometres (132 miles) east of the capital Tripoli, are cowering indoors, too afraid to go out.
20.58 Amnesty International said in a statement on Friday that 55 people had been killed during a week of unrest in and around Daraa, Syria, which lies close to the border with Jordan.
An F-16 jet fighter takes off from Airbase Leeuwarden in the Netherlands, heading for the Italian island of Sardinia as part of the ongoing operation to enforce a no-fly zone over Libya following the UN resolution
20.21 Qatar fighter jets have launched their first mission over Libya, the French military is reporting.
20.13 Jordan's prime minister is accusing Islamists of receiving orders from Egypt and Syria, AFP reports.
20.10 CNN's Arwa Damon tweets:
refugees say #gadhafi troops searching homes & taking men, shooting ppl after asking them 2 come out, stories of rape #libya #ajdabiya
19.48 Speaking today, Foreign Office Minister for the Middle East and North Africa, Alistair Burt, said:
I have been watching closely the situation in Syria, and am deeply concerned by the use of force against demonstrators. I condemn the violence that has resulted in a large number of deaths in Deraa. All Syrians have a right to express their views peacefully.
I call on the Syrian government to respect the people’s right to peaceful protest and to address their legitimate grievances. I call for restraint on all sides but in particular from the Syrian security forces. Violence is never the right answer to these situations.
18.55 Ten people were killed on Friday in clashes between protesters and security forces in the southern Syrian city of Sanamen, a high-ranking official told AFP.
A Libyan rebel stand on a government tank near the key city of Ajdabiya
18.32 Watch the latest Telegraph video of an RAF Tornado jet destroying Libyan tanks.
18.30 Libyan leader Moammar Gaddafi is arming volunteers as he battles an opposition uprising according to reports, the Pentagon said on Friday.
18.15 Libyan state TV is reporting that Gaddafi has promoted all members of his armed forces.
18.02 The Libyan opposition national council is "off to a good start," US ambassador to Libya Gene Cretz said on Friday, adding the United States was considering recognizing the group.
"They are off to a good start in word and deed," Cretz told reporters, praising a document from the council that supported human rights and women's rights. "It was really a very good document."
He said there were still legal issues as to whether Washington should recognize the national council, but added: "We are considering the issue of recognition."
18.00 A 55-year-old pro-reform protester, Khairy Saad Jamil, died on Friday at the state-run Prince Hamzeh hospital in Amman, medics told AFP, without specifying the cause of death.
17.15 Reuters reports that security forces have killed three people in the Mauadamieh suburb of Damascus and sealed off the area.
17.09 Watch a video from the Syrian Free Press Channel showing protests in Syria.
16.40 Andrew Purvis from the UNHCR tweets on 'god's work':
In egypt hospital, ambulance driver from libya says a rocket pierced his vehicle and took out his eye but did not explode. Dr: ' gods work'
David Cameron address European Council on Libya action earlier today
16.15 Reports are coming in from Jordan that police have broken up the protesters' camp and made arrests.
15.53 Nato spokeswoman Oana Lungescu says:
Under Operation United Protector, Nato ships, submarines and jets are cutting the flow of arms and mercenaries to Gaddafi's forces. At the same time Nato is actively considering whether to take on a broader role under the UN Security Council resolution. Without prejudging the deliberations, we would expect a decision to take over all operations in the next few days.
15.42 More than 100 people have been injured in clashes in Jordan, doctors are reporting.
15.35 In Jordan, police are using water cannons as loyalists and protesters clash.
15.17 Qatari warplanes have overflown Libya, becoming the first Arab state to take part in military operations to enforce a no-fly zone.
The Qatari air force said an undisclosed number of planes had "overflown sister Libya as part of the international coalition" to enforce the no-fly zone "to protect civilians."
15.03 Jon Williams, the BBC's foreign editor, tweets about the escalating tension in Syria:
@WilliamsJon Extraordinary they're protesting in Hama. Assad snr massacred 20-40,000 people in 1982 - 30 years #Syria lived in fear. No more it seems...
14.53 Back to Libya, where disturbing accounts are emerging about brutality at the hands of Gaddafi's men.
"Gaddafi's battalions have deployed checkpoints at every crossroad and street in the city," rebel spokesman Ibrahim said by telephone from Zawiyah, which fell to Gaddafi last week.
They kidnap young men, old men, anyone below the age of 50 or 60, whether an engineer or a simple construction worker, and they are taken to an unknown location.
Thousands have disappeared like that since they have taken the city. Shops are closed and the humanitarian situation is very bad. Residents are scared to leave their homes. Kidnappings and beatings are widespread.
I can't give you an exact number of how many people were kidnapped, tortured or killed. But they mainly carry out these attacks against civilians suspected of hiding weapons or supporting the rebels.
It's a ghost town. Gaddafi's men are still firmly in control but they are facing resistance from the rebels in some streets.
14.48 More from Syria - the sound of gunfire has been heard in the centre of the Syrian city of Deraa and protesters were seen fleeing from the square, a Reuters witness said.
Protesters also set fire to a statue of late President Hafez al-Assad, father of Syria's current leader.
14.42 The latest from Italy, from our correspondent Nick Squires:
I'm at Gioia del Colle, an Italian air base in the south-east of the country which has become the temporary home of the RAF.
We are told that four Tornados are in the sky, either over Libya or on their way back, having left several hours ago. Two RAF Typhoons have just touched down from a mission. We're expecting a briefing from the RAF this afternoon. The base is the home of the 36th fighter wing of the Italian airforce.
14.32 Meanwhile, reports in Syria suggest that several people have been killed in the southern town of Deraa.
But information minister Mohsen Bilal told Spanish radio Cadena Ser the situation was "totally calm" throughout the country following a week of deadly protests in the south.
There is a totally peaceful climate in the Syrian towns and the terrorists have been arrested.
14.23 Warplanes are heard flying over Ajdabiyah in eastern Libya, followed by three explosions. Rebel forces near the town told Reuters that air strikes had hit Gaddafi's forces there.
14.14 William Hague says that Britain expects Nato to take full command of Libyan operations within days - despite a failure so far to reach final agreement on this.
I have every expectation there will be a NATO command of the entire operation, not just of the no-fly zone and the arms embargo, so we are making very good progress on agreeing these things now among the NATO nations.
We have to achieve ... a real ceasefire, a real end to violence. And that means those forces withdrawing from places like Misrata, because otherwise they are there still in the middle of the city they have been trying to attack or destroy.
14.09 Here's the latest from Telegraph TV, with footage recorded by a crew-member onboard a British Tornado GR4 aircraft. The video shows a cockpit view of an RAF mission over Libya.
On board a Tornado fighter jet on Libya mission
13.58 Dozens of people have been injured in protests in Jordan, AFP has reported.
13.51 Hundreds of people in Hama, the city that in 1982 witnessed the killing of thousands of people by Syrian security forces, have been chanting "freedom", Reuters has reported.The demonstrators also chanted slogans in support of the southern city of Deraa, where protests against Baath Party rule erupted a week ago.
13.39 A Bahraini minister has accused demonstrators of having a "foreign agenda", running over unarmed policemen in cars and beating up patients in a major hospital. Fatima al Beloushi, minister for social development, said the demonstrators had links to a neighbouring country and Hezbollah, but stopped short of naming non-Arab Shi'ite Iran as being behind the unrest in the Sunni Muslim-ruled kingdom.
What we have discovered after the government took over the roundabout and took back the hospital, we found out that those people who were doing it were instigated by a foreign country and by Hezbollah
We have direct proof. Hezbollah has provided training for their people. They were serving a foreign agenda and that is why it was not something for having a better livelihood. They were fulfilling an outside political agenda.
13.33 Adam Boulton of Sky News has tweeted:
NATO preparing for 90 day air op in Libya. It took 78 days of similar to bring down Milosevic in Former. Yugoslavia .
13.19 The coalition has fired 16 Tomahawk missiles at Gaddafi's forces in the past 24 hours, the US military has said, Reuters reports.
13.04
David Cameron in Brussels
13.04 David Cameron has praised the bravery of British military forces in action over Libya as he insisted the campaign would continue until civilians were "safe and secure from attack". The Prime Minister said the coalition had been right to act "quickly and decisively", but the situation remained "grave" in Misurata and Zintan. British forces had now carried out 70 sorties against Muammar Gaddafi's troops, including striking at tanks on the ground, he said.
I want to thank all of those involved for their incredible skill and bravery. The situation of civilians in Misrata and Zintan is grave. But we have moved quickly and decisively over the last week and I think it was right to do so.
12.57 Nato will take command of Libyan operations on Sunday or Monday, Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini has said.
12.39 President Nicolas Sarkozy has said that France and Britain are readying a "political and diplomatic solution" on Libya, according to AFP. More on what he means as soon as we know.
12.36 President Ali Abdullah Saleh and top dissident General Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar failed to strike a deal in talks on Yemen's political crisis, sources close to both sides told AFP on Friday. The meeting was held late on Thursday in Yemeni Vice-President Abdrabbo Mansur's house, one source said. General Ahmar is a key figure who has sided with the protesters seeking to oust Saleh from power.
12.10 The Daily Telegraph's Rob Crilly, in Libya, has tweeted:
lots of people fleeing Ajdabiya today... rebels seem to have more of a sense of purpose today outside ajdabiya. controlled who can get to checkpoint, getting rocket launchers ready
12.08 The African Union (AU) is planning to facilitate talks to help end the conflict in Libya between the government and rebel forces, it has said. The union's commission chairman, Jean Ping, said:
The AU action is moving forward in a resolute political process aiming at facilitating dialogue between the Libyan parties on reforms to be launched to eliminate the root causes of the conflict ... that should end with the election of democratic institutions.
12.03 The Free Yemeni has tweeted:
Taqyeer square screams right now: "The people want to overthrow the regime, Saleh you are going down tonight and no other night."
12.01 Yemeni soldiers have fired shots in the air to prevent a crowd of supporters of President Ali Abdullah Saleh from reaching an anti-government protest area where tens of thousands were rallying, witnesses said. There were no immediate reports of injuries, Reuters reported.
11.54
Anti-government protesters want President Saleh to step down immediately
11.53 Yemen's leader, President Saleh, has said he is ready to vacate the position but that he doesn't cost the opposition, who he called "drug dealers", AP said.
11.52 The head of the African Union has called for a transition period in Libya that would lead to democratic elections, AP has reported.
11.39
Rebel fighters shout over a fire ignited to burn clothes of soldiers loyal to Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi
11.32 Security forces have broken up a demonstration in the centre of the Syrian capital in support of protesters in the southern city of Deraa and arrested dozens of people, a Reuters witness said.
11.31 The Foreign Secretary told Sky News that there was no evidence of civilian casualties caused by the airstrikes against Libya.
This operation has been doing what it was meant to do, protect the civilian population of Libya, and there is no confirmed evidence of any casualties at all, civilian casualties, caused by the coalition strikes on the Gaddafi regime.
11.28 Mr Hague told the BBC that control of the no-fly zone enforcement should pass to Nato within days. He said:
Bear in mind we only passed the UN resolution a week ago and started military operations very urgently on Saturday in order to save Benghazi from what was about to happen to it. So we have then had to put some of the arrangements of the command of this in place over this week, but that is being put together perfectly well.
11.25 William Hague has said that Libyan forces must withdraw from places like Misurata for there to be a real ceasefire. More soon.
10.48 The Yemeni president, Ali Abdullah Saleh, has said that he is prepared to hand over power to save bloodshed but only to what he described as "safe hands". Addressing a rally of supporters, Saleh said:
We don't want power, but we need to hand power over to safe hands, not to sick, resentful or corrupt hands ... We are ready to leave power but only for safe hands.We are against firing a single bullet and when we give concessions this is to ensure there is no bloodshed. We will remain steadfast and challenge them with all power we have."
10.35 President Saleh of Yemen is addressing tens of thousands of "supporters" in the capital, Sana'a, according to state television. He has told his audience that he will "stand firm" in the face of attempts to oust him from power.
10.27 Libya: RAF Tornado jets launch strikes on Gaddafi forces Nick Squires, in Gioia del Colle, Puglia, has reported. He said:
There was a mood of quiet jubilation among RAF pilots and navigators, who are staying in a hotel in the town of Gioia del Colle because there is no room on the nearby base, which is run by the Italian military.
09.50 AP has reported that security forces in Syria have dismantled checkpoints in the southern city of Daraa where they have engaged in a brutal crackdown of protesters this week. There was no visible army presence on the streets for the first time since last Friday as demonstrators prepard to march for a "Day of Dignity". Yesterday the government hinted at political concessions to stop the protests from spreading.
09.48 Rob Crilly, reporting from Libya, has been in touch. He said:
I'm just a few miles outside Ajdabiya beside the last rebel major checkpoint on the road to town. I've just arrived to see a huge convoy of rebel pickups heading off down the desert track towards Ajdabiya, presumably to see if they can make headway against government forces after last night's strikes by British tornados.
09.42 African countries have to discuss the Libya crisis with delegates from Libya, the EU, the UN, the Arab League and the Islamic Conference. AU Commission Chairman Jean Ping said:
The aim is to foster an exchange of views in order to take action on the situation in Libya and to seek the ways and means towards a swift solution to the crisis
09.35 Major General John Lorimer is due to give un update at 14:00 on the latest developments in British air operations over Libya. Overnight a British Tornado aircraft took part in co-ordinated strikes on armoured vehicles belonging to Gaddafi's forces which were threatening the people of Ajdabiya.
09.33
Locals carry coffins during a funeral of people who were killed in the coalition air strikes on Tripoli. The Libyan regime claims they were civilians
09.23 Hundreds of thousands of rival demonstrators have gathered for separate rallies in Yemen's capital, AFP has reported. Anti-regime protesters poured into a square near Sanaa University where they have been camped since February 21, as regime loyalists crowded a nearby square in response to a call from the longtime president. The army and opposition activists set up separate checkpoints at entrances the square near the university, searching people entering and leaving the epicentre of the revolt against Saleh's three-decade rule.
09.14 French and British warplanes attacked Libyan targets overnight near the town of Ajdabiya as part of coordinated strikes against Gaddafi's forces. France's army chief of staff, Adm Edouard Guillaud, said a strike had destroyed an artillery factory. Ajdabiya has been under siege for more than a week, with the rebels holding the city center under shelling from government troops positioned on the outskirts.
Guillard also said that French forces destroyed a military base, a munitions depot and maintenance facilities inside Libya on Thursday, AP reported.
08.57 Yemeni forces are trying to prevent anti-government protesters from reaching the capital Sanaa, witnesses have told AP. The troops are manning checkpoints on roads leading to Sanaa, trying to identify protesters. Demonstrators are trying to gather a million people today to demand the departure of Yemen's ruler of three decades, Ali Abdullah Saleh. Last Friday, security forces opened fire on demonstrators, killing more than 40.
88.55 The Syrian government has claimed that the protesters killed by security forces in Deraa this week were insurgents. @BBCWORLD has tweeted:
Adviser to #Syrian President Assad tells BBC 34 killed in #Deraa protests by ´armed fundamentalists'
08.32 UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has told the BBC that the intervention in Libya has been effective. Mr Ban also tried to explain why action was being taken against Libya and not other countries where uprisings were being suppressed. He said :
It has deterred further aggression of military campaign by Libyan authorities and it was able to protect the civilians in Benghazi and some other areas. But we'll have to see. I believe that the superiority of the military power will prevail.
While we have been condemning all other leaders in the other regions where many civilian populations were killed, we have been urging them to exercise maximum restraint and caution to protect the human lives. But in the Libyan case, he has been killing so many people with heavy artillery.
08.26 France is sticking to its line that the operations in Libya will not drag on and on. France's chief of defence has said that he thinks allied military operations in Libya will last a matter of "weeks" and hopefully not "months". Yesterday, Alain Juppe, the foreign minister, said exactly the same, but questions are still being asked over what exactly an exit strategy would look like. Adm Edouard Guillaud said:
There will not be, strictly speaking, a situation of getting bogged down militarily because obviously the solution is political.
08.24 Al-Jazeera English has tweeted:
Syria braces for 'day of dignity' rallies: Call for protests at mosques comes despite a reform pledge by the gov...
08.21
An anti-Gaddafi protester outside the Libyan Embassy in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
08.02 Israel's prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has said that Israel is ready to act with "great force" against rocket attacks from Gaza. Tensions have been high this week follow a series of tit-for-tat strikes and a bombing in Jerusalem which killed a British woman. Mr Netanyahu said:
We stand ready to act with great force and great determination to put a stop to it. Any civilised society will not tolerate such wanton attacks on its civilians.
07.50
A pro-reforms protester show the words 'we will not forget our martyrs' written on his arm in candle wax during a vigil south of the Bahraini capital, Manama
07.43 Opposition activists in Bahrain are preparing to hold protests on Friday, defying a ban on public gatherings declared under martial law last week, Reuters has reported.
07.41 Downing Street has welcomed the Nato decision to monitor the no fly zone as a "significant step forward" and said the addition of UAE jets demonstrated the "real and tangible Arab role" in the operation. A spokesman said:
Last night's decisions by Nato and by the UAE demonstrate the strength and breadth of the coalition involved in protecting the people of Libya," a spokesman said.
"Nato's decision to assume command and control of the no-fly zone, in addition to the arms embargo already being enforced, is a significant step forward and will ensure that the Alliance's tried and tested machinery is used to best effect.
"The UAE's decision to contribute 12 planes to the no-fly zone operation is evidence of the real and tangible Arab role, building on the leadership the Arab League as a whole showed when they originally led calls for a no-fly zone over Libya.
"Britain welcomes both of these important developments. They reinforce international efforts to implement UNSCR 1973 and protect the people of Libya."
07.04 Praveen Swami, The Daily Telegraph's Diplomatic Editor, has written a piece explaining how the al-Assad family has managed to dominate Syria over the past 40 years. He says:
Mr [Hafez] al-Asad ruled through a powerful – and brutal – network of spies and informers. His dogged secularism, though, won the backing of religious minorities, like the al-Assad family's own heterodox Alawi sect and Christians, as well as women.
07.03 Syria's feared Ba'athist regime has been forced to offer political concessions to street protesters in an unprecedented attempt to quell a week–long uprising that has left dozens dead. President Bashar al–Assad offered to lift a draconian state of emergency that has been in force in the country since 1963 after more than 20,000 protesters marched through the southern city of Daraa on Thursday, defying a crackdown by the regime's forces.
06.57 Malcolm Rifkind, the former foreign secretary, has argued that now is the time to arm the insurgents so that Col Gaddafi can be toppled. He has said that the no-fly zone will last indefinitely unless Libya's people can fight effectively. In today's Telegraph he writes:
I am not naive. I know that we cannot be certain of the political respectability of all those who might be armed. Mistakes will be made. But the overriding need is for Gaddafi to go and this will not happen without the insurgents having the kinds of tanks, artillery and missiles that are, at present, being used against them by Gaddafi.
07.05 The Libyan government has claimed that close to 100 civilians had died in air strikes since last Saturday, the first estimate of the number of casualties since the first day of bombing. However, officials have been unable to give definitive figures, and have provided no firm evidence of the breakdown of civilian and military casualties.
06.51 Five days after coalition air strikes helped rebels push back Colonel Muammar Gaddafi's forces from the outskirts of Benghazi, their advance has stalled at gates of the eastern Libyan town of Ajdabiya, Rob Crilly has reported. From Libya he writes:
The ragtag rebel army will be unable to advance further down the road towards Tripoli, Libya's capital, until it takes Ajdabiya. But the battle has turned into something of a stalemate.
Rebels say the government forces have dug their tanks into positions beside the main, eastern entrance and also lie hidden in irrigation ditches on the far western side.
Yesterday, rebel patrols probed repeatedly forward towards the town before retreating under fire as if in a high-stakes game of cat and mouse.
06.47 Con Coughlin has argued in today's Daily Telegraph that Yemen and Syria pose a greater threat to Britain than Libya. In the piece, he wrote:
With the anti-government protests in Syria and Yemen becoming more ugly by the day, I am increasingly of the view that, by launching military action against Libya, we may actually have managed to target the wrong country.
06.43 Nato will take over control of Libyan military operations this weekend after Britain made an emotional appeal to allies to put a quick end to the "appalling violence" of the Gaddafi regime, Bruno Waterfield reports from Brussels. He writes:
The British brokered deal came as relations between France and Turkey threatened to derail mission Odyssey Dawn after Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the Turkish prime minister, lashed out at French "crusaders" plotting to grab Libya's oil wealth.
06.40 The United Arab Emirates will send 12 planes to take part in operations to enforce the no-fly zone in Libya, it has been announced.
06.39 Hillary Clinton will attend a conference in London on Tuesday to discuss coalition military action against Libya, the State Department said.
06.33 British Tornado GR4 aircraft have undertaken a co-ordinated missile strike against Colonel Muammar Gaddafi's military forces, the Ministry of Defence said. Defence Secretary Dr Liam Fox said:
British Tornado GR4 Aircraft, on armed reconnaissance missions over Libya, last night took part in a co-ordinated missile strike against units of Colonel Gaddafi's Libyan Military in support of the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1973. The Tornado aircraft launched a number of guided Brimstone missiles at Libyan armoured vehicles which were threatening the civilian population of Ajdabiya. Brimstone is a high precision, low collateral damage weapon optimised against demanding and mobile targets.
06.30 GMT Welcome back to The Telegraph's live blog, following developments in Libya and cross the region, including Syria, Yemen, and Bahrain.
Our team in Libya:
Rob Crilly
Damien McElroy
Richard Spencer
Colin Freeman
Libya crisis timeline
Libya as it happened: March 24
Libya as it happened: March 23
Libya as it happened: March 22
Libya as it happened: March 21
Libya as it happened: March 20
Libya as it happened: March 19
Libya as it happened: March 18
Libya as it happened March 10
Libya as it happened March 9
Libya as it happened March 8
Libya as it happened March 7
Libya as it happened March 4
Libya protests: as it happened Mar 3
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