As air-strikes continue on Libya, Tripoli on March 21 accused both Allied forces and rebels of breaking a ceasefire, which it had announced late the previous day—but rebel sources said Qaddafi's troops continued to attack their western enclave of Misurata. Qaddafi's troops retreated 100 kilometers from the rebel capital of Benghazi after being strafed by coalition aircraft, but beat off a rebel advance on their new positions in Ajdabiya. Gen. Carter Ham, head of the US Africa Command, said US forces have no mission to support a ground offensive by the rebels—but that Qaddafi's troops in the Benghazi area show "little will or capability to resume offensive operations."

Israeli warplanes targeted sites across the Gaza Strip late March 21, injuring at least 17 people including seven children, witnesses and medics said. Ten people arrived at Ash-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City and seven others were taken to Kamal Adwan Hospital in the north. An airstrike in the Zeitoun neighborhood of Gaza City caused considerable damage but no injuries, residents said. An Israeli military spokesman said that the attack targeted two "terror tunnels, two weapons manufacturing and storage facilities, and two additional terror activities sites." The official emphasized that the attack came in response to the barrage of projectiles fired toward Israeli territory over the past week, including 50 on March 19 for which Hamas claimed responsibility. Among the targets were a police post and a training facility of Hamas' military wing, the al-Qassam Brigades, which a day earlier offered to stop cross-border fire into Israel if the Israelis halted attacks on Gaza.

Hamas' armed wing said March 21 that it would commit to a truce if Israel stops bombarding the Gaza Strip. However, the al-Qassam Brigades vowed to resist if Israel continued to attack the enclave. Brigades spokesman Abu Obeida said the group had fired mortars into the Western Negev on March 19 in response to Israeli aggression. Three days earlier, two of its members were killed in an Israeli air strike. The call for a ceasefire came as Israeli warplanes struck garages by a mosque east of Ash-Shuja'iyeh near Gaza City. No injuries were reported, but residents said Israeli fighter jets were circling above the besieged strip.

Bahrain's King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalif announced March 21 that "a foreign plot" against the small Gulf state has been foiled. "There is a foreign plot that has been in the making for at least 20 to 30 years so that the ground is ready for its execution," said the king, in a clear allusion to Iran. But the crackdown on protesters in Bahrain has left many angry with the United States. At the Sadiq Mosque in Manama, Sheikh Issa Qassim said of the US: "They have influence they're not using to save the people here." One of the worshippers, Isa Ashoor, agreed: "Everybody is thinking America gave them the green light to beat the Bahraini people." (AGI, NPR, March 21)

Tanks were deployed in the Yemeni capital on March 21 as top generals pledged allegiance to the "revolution." Tanks took up positions in key locations across Sanaa including at the presidential palace, the central bank and the ministry of defense, but it is unclear what their orders are or who is in command. Ge. Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar, commander of the Northwest Military District, announced: "The crisis is getting more complicated and it's pushing the country towards violence and civil war. According to what I'm feeling, and according to the feelings of my partner commanders and soldiers... I announce our support and our peaceful backing to the youth revolution."

US, French and British warplanes continued to strike targets in Libya March 21—including Qaddafi's central compound, sparking accusations that Allied forces are trying to kill the Libyan leader. This was denied by the Pentagon, but Hillary Clinton stated: "We will continue to work with our partners in the international community to press Qaddafi to leave, and to support the legitimate aspirations of the Libyan people." There were rumors that Qaddafi had been killed; he spoke the day before the strike to pledge resistance to the Allies' "naked aggression," but hasn't been heard from since. The Libyan military announced a ceasefire, but this was met by skepticism. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said: "I sincerely hope and urge the Libyan authorities to keep their word. They have been continuing to attack the civilian population." Rebel fighters trying to retake the eastern town of Ajdabiya said they were driven back by rocket and tank fire from government loyalists still controlling approaches to the city. Fighting was also reported from Misurata, the last western city held by the rebels.

As the West intervenes in Libya, protest and repression continue to escalate throughout the Arab world. On March 20, lawmakers in Bahrain called on King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa to declare a state of emergency and invoke martial law after 5,000 protesters marched to demand an end to the monarchy. In Yemen, President Ali Abdullah Saleh declared a state of emergency throughout the country March 18—one day after a massacre of protesters in the capital, Sanaa. The state of emergency will last 30 days and gives security forces greater powers to maintain order. Saleh stated that a "committee of neutral bodies" will investigate the massacre and called those killed during the protest "martyrs of democracy." (Jurist, March 19)

The international operation to enforce a no-fly zone over Libya "has been successful," top US military commander Michael Mullen said March 20. "They are no longer marching on Benghazi," Mullen, chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told ABC News. Meanwhile, the Arab League secretary general, Amr Moussa, protested the air-strikes against Libya, saying he would call a league meeting to reconsider Arab approval of the Western military intervention. "What is happening in Libya differs from the aim of imposing a no-fly zone," he said. "And what we want is the protection of civilians and not the shelling of more civilians." (Middle East Online, WP, March 20)