UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon. The British Prime Minister David Cameron has on Monday released a statement on the violence in Libya, which entailed the following: “I have just come from chairing a meeting of the National Security Council on the situation in Libya. The latest information is that the vast majority of Tripoli is now controlled by free Libyan fighters, although fighting continues – and some of it is extremely fierce. We have no confirmation of Qadhafi’s whereabouts, but at least two of Qadhafi’s sons have been detained."

“His regime is falling apart and in full retreat. Qadhafi must stop fighting, without conditions – and clearly show that he has given up any claim to control Libya. As for his future, that should be a decision for Chairman Jalil and the new Libyan authorities. The situation in Tripoli is clearly very fluid today and there can be no complacency."

“Our task now is to do all we can to support the will of the Libyan people, which is for an effective transition to a free, democratic and inclusive Libya. This will be a Libyan-led and Libyan-owned process with broad international support co-ordinated by the UN – and I am in close contact with partners from NATO, the Arab League and with Chairman Jalil himself."

“Clearly the immediate priority today is to establish security in Tripoli. We are working closely with the NTC to support their plans to make sure that happens. I spoke to Chairman Jalil last week, and will be speaking to him again, to agree with him the importance of respecting human rights, avoiding reprisals, and making sure all parts of Libya can share in the country’s future."

“And the wider NATO mission which is to protect civilians – that will continue for as long as it is needed. This morning the National Security Council also discussed the urgent work that needs to be done on medical supplies and humanitarian aid, on diplomatic efforts, and on our work at the UN Security Council. Let me say a word about each. First, on the need to support the medical facilities in Tripoli."

“We have already deployed medical supplies close to where they are needed, and have now released them to the World Health Organisation. In the coming days it will be important to make sure the communications networks, the electricity, the power supplies, fuel and water are maintained or repaired where they need to be. The National Transitional Council have been planning for this for months and we have been helping with that work."

“Diplomatically, we have a strong mission already in Benghazi consisting of Foreign Office, military and aid specialists, and we will establish a British diplomatic presence in Tripoli as soon as it is safe and practical to do so. This will include stabilisation experts who have been planning for this moment with the NTC for months. At the UN, we will also be taking early action in the Security Council to give the new Libyan authorities the legal, diplomatic, political and financial support they need."
 
“We will soon be able to release the frozen assets that belong to the Libyan people. The Foreign Secretary is returning and, with the Deputy Prime Minister, the Defence Secretary and the Development Secretary, will coordinate our efforts with the NTC in the week ahead. Six months ago this country took the difficult decision to commit our military to support the people of Libya."

“I said at the time that this action was necessary, legal and right – and I still believe that today. It was necessary because Gadhafi was going to slaughter his own people – and that massacre of thousand of innocent people was averted. Legal, because we secured a Resolution from the United Nations, and have always acted according to that Resolution. And right, because the Libyan people deserve to shape their own future, just as the people of Egypt and Tunisia are now doing."

“I would like to take this opportunity to thank the many British pilots, air staff, ground crew and everyone who worked so hard to support the NATO mission and the work of the NTC. On the pilots – as ever they have sho0wn incredible bravery, professionalism and dedication. This has not been our revolution, but we can be proud that we have played our part."

“There will undoubtedly be difficult days ahead. No transition is ever smooth or easy. But today the Arab spring is a step further away from oppression and dictatorship and a step closer to freedom and democracy. And the Libyan people are closer to their dream of a better future.”

Earlier today, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon
called on forces loyal to Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi to stop fighting and allow a transition to power in the oil-producing North African state. He added that all U.N. member states are obligated to comply with decisions of the International Criminal Court in The Hague, which has issued arrest warrants for Gaddafi, his son Saif al-Islam and his intelligence chief.

The UN rights body, meanwhile, held an emergency meeting on Monday to press Assad to end a deadly crackdown on dissent, a day after he scoffed at Western calls to quit. “The gravity of on-going violations and the brutal attacks against the peaceful protesters in that country demand your continued attention,” he said, according to AFP.
The UN Human Rights Council met to consider a draft resolution deploring the “indiscriminate attacks” on Syrian demonstrators and seeking an end to the violence, a copy said. The text seen by AFP also underscores the need to send independent investigators to probe the government's crackdown on protesters. “As of today, over 2,200 people have been killed since mass protests began in mid-March, with more than 350 people reportedly killed across Syria since the beginning of Ramadan,” on August 1, said Pillay.

In other news, Libya's revolutionary council will vote to decide whether or not to send beleaguered strongman Muammar Gaddafi's captured son to face international justice, its envoy to Paris told AFP on Monday. Mansur Seif al-Nasr, the official representative of Libya's rebel National Transitional Council (NTC) in France, told AFP the movement makes all important decisions by a vote of its national executive council. Gaddafi's son and former heir apparent, Seif al-Islam, was captured by rebel forces on Sunday as the regime's defence of its capital Tripoli crumbled in the face of an insurgent siege and a street revolt within. Along with his father, Seif has been indicted by the International Criminal Court on suspicion of crimes against humanity, and prosecutors have asked that they be sent to The Hague for trial.

In recent developments, Two children are among those fighting for their lives in Tripoli's only working hospital after being caught up in violence in Libya's capital. The hospital has been swamped by casualties over the last few days, and those numbers swelled overnight as the rebels moved into the city and Green Square centre, SkyNews reported. An 11-year-old girl has a wound to the head where a sniper bullet entered. And around the corner from her, a three-year-old toddler has been treated for a bullet wound to her stomach.

The hospital is stretched beyond belief and it is crumbling under the pressure. There are not enough medics and those that are there are exhausted. There are piles of rubbish built-up in every corner after many staff stopped coming to work due to the danger. Blood-soaked bandages are strewn on the floor and on one corner there is a still-full urine bag. The injured are in corridors and their beds piled on top of one another. "Please, please tell the world we need help," one doctor told me.

The hospital is in a particularly bad geographical position because it is very close to the Rixos hotel (where western journalists stay), and very close to the Gaddafi compound and Green Square. There is the sound of constant gunfire outside the hospital and rocket-propelled grenades are constantly shelling nearby. At least one mortar shell hit a hospital perimeter wall and there has been the sound of a loud explosion nearby.

From Col Gaddafi's compound, smoke can be seen rising as the two sides fight for control, however Qaddafi has not been seen in public since mid-June. His foes speculate he may not be in the Libyan capital or even in the country. As rebel fortunes have risen, his long televised speeches at boisterous public meetings have given way to scratchy telephone appeals from unknown hideouts. And here around the hotel where foreign journalists have stayed ever since this uprising began, Gaddafi supporters control the streets. The premature celebrations of last night seem not to have been repeated during the day. Instead, many stay indoors wondering how long the fight for Tripoli will last. There are reports that the power has gone down at the Rixos Hotel in Tripoli, where many foreign correspondents have been trapped during the fighting.