- William Hague says the team, believed to be SAS, 'experienced difficulties'
- Soldiers and junior diplomat have now left Libya on Royal Navy ship
- British team were detained after guards found weapons and fake passports
- Leaked recording of rebels telling UK official troops made a 'big mistake'
- More diplomatic staff will be sent to work with rebels
- British government wants 'to ensure demise of Gaddafi regime'
- Rebels suffer further setbacks as loyalist forces recapture Bin Jawwad
A British special forces team has been released by Libyan rebel forces after they were captured in the city of Benghazi.
The eight-strong group, who were escorting a junior diplomat, left the country bound for Malta on board HMS Cumberland tonight.
However, Foreign Secretary William Hague said the government intended to send further diplomatic personnel soon to 'strengthen dialogue' with rebel leaders.
'I can confirm that a small British diplomatic team has been in Benghazi,' Mr Hague said. 'The team went to Libya to initiate contacts with the opposition. They experienced difficulties, which have now been satisfactorily resolved. They have now left Libya.
Held: Rebels fire multiple rockets from a launcher near Bin-Jawad which was reportedly recaptured by Gaddafi today. Foreign Secretary William Hague said more diplomats would be sent to Libya after the release by rebels of a special forces team
Loyal: Pro-Gaddafi supporters fill a square in central Tripoli. Government forces have begun recapturing rebel positions
'We intend, in consultation with the
opposition, to send a further team to strengthen our dialogue in due
course. This diplomatic effort is part of the UK's wider work on Libya,
including our ongoing humanitarian support.
'We continue to press for Gaddafi to
step down and we will work with the international community to support
the legitimate ambitions of the Libyan people.'
The episode was an embarrassment for the
government, as it was forced to acknowledge the presence of the team, believed to be from the SAS.
It is though the soldiers, who were dressed as civilians, were were challenged by a rebel guards as they approached a compound in Benghazi and detained after the Libyan rebels found fake passports and weapons.
Audio of a telephone conversation between the UK's ambassador to Libya, Richard Northern, and a senior rebel leader was later leaked.
In it Mr Northern suggested the SAS team had been detained due to a 'misunderstanding'.
The rebel leader responded: 'They made a big mistake, coming with a helicopter in an open area.'
Mr Northern said: 'I didn't know how they were coming.'
Incoming: Rebel fights jump out of the way after shrapnel explodes near their position in Bin-Jawad
Counter-attacks: A rebel soldier receives treatment in an ambulance after fighting near Bin-Jawad
Armed: Clashes have taken place in Misrata, Ras Lanuf and Zawiya as government forces hit back at rebels
Defiant: Gaddafi supporters gather in Green Square, where earlier heavy gunfire was heard as troops celebrated winning back Ras Lanuf
Earlier today Defence Secretary Liam Fox
admitted on the BBC's Andrew Marr Show, that there was a 'small
diplomatic team' in the eastern city of Benghazi.
Dr Fox said earlier today: 'We are in touch with them,
but it would be inappropriate for me to comment further on that for
reasons I am sure you will understand.'
Asked if the team was in danger, he said: 'It is a very difficult situation to be able to understand in detail.
'There are a number of different opposition groups to Colonel Gaddafi in Libya who do seem relatively disparate.
'We
want to clearly understand what the dynamic is here because we want to
be able to work with them to ensure the demise of the Gaddafi regime, to
see a transition to greater stability in Libya and ultimately to more
representative government.'
He added that communications were being interrupted, problems with mobile phones and the internet was potentially being monitored.
Rallying cry: A boy holds a pistol belonging to a pro-Gaddafi soldier at a rally in Tripoli today, left, and a Filipino worker who fled to Manila wears a jacket in Manila airport which describes his ordeal.
Free! Bangladeshi nationals are evacuated from Libya on the Greek Ionian King. Three were killed and several missing after reportedly jumping off the ship as it approached Chania, in Crete
Embarrassment: Defence Secretary Liam Fox admitted a 'small diplomatic team' had been captured in Libya
The elite unit had been escorting the
diplomat through rebel-held territory in the east of the country to put
him in touch with opposition leaders.
But
the appearance of SAS soldiers alongside the diplomat 'angered Libyan
opposition figures who ordered the soldiers to be locked up in a
military base', The Sunday Times reported.
Opponents
of Libyan leader Colonel Gaddafi are concerned he could use evidence of
Western military interference to strengthen support for his regime.
The diplomat and his armed SAS escorts, who were in civilian clothes, were locked up inside a military base in Benghazi.
Sources admitted last night there was huge embarrassment in Whitehall that the SAS mission had backfired.
But there had been confidence that the team and the diplomat would be released unharmed within 24 hours.
It comes after the battle for control of the county continued to rage and fears grew over the impact of instability in the region on oil prices.
Airstrikes by Gaddafi's forces reportedly hit the strategic oil port of Ras Lanuf today, but failed to reclaim it.
They fared better in the town of Bin Jawwad - about 110 miles east of Gaddafi's birthplace of Sirte - and are apparently back in control.
In the capital Tripoli, residents awoke before dawn to the crackle of unusually heavy and sustained gunfire that lasted for at least two hours.
The US has moved military forces closer to Libya's shores to put military muscle behind its demand for Gaddafi to step down immediately.
But Washington has expressed caution over the idea of imposing a "no fly" zone over the North African nation so the Libyan leader cannot use his warplanes to attack the population.
Fierce fighting was under way in the city of Zawiya, 30 miles from the capital Tripoli, as rebels struggled to repel an assault by Gaddafi forces.
Dr Fox indicated a no-fly zone was still an option, saying the prospect would be discussed at a meeting of NATO defence ministers later this week.
He said: 'The Prime Minister has been making it very clear that it would not be acceptable to see the air forces used to slaughter the people of Libya.
'We've been discussing with officials at NATO exactly the sort of scoping we would like to get done.'
British Foreign Secretary William Hague had earlier urged Colonel Gaddafi to put an 'immediate stop' to the use of armed force against his people.
He said: 'He must hand over power without delay to a government that will deliver greater democracy, justice, transparency, human rights and accountability in Libya.
'We understand the desire of Libyan to enjoy the freedoms which have been denied to them for many years and support them in this endeavour.'
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