Reports say a rebel-operated jet fighter crashed in Benghazi, as Libyan forces continue to mount attacks despite a ceasefire being announced yesterday.

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Video: Emma Hurd reporting from Benghazi

Meanwhile Libyan state news agency has reported that civilians human shields are converging on government facilities believed to be bombing targets by a UN-backed intervention force.

The strategic move is seen as a way of thwarting an impending military campaign to enforce a no-fly zone.

British Prime Minister David Cameron is due to discuss a military response to the latest Libyan events with the US and other allies at a meeting in Paris later today.

The rebel pilot of the Russian-built MIG-23, which may have been shot down or suffered catastrophic engine failure, ejected moments it crashed in a fireball in Benghazi's southern suburbs.



Rebels in Benghazi cheered and honked car horns as the jet crashed



Sky's Emma Hurd, who witnessed the crash in Benghazi, said: "We saw it circling, then the sound of anti-aircraft fire, then the plane crashed in flames.

"Planes had been circling above the heavily populated areas before heading to the south to apparently bomb the rebel areas.

After the crash a Gaddafigovernment official denied any such incident and said there were "no attacks whatsoever" by military forces on Benghazi.



The pilot can be seen to eject moments before the crash



Libya declared a ceasefire on Friday after the UN authorised the no-fly zone over the country, and deputy foreign minister Khaled Kaim told Sky News on Friday it would stick to the ceasefire.

He told Sky's Lisa Holland: "We are categorically denying there is any military operation on the ground (in the city of Benghazi) since we announced the decision has been made to cease fire."

But early on Saturday attacks on rebels appeared to be underway by both air and ground forces.



The fighter, believed to be a MIG-23, exploded in a ball of flames



Hurd said: "This morning what we've been hearing the distant rumble of what sounds like artillery fire or tank fire."

However, the Libyan state news agency claimed pro-Gaddafi forces were under attack from "al Qaeda gangs" near Benghazi.

And Libyan spokesman Ibrahim Moussa said Gaddafi's regime remains defiant about the threat of military action.

Reading from a letter sent by the dictator to Mr Cameron, French president Nicolas Sarkozy and the UN secretary general, he said: "You will regret it if you take a step towards intervening in our internal affairs, in our country.

"The UN security council is not authorised, according to the UN charter, to intervene in the internal affairs of any country."




Libyan Government Spokesman Ibrahim Moussa



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Once more, Col Gaddafi insisted the rebels are Islamists and said in the statement: "We are fighting al Qaeda, in what they call the Islamic Maghreb."

Mr Moussa also denied it was a government plane that crashed in Benghazi.

Sky's Hurd said suspicions have now been raised that the jet was a rebel-flown, stolen aircraft hit as it sought out Gaddafi's forces on the outskirts of Benghazi.

"There is still some confusion over that but what is clear is that despite claims of a ceasefire there still is fighting and it seems to be led by his forces," Hurd said.

Mr Musa also denied government forces shelled any Libyan towns today, saying the rebels are the ones breaking the ceasefire by attacking military forces.

<a href="http://www.coveritlive.com/mobile.php?option=com_mobile&task=viewaltcast&altcast_code=51cac0a458">Libya Crisis</a>

But the head of the rebel National Libyan Council said the international community must act swiftly to protect civilians from Gaddafi's forces bombarding Benghazi.

"We appeal to the international community, to the all the free world, to stop this tyranny from exterminating civilians," Mustafa Abdel Jalil said.

On Friday the UK announced a deployment of Tornados and Typhoons fighter jets as well as air-to-air refuelling and surveillance aircraft will help enforce the no-fly zone.

Mr Cameron, said that a stable Libya "free from Colonel Gaddafi's brutality" was in Britain's interests.

He told the House of Commons: "Britain will deploy Tornados and Typhoons as well as air-to-air refuelling and surveillance aircraft.

"Our forces will join an international operation to enforce the resolution if Gaddafi fails to comply with its demand that he ends attacks on civilians."




The Impact On The No-Fly Zone



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House later the US ambassador to the UN claimed the no-fly zone had been breached and President Barack Obama warned Mr Gaddafi to withdraw troops from rebel areas.

In response to Saturday's events the Libyan oil minister warned Western companies under contract to continue operating in the country otherwise Chinese and Indian oil firms may be given those rights.

Hundreds of residents have reportedly fled Benghazi, heading east towards the Egyptian border, as troops attack the west of the city.

:: A resident of the western town of Misratah told Reuters Gaddafi's forces were on the outskirsts of the rebel town and water supplies had been cut off.



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