(Al Jazeera English: 1000 PST, February 22, 2011) In a lengthy televised address, Muammar Gaddafi variously blamed the media, the U.S., the UK, Italy, and hallucinogenic drugs forced on young protesters for causing the trouble in his country. The Libyan leader tried his hardest to appeal to anti-colonialist sentiment in the country but behind all the anger there seemed to be one key message: he has created Libya, and will never leave.

But pressure on Gaddafi is mounting. Several major cities across Libya are under the control of the opposition and the deadly crackdown on protesters seems to have been hardening the popular resolve. Al Jazeera's Laurence Lee reports.