step up
their assaults on cities like Benghazi and Misrata."
The French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe has said that the attacks will continue over the next few days until the Libyan government
complies with
the UN resolution. Russia said it regrets the decision by Western powers to take military action in Libya.
Reports from the rebel-held stronghold of Benghazi say rebels have retaken the whole of the city after
driving out
forces loyal to Colonel Gaddafi. A British journalist in Benghazi told the BBC that the city had been heavily shelled by pro-Gaddafi forces, but that there had not been any
incoming
fire since late afternoon. The rebels say roads to the east of Benghazi are clogged with carloads of terrified families. Kevin Connolly is in eastern Libya.
What we can see tonight I think in the rebel-held part of eastern Libya here is that a day that began frankly in shock and
despair
when Muammar Gaddafi used the window of opportunity created by the gap between the UN's resolution and UN action in the skies here to move into Benghazi. As the skies have darkened behind me in Tobruk, the mood has lightened because this sense that United Nations sanction jets are in the air, taking action against Muammar Gaddafi, targeting his tanks on the ground, there is a huge belief in this part of the country now that that is turning the tide of this civil war against Muammar Gaddafi, and may also represent a turning point in this country's unhappy recent history.