Manama: The "new channel for all free Libyans" launched last week in Qatar will next week extend its daily broadcasting from four to 12 hours, its directors have said.

The station, now operating under the aegis of Al Jazeera channel, plans to ultimately adopt a 24-hour daily schedule.

"The new channel will serve as a link between the Libyan masses and those involved in the uprising," Mahmoud Shammam, the channel's director, said.

"It will transmit news and views in a highly professional manner and fill a vacuum that has been exploited by Gaddafi's perverted version of life, politics and society for 40 years. A much-awaited media space will be filled," he said.