TRIPOLI - A host of Muslim scholars in Libya issued a fatwa (a religious edict) urging all Muslims to join the protests against the Libyan leadership, Al-Jazeera TV reported.

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The so-called Network of Free Ulema of Libya, grouping 50 preachers, said all Muslims have a religious obligation to rebel against the regime of leader Muammar Gaddafi, in power for 41 years.

Libya's permanent representative to the Arab League, who resigned over a heavy-handed security crackdown on protesters, said a number of Tribal chieftains will gather in Tripoli tonight to muster a support for bringing down Gaddafi.

"They will gather to end the regime," Abdel Moneim al-Honi told Al-Jazeera TV.

Al-Jazeera, citing medical sources, said more than 61 people had been killed in the latest protests in Tripoli on Monday.