23 February 2011Last updated at 15:55

In pictures: Libya on the brink

Libyans protest against Col Muammar Gaddafi, in Tobruk, north-eastern Libya, on 23 February 2011

Libyan leader Colonel Muammar Gaddafi's defiant speech on Tuesday vowing to crush the dissent threatening to end his long rule has been greeted with scorn by the opposition movement in the east of the country.

A Libyan boy holds a banner at a protest against Col Gaddafi in Tobruk on 23 February 2011

Amid reports that the Libyan government had set foreign mercenaries and warplanes on civilians, the UN Security Council demanded an immediate end to the violence, but protesters like these in Tobruk wonder if it has gone far enough.

Many of the protesters, such as this pair also in Tobruk, have been hoisting the flag of the monarchy that was toppled by Col Gaddafi's military coup in 1969.

An anti-Gaddafi Libyan at an abandoned Libyan military base near Tobruk on 23 February 2011

The opposition - backed by defecting army units - is thought to hold sway over almost the entire eastern half of the country, following a week of upheaval. Our correspondent in eastern Libya says people there believe the government controls just a few pockets of territory, including parts of the capital Tripoli and the southern town of Sabha.

A Dutch soldier serves passengers on a Dutch military plane as citizens are evacuated from Tripoli late on 22 February 2011

Tens of thousands of foreigners are fleeing the turmoil, including these Dutch citizens on a Netherlands military plane. The governments of many other European countries, the US and China have chartered aircraft, ships and ferries for mass evacuations of their stranded nationals.

Libyan protesters rally against Col Gaddafi in front of the Libyan embassy in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on 23 February 2011

There have been anti-Gaddafi protests outside Libyan embassies around the world from Kuala Lumpur (pictured here) to Tokyo.

A South Korean college student protests against Col Gaddafi in front of the Libyan embassy in Seoul, South Korea, on 23 February 2011

A South Korean college student holds a placard expressing the hope that Col Gaddafi will become the next veteran Arab ruler to be ejected through popular revolt, after the presidents of Tunisia, Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali (toppled in January), and Egypt, Hosni Mubarak (ousted this month).

World

In pictures: Libya on the brink

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