Thread: The Libyan Crisis

http://www.alarabiya.net/articles/20...17/138021.html

Violent clashes rock Libyan town of Zenten

Death toll hits 19 in Libya’s "Day of Rage"

Thursday, 17 February 2011


A protest against Moamer Kadhafi who ruled Libya for 40 years, the longest-serving leader in Africa

TRIPOLI (Agencies) The death toll in clashes between protesters and security forces in the Libyan cities of Benghazi and al-Baida on Thursday rose to 19 as Muammar Gaddafi 's regime sought to overshadow an opposition "Day of Anger" with its own rally in the capital Tripoli.

Internal security forces and militias of the Revolutionary Committees used live ammunition to disperse a peaceful demonstration by the youth of Al-Baida Libya Watch

Meanwhile, violent clashes rocked the Libyan city of Zenten southwest of Tripoli on Thursday during which a police post and an office of the local revolutionary committee were torched, Quryna newspaper said on its website.

Separately, lawyers demonstrated in front of a courthouse in Benghazi -- Libya's second city after Tripoli -- to demand a constitution for the country.

The Al-Youm and Al-Manarawebsites, monitored in Nicosia, earlier reported at least four people were killed in the city of Al-Baida, 200 kilometres (120 miles) east of Benghazi, on Wednesday.

Sites monitored in Cyprus and a Libyan human rights group based abroad reported earlier that the anti-Kadhafi protests in Al-Baida had cost as many as 13 lives.

"Internal security forces and militias of the Revolutionary Committees used live ammunition to disperse a peaceful demonstration by the youth of Al-Baida," leaving "at least four dead and several injured," according to Libya Watch.

Al-Bayda is near Benghazi, Libya's second city, where protesters clashed with police and Gaddafi supporters on Tuesday night

New York-based Human Rights Watch said Libyan authorities had detained 14 activists and writers who had been preparing the anti-government protests, while telephone lines to parts of the country were out or order.

Snatches of information were trickling out from parts of the country on an Arabic-language Facebook page used by opposition activists, but the sources were not clear and it was not possible to verify the details.

Building on fire

This is a society that is still behind in many ways, there are certain legitimate problems that have to be sorted out Mustafa Fetouri, a Tripoli-based political analyst

One post said that protesters in Ar Rajban, near the border with Algeria, set fire to a local government headquarters. In Zenten, south-west of Tripoli, protesters shouted "We will win or die," said another post, which also had a photograph of a building on fire.

In the capital, traffic was moving as normal, banks and shops were open and there was no increased security presence.

Tripoli resident Ahmed Rehibi said anti-government protests were an unnecessary distraction. "We should be concentrating on working, on our schools, because now we are trying to build up our infrastructure," he said.

Analysts say an Egypt-style revolt is unlikely because the government can use oil revenues to smooth over most social problems.

Libya has been tightly controlled for over 40 years by Gaddafi, now Africa's longest-serving leader, and it has immense oil wealth. But the country has nevertheless felt the ripples from the uprisings in neighboring states.

"We have problems," Mustafa Fetouri, a Tripoli-based political analyst and university professor, told Reuters. "This is a society that is still behind in many ways, there are certain legitimate problems that have to be sorted out."

But he said: "I do not really see it (unrest) spreading... Gaddafi remains well respected."

Libya bans all political parties, public dissent is rarely tolerated and over his time in office, rights groups say, thousands of Gaddafi's opponents have been put in prison.

But Gaddafi and his supporters say Libya is a democracy because of his system of direct rule through grass-roots institutions called popular committees.

Opposition activists designated Thursday as a day of protests because it is the anniversary of clashes on Feb. 17, 2006 in Benghazi when security forces killed several protesters who were attacking the city's Italian consulate.

On the eve of the planned protests, SMS messages were sent to mobile phone subscribers saying: "From the youth of Libya to all those who are tempted to touch the four red lines: come and face us in any square or street in Libya."

The four red lines, defined in a 2007 speech by one of Gaddafi's sons, are Islam, security, territorial integrity, and Muammar Gaddafi.

Libya: Security Forces Fire on 'Day of Anger' Demonstrations
February 17, 2011

Government Should Respect Right to Peaceful Protest and Investigate Deaths


The security forces' vicious attacks on peaceful demonstrators lay bare the reality of Muammar Gaddafi's brutality when faced with any internal dissent. Libyans should not have to risk their lives to make a stand for their rights as human beings.

Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East and North Africa director at Human Rights Watch


(New York) - The Libyan security forces killed at least 24 protesters and wounded many others in a crackdown on peaceful demonstrations across the country, Human Rights Watch said today. The authorities should cease the use of lethal force unless absolutely necessary to protect lives and open an independent investigation into the lethal shootings, Human Rights Watch said.

Hundreds of peaceful protesters took to the streets on February 17, 2011, in Baida, Benghazy, Zenten, Derna, and Ajdabiya. According to multiple witnesses, Libyan security forces shot and killed the demonstrators in efforts to disperse the protests. "The security forces' vicious attacks on peaceful demonstrators lay bare the reality of Muammar Gaddafi's brutality when faced with any internal dissent," said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East and North Africa director at Human Rights Watch. "Libyans should not have to risk their lives to make a stand for their rights as human beings."

Some of the worst violence was in the eastern city of Baida. At around 1 p.m. on February 17, according to sources in Libya, hospital staff put out a call for additional medical supplies, as they became overwhelmed with the medical needs of 70 injured protesters, half of them in critical condition due to gunshot wounds. On the night of February 16, security forces had attacked peaceful protesters with teargas and live ammunition, shooting dead two protesters, according to protesters who spoke to Human Rights Watch. Geneva-based Libya Human Rights Solidarity has confirmed three of the names of those shot dead so far: Safwan Attiya, Nasser Al Juweigi, and Ahmad El Qabili. One protester told Human Rights Watch that a new protest started on February 17, after noon prayers and the funerals of those killed on February 16. Joined by hundreds of other protesters, families marched toward the Internal Security office, chanting, "Down with the regime" and "Get out Muammar Gaddafi." Some protesters filmed the protests with mobile phones and posted them online. One injured protester in a hospital in Baida told Human Rights Watch that he was sitting near the intensive care unit there and had confirmed that security forces had shot dead 16 people and wounded dozens of others. He said that Special Forces and armed men in street clothes fired live ammunition to deter protesters.

A protester in Benghazi told Human Rights Watch that hundreds of lawyers, activists, and other protesters gathered on the steps of the Benghazi Court calling for a constitution and respect for the rule of law. Early in the day, sources in Libya told Human Rights Watch that security forces had arrested a Benghazi journalist, Hind El Houny, and Salem Souidan, a family member of a group that has been seeking justice for the massacre of inmates in Abu Salim prison in 1996. Security forces also arrested a former political prisoner, Abdel Nasser al-Rabbasi, in Bani Walid. The protester said he saw groups of men in street clothes armed with knives, later joined by Internal Security forces, charging the protesters to disperse them. The protester told Human Rights Watch that he believed security forces had shot dead at least 17 protesters during the day, mostly near Abdel Nasser Street. Human Rights Watch was able to confirm eight of those deaths.

It appears that the government also has coordinated pro-government supporters to confront the demonstrations. On February 16, subscribers to Libyana, one of two Libyan mobile phone networks, received a text message calling upon "nationalist youth" to go out and "defend national symbols." At around 11:30 p.m. on February 17, a protester in Tripoli told Human Rights Watch that anti-government protests had started in Tripoli also.

"It is remarkable that Gaddafi is still copying the very same tactics that failed Hosni Mubarak so completely just across the border," Whitson said. "Using security forces and armed thugs to deny people the right to express their opposition to the government increasingly looks destined to fail."

hrw.org

https://www.youtube.com/watch?annotat..._Js&feature=iv

youtube.com

http://www.smh.com.au/world/gaddafis...218-1azlb.html

Gaddafi's forces accused of using gunships against citizens

Damien McElroy

February 19, 2011

LONDON: Colonel Muammar Gaddafi's regime turned its helicopter gunships and snipers on protesters as rare anti-government protests were reported to have reached Tripoli, the capital.

The dictator was the focus of a ''day of rage'' in at least five cities, an unprecedented challenge to his ''Green Revolution''.

Human Rights Solidarity, a campaign group, said snipers on the rooftops in al-Baida had killed 13 protesters and wounded dozens of others after police stations were set on fire and posters of Colonel Gaddafi burnt.
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Reports of deaths varied. The New York Times said as many as 20 were killed; the ABC news website reported up to 50 dead.

The ABC's World Today program spoke to a Libyan protester in Benghazi, the country's second city.

The man, known only as Mohamed, accused the Gaddafi regime of bringing soldiers from neighbouring Chad to put down the demonstrations. He also said he had seen children and young protesters jumping off bridges to escape security forces.

State media maintained a news blackout but opposition groups used Facebook, Twitter and other social media to send out reports and images of demonstrations and clashes.

Opposition websites said six people had died in Benghazi after clashes broke out at the funerals of two people killed the day before. Helicopter gunships were reported to have been deployed and hospitals were reported to have received scores of injured.

Among the chants recorded was: ''Libya is free and the colonel can leave.''

A heavy turnout of regime supporters bearing sticks and placards praising the ''brother leader'', who has ruled Libya since 1969, failed to deter smaller protests in Tripoli.

The tide of revolt sweeping North Africa and the Middle East has caught out the ageing dictator and exposed tensions in the regime. The Gaddafi family's billionaire lifestyle and playboy reputation are liabilities in a region where unemployment and corruption are widespread.

Regional differences in the country were pondered in a February 2008 US diplomatic cable released by WikiLeaks which described Benghazi as ''a locus of extremist activity over which government of Libya security services have comparatively limited control''.

The area suffered disproportionately high levels of unemployment, particularly among men aged 18 to 34.

Online groups have been the rallying point for protesters in the country. One Facebook group, which had 4400 members on Monday, had grown to 9600 by Wednesday.

To counter the threat of protests, the regime bombarded the mobile phone network with messages from ''the youth of Libya'' warning against crossing ''four red lines: Muammar Gaddafi, territorial integrity, Islam and internal security''.

Libya produces about 2 per cent of the world's crude oil exports and firms like Shell and BP have invested billions of dollars there since 2005.

Telegraph, London; Guardian News & Media; Bloomberg

วันเสาร์ ที่ 19 ก.พ. 2554

Internet service cut off in Libya as regime moves to strip anti-govt protestors of ways to communicate; Rights group estimates 84 killed in 3 days protests

mcot.net

New York-based Human Rights Watch said the killings on Friday took to 84 its estimate for the death toll over three days of protests -- most of its focused in the restive region around Benghazi.

TOPWRAP 2-Libya's Gaddafi faces fight of life, Bahrain offer snubbed | Reuters

The Qatar-based news channel Al Jazeera said on Friday its signal was being jammed on several frequencies and its website had been blocked in Libya.

Al Jazeera says signal jammed, website blocked | The Raw Story

Bangkok Post : Libya forces kill 84 people in three days

Libya forces kill 84 people in three days

• Published: 19/02/2011 at 03:31 PM
• Online news: World

Libyan security forces killed at least 84 people over three days of protests, Human Rights Watch said on Saturday, citing telephone interviews with local hospital staff and witnesses.


Supporters of Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi hold his picture during a pro-government rally in Tripoli. Libyan security forces killed at least 84 people over three days of protests, Human Rights Watch said on Saturday, citing telephone interviews with local hospital staff and witnesses.

"Thousands of demonstrators gathered in the eastern Libyan cities of Benghazi, Baida, Ajdabiya, Zawiya and Derna on February 18, 2011, following violent attacks against peaceful protests the day before that killed 20 people in Benghazi, 23 in Baida, three in Ajdabiya, and three in Derna," the New York-based watchdog said.

"Hospital sources told Human Rights Watch that security forces killed 35 people in Benghazi on February 18, almost all with live ammunition."

The watchdog's deputy Middle East and North Africa director, Joe Stork, called on the Libyan authorities to respect the right of free assembly.

"Moamer Kadhafi's security forces are firing on Libyan citizens and killing scores simply because they're demanding change and accountability," he said.

The deadliest violence on Friday hit Benghazi where witnesses told Human Rights Watch that security forces wearing "distinctive yellow uniforms" shot at demonstrators who had gathered for the funeral of 20 people killed earlier.

By late Friday, Al-Jalaa Hospital in Benghazi had received the bodies of 35 killed that day, with the deaths caused by gunshot wounds to the chest, neck and head, according to a senior hospital official cited by the rights watchdog.

"We put out a call to all the doctors in Benghazi to come to the hospital and for everyone to contribute blood because I've never seen anything like this before," the official told Human Rights Watch.

Witnesses told the rights watchdog that after the February 18 shootings, protesters in Benghazi continued on to the courthouse and gathered there throughout the evening, the crowd swelling to thousands.

"Libyan authorities should allow peaceful protesters to have their say," Stork said.

Kadhafi has ruled Libya since 1969 and is the Arab world's longest-serving ruler.

Report: Helicopters fire on Libya protesters

February 19th, 2011
08:22 AM ET

Helicopters fired at demonstrators and sounds of gunfire rang out Saturday in the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi, a doctor who witnessed the incident told CNN.

The doctor said dozens of injured people are being hospitalized, most suffering from gunshot wounds. CNN is not identifying the doctor security reasons.

"The situation is critical right now. The city is effectively under siege," the doctor said.

Libya...

Warning, some scenes are graphic and may disturb you.

http://www.france24.com/en/20110219-...adly-crackdown

19 February 2011 - 14H16

Libyan regime hits back with deadly crackdown


Supporters of Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi kiss his picture during a pro-government rally in Tripoli on February 18. Security forces have killed more than 80 anti-regime protesters in unrest-swept eastern Libya, according to Human Rights Watch. Tripoli has pledged to crush the opposition.


A supporter of Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi holds his picture while carrying her child during a pro-government rally in Tripoli. Security forces have killed more than 80 anti-regime protesters in unrest-swept eastern Libya, according to Human Rights Watch. Tripoli has pledged to crush the opposition.


AFP - Security forces have killed more than 80 anti-regime protesters in unrest-swept eastern Libya, Human Rights Watch said on Saturday, after Tripoli pledged to crush opposition.

On the fifth day of an unprecedented challenge to his four-decade regime, Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi had still made no public comment although he reportedly appeared at a mass rally of supporters in the capital on Thursday.

After regime opponents had used Facebook to mobilise protests, like in neighbouring Egypt, the social networking website was blocked on Saturday and Internet connections patchy, said Internet users in Tripoli and Benghazi.

Arbor Networks, a US-based tracker of online traffic, said Internet services were cut overnight.

But the capital itself remained calm on Saturday, a correspondent in Tripoli said, as state television and the official news agency JANA restricted their coverage to reports of pro-regime rallies.

"Security forces are firing on Libyan citizens and killing scores simply because they're demanding change and accountability," said New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW), citing phone interviews with hospital staff and witnesses.

It said thousands of demonstrators had poured out onto the streets in Benghazi and other eastern cities on Friday, a day after clashes in which 49 people were killed.

"Hospital sources told Human Rights Watch that security forces killed 35 people in Benghazi on February 18, almost all with live ammunition," raising the tally to more than 80.

At least 24 were gunned down in Benghazi and Al-Baida on a "day of anger" on Thursday, according to HRW.

Libya's attorney general, Abdelrahman al-Abbar, has ordered an inquiry into the violence focused on the east of the country, an official in Tripoli told AFP on Saturday, on condition of anonymity.

The prosecutor has called for "procedures to be expedited to judge all those who were guilty of death or looting," the source said.

In Benghazi, Libya's second city and hotbed of anti-Kadhafi opposition, demonstrators on Friday set fire to the headquarters of a local radio station after the building's guards withdrew, witnesses and a security source told AFP.

And Libyan newspaper Quryna reported on Friday that some 1,000 inmates had escaped from a Benghazi prison, while a security source told AFP four inmates were shot dead during a breakout bid in Tripoli.

According to a toll compiled by AFP from local sources, at least 41 people have been killed since demonstrations first erupted on Tuesday. That toll excludes two policemen newspapers said were hanged in Al-Baida on Friday.

Oea, a newspaper close to Kadhafi's reputedly pro-reform son, Seif al-Islam, said the two policemen had been strung up by demonstrators.

Security forces circled Al-Baida on Friday, a source close to the authorities told AFP, following Internet reports that protesters had seized control of the city.

Another well-informed local source told AFP that 14 civilians, including protesters and members of the Revolutionary Committees, the backbone of Kadhafi's regime, had been killed in Al-Baida.

"The response of the people and the Revolutionary Forces to any adventures by these small groups will be sharp and violent," the Revolutionary Committees had warned on the website of its newspaper, Azzahf Al-Akhdar (Green March).

On Friday, US President Barack Obama condemned the use of violence against peaceful protesters in Libya, Bahrain and Yemen, while Britain, France and the European Union urged Libyan authorities to exercise restraint.

Britain warned its citizens against all but essential travel to eastern Libya and France said it had suspended authorisation of exports of security equipment to the North African nation.

With international concerns mounting, Turkey's Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu told reporters a repatriation of his country's nationals from Libya would "probably begin today (Saturday)".

Kadhafi, 68, is the longest-serving leader in the Arab world. His oil-producing North African state is sandwiched between Tunisia and Egypt, whose long-time leaders have been toppled by popular uprisings.

BreakingNews Breaking News

Libyan hospital official says security forces kill 15 mourners leaving funeral for protesters - AP

ShababLibya LibyanYouthMovement

Breaking sources confirm at least 200 confirmed dead in benghazi total could be worse #feb17 #libya

February 19, 2011
CNN's Fionnuala Sweeney reports protestors are digging in their heels in Libya, and so is the regime.

youtube.com





NowForTruth February 19, 2011


The eastern Libyan city of Baidah has been a scene of death and violent clashes.

Hospitals are struggling to cope with the influx of patients and people are worried about more chaos ahead.

Al Jazeera's Omar Al Saleh reports on recently obtained video footage from Baidah, where protesters are refusing to bow down to government intimidation.


youtube.com

Al Jazeera talks to two witnesses in the eastern coastal city of Benghazi, where more than 100 have reportedly died, including young people. In the United States, activist Mohamed Eljahmi says he has been told longtime leader Muammar Gaddafi is using mercenaries from Chad, Niger and Bangladesh to put down proteseters.

youtube.com

Libya protests: 140 'massacred' as Gaddafi sends in snipers to crush dissent
Nick Meo
20 Feb 2011

Women and children leapt from bridges to their deaths as they tried to escape a ruthless crackdown by Libyan forces loyal to Colonel Muammar Gaddafi.


Anti-government demonstrators destroying a monument of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi's Green book
Photo: AFP/GETTY


Supporters of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi hold his pictures during a pro-government rally in Tripoli
Photo: AFP/GETTY

Snipers shot protesters, artillery and helicopter gunships were used against crowds of demonstrators, and thugs armed with hammers and swords attacked families in their homes as the Libyan regime sought to crush the uprising.

"Dozens were killed ... We are in the midst of a massacre here," a witness told Reuters. The man said he helped take victims to hospital in Benghazi.

Libyan Muslim leaders told security forces to stop killing civilians, responding to a spiralling death toll from unrest which threatens veteran leader Muammar Gaddafi's authority.

Mourners leaving a funeral for protesters in the eastern city of Benghazi came under fire, killing at least 15 people and wounding many more. A hospital official said one of those who died was apparently struck on the head by an anti-aircraft missile, and many had been shot in the head and chest.

The hospital was overwhelmed and people were streaming to the facility to donate blood. "Many of the dead and the injured are relatives of doctors here," he said. "They are crying and I keep telling them to please stand up and help us."

Saturday's new deaths are in addition to the 84 people believed to have been killed by Friday night, in the brutal government response, with fears that the eventual toll will prove much higher.

The five-day uprising in eastern Libya has been the greatest challenge to the 42-year rule of Col Gaddafi, the world's longest-serving ruler. With internet and phone lines to the outside world disrupted, it was unclear whether the revolt inspired by the revolutions in neighbouring Tunisia and Egypt was spreading from the impoverished east of Libya to the capital Tripoli, or whether it was being successfully extinguished.

It was centred on Benghazi, 600 miles east of the capital, where a human rights activist lawyer was arrested on Tuesday. Chanting crowds, tens of thousands strong, filled the streets and police reportedly fled or joined the protesters, as unrest spread to surrounding towns. Fighting also broke out in the cities of Al-Bayda, Ajdabiya, Zawiya, and Darnah, with witnesses reporting piles of dead. Hospitals made frantic appeals for blood to treat wards full of wounded people.

Libyan special forces launched a dawn attack on Saturday against hundreds of protesters, including lawyers and judges, camped in front of the courthouse in Benghazi. "They fired tear gas on protesters in tents and cleared the areas after many fled carrying the dead and the injured," one protester said by phone from the city.

Video clips on the internet showed jubilant crowds at the start of the protest smashing down concrete statues of their ruler's Little Green Book, containing his sayings, and fighting running street battles with security forces. There were smaller protests in Tripoli, a stronghold of the Gaddafi family whose population received a much better share of Libya's oil wealth.
Colonel Gaddafi himself was shown on state-run television driving in a motorcade through Tripoli, surrounded by cheering supporters pumping their fists in the air and chanting slogans of support.

The pro-government Al-Watania newspaper praised Colonel Gaddafi, who came to power in a bloodless coup in 1969, and insisted the people were uniting with the government against "traitors of the West". Foreign media were exaggerating the scale of the violence, it said.

Reports from Benghazi gave a very different picture of the crisis, describing how the city's residents battled brutal security forces sent from the capital. One man, who gave his name only as Mohammed, told the BBC: "The army are joining the people, the people are going out of their homes and fighting street by street and they are winning."

A Benghazi cleric, Abellah al-Warfali, said he had a list of 16 people who had been killed, most with bullet wounds to the head and chest. "I saw with my own eyes a tank crushing two people in a car," he said. "They didn't do any harm to anyone."

Demonstrators claimed the regime had unleashed French-speaking African mercenaries against them, recruited from nearby countries such as Chad to help prop up the regime. Shaky videos filmed secretly from inside buildings and posted on YouTube showed the soldiers on the streets of Benghazi. Several were reportedly caught by the crowd and lynched.

William Hague, the Foreign Secretary, urged Libya to stop using force against protesters. "I condemn the violence in Libya, including reports of the use of heavy weapons fire and a unit of snipers against demonstrators," Mr Hague said in a statement. "This is clearly unacceptable and horrifying."
Heba Morayef of Human Rights Watch, which estimated the death toll at 84, said: "What is astonishing is the bravery of Libyans, who are running a great risk of disappearance and torture."

Facebook, which was used by protesters in Egypt and Tunisia to coordinate their successful uprisings, was blocked. So was the website of Al-Jazeera, the international television network which is based in the Middle East.
Foreign journalists were refused entry. Demonstrators using Twitter warned each other that regime spies were carefully monitoring the internet, and mobile phone users were sent threatening messages from the government, warning them to remain patriotic and not to join the protests. One such message red: "We congratulate those who understand that interfering with national unity threatens the future of generations."

Omar, a 24-year-old civil servant in Benghazi, who asked for his surname to be withheld, said: "Gaddafi is reacting to the protests with utter ruthlessness. Tanks are on the streets, and there are running battles between armed killers and protesters. Some of the soldiers have been so disgusted by what is going on that they have swapped sides."

A British-based Libyan, Ahmed, who asked for the rest of his name to be withheld, said demonstrators had been attacked by Colonel Gaddafi's African mercenaries. "It started peacefully because the people want their country back after 42 years," he told The Sunday Telegraph. He was able to telephone friends and contacts in Libya, although they were barred from making international calls out of the country.

"They don't have any weapons so it is difficult for the people in Benghazi to defend themselves," he said. "But the army were so horrified when these mercenaries started attacking protesters that they have joined the people to defend them. It is chaotic in the hospitals. Medical supplies and everything else has been blocked and they are making appeals in the streets for people to come forward and give blood."

A Libyan journalist said of the African mercenaries: "The soldiers are vicious killers. People are so terrified of them that they've been doing everything possible to get away.
"Women and children were seen jumping off Giuliana Bridge in Benghazi to escape. Many of them were killed by the impact of hitting the water, while others were drowned."

Fatih, 26, another Benghazi resident, said: "A lot of the thugs he's employing are not Arabic speakers. They're armed to the teeth and only use live ammunition. They don't ask questions – they just shoot. Buildings and cars have been set on fire here, and the situation is getting worse. The dead and injured are everywhere.

"The mercenaries shoot from helicopters and from the top of roofs. They don't care who they kill."

Libya is one of the biggest oil and gas exporters in the world, with companies like BP moving in to exploit its reserves following the rebuilding of its relationship with the west.

However, the unemployment rate is 30 per cent, housing is in short supply, and there is no political opposition and a pervasive police state. Much of Tripoli's population live in gigantic, soulless tower blocks.

Poverty is much worse in the east. Benghazi's tribes have always been suspicious of Colonel Gaddafi and the regime starves the region of investment.

telegraph.co.uk

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/wo...i-2220131.html

Gaddafi fights for his future as up to 200 die in Benghazi

Regime accused of hiring foreign mercenaries as clashes between supporters and pro-democracy demonstrators in the country's second city escalate

By Andrew Johnson and Susie Mesure

Sunday, 20 February 2011


AFP/Getty Images
Gaddafi pictured with the African Union flag at a Silvio Berlusconi speech last August

Libya was approaching a "tipping point" last night as widespread protests against Colonel Gaddafi's regime were met with increasing violence from security forces.

Dozens of protesters were reported killed by sniper fire from security forces in Benghazi, Libya's second city, yesterday when violence flared again as crowds clashed after funerals for people killed in fighting on Friday. "Dozens were killed. We are in the midst of a massacre here," one eyewitness reported.

Clashes were reported in the town of al-Bayda, where dozens of civilians were said to have been killed and police stations came under attack. In all, the death toll was reported to have reached 120. Doctors from Aj Jala hospital in Benghazi confirmed 1,000 people had been injured.

The widespread violence on Friday culminated in at least 35 deaths, according to Human Rights Watch. The New York-based watchdog said its tally was now 84 after three days of violence. The Benghazi-based Quryna newspaper, reportedly linked to one of Colonel Gaddafi's sons, said 24 were killed. Other reports put the body count higher, with as many as 200 dead and more than 1,000 hurt.

Experts warned the Gaddafi regime was unlikely to make the sort of compromises seen recently in other Arab countries. Sir Richard Dalton, former British ambassador to Libya, said: "Gaddafi will find it hard to make concessions in order to survive. I think the attitude of the Libyan regime is that it's all or nothing."

The disturbances in Libya differ markedly from those in Egypt, Tunisia and other parts of the Middle East, in that protesters opposed to the current regime are clashing directly and violently with Gaddafi supporters.

Libya-watchers are now waiting anxiously to see if protests spread to the capital, Tripoli. Most violence is confined to the east of the country where unemployment is high and Mr Gaddafi's grip said to be weaker. But they stressed that his regime had survived 41 years through brutality and he showed no signs of losing his nerve.

William Hague, Britain's Foreign Secretary, condemned Libya for firing on demonstrators. "This is clearly unacceptable and horrifying. Governments must respond to the legitimate aspirations of their people, rather than resort to the use of force, and must respect the right to peaceful protest."

However, experts admitted the British Government and business interests were watching the situation closely. BP declined to comment on the situation last night but said it was concerned for its 140 employees in Libya. Security experts said all UK companies in Libya had contingency plans if the uprising spread.

Douglas Alexander, the Shadow Foreign Secretary, said: "From Libya to Bahrain, many past assumptions have been dissolved by these demonstrations. Britain should speak out against violence, speak up for human rights in all countries and make clear that moves towards democracy are the best guarantee of long-term stability."

Critics claim that British economic interests in Libya had muted support for the uprising there. British exports to Libya have risen to more than £400m and are set to increase dramatically as oil and gas investments by Shell and BP develop. Britain halted military exports to Libya last week but sniper rifles, which may have killed protesters yesterday, were amongst equipment exported to Tripoli last year.

Protests have continued to grow in strength and violence after the first demonstration last Tuesday, when thousands massed following the arrest of a human rights campaigner.

A Benghazi cleric, Abellah al-Warfali, told al-Jazeera television he had a list of 16 people being buried yesterday, most with bullet wounds. "I saw with my own eyes a tank crushing two people in a car," he said. "They hadn't done any harm to anyone."

Several reports said government-recruited mercenaries were behind the worst violence including sniper attacks and the use of heavy machine guns. A British-based IT consultant, Ahmed Swelim, 26, originally from Benghazi, said relatives told him the situation had reached "critical point". "People are living in fear since he [Mr Gaddafi] brought in African mercenaries. They are dressing as normal people but doing random killings. They will shoot or cut people's hands off. The whole city is erupting. People went out to protest peacefully. They want an end to this oppression. The death toll is much higher than reported. There are more than 200 dead. My cousin, a doctor at a main hospital, has seen the bodies. There are more than 1,000 injured."

He said people in Benghazi were desperate. "We need an end to this oppression. It's been 41 years. We've been dreaming of this day. If we go back, the whole area will be wiped out. We know how crazy he is. If we step down, we will be taken out."

The Libyan regime has suppressed the internet. Technical experts reported that 13 globally routed links were withdrawn late on Friday. Foreign journalists are prevented from entering Libya and local reporters are barred from travelling to Benghazi. Al-Jazeera said its signal was being jammed on several frequencies. The state-run media defended the regime. The Al-Zahf Alakhdar (Green March) newspaper published an editorial entitled: "No leader except Gaddafi!" Elsewhere, the country appeared calm. A government-run newspaper blamed the protests on Zionism and the "traitors of the West". Officials said foreign media had exaggerated the violence.

Sir Richard Dalton, now of the foreign affairs think tank Chatham House, described it as the most serious crisis yet faced by Colonel Gaddafi. "It could be the regime is approaching a tipping point," he said. "We don't know what the willingness of ordinary Libyans will be to take such casualties without coming out in larger numbers.

"It's clear that it's a highly political revolution. It's not economic grievance, although that will be in the background. It's an extraordinary significant event for Libya." He warned that the security forces and protest groups both possessed "considerable capability for ruthlessness".

"It is too early to write off Gaddafi's regime because it is resilient and has a lot of people who will go to considerable lengths to maintain their positions," he said. Complaints about poor economic and social provisions such as education and health were of long standing he said.

"The ratio between risk and reward still points towards the risk being unacceptably high. In Egypt, when it was clear that the army wasn't going to use live ammunition, the perception of potential for success soared and a lot more people came out on to the streets. That could happen in Libya, but we're still some way from that point because the security forces are still willing to inflict considerable casualties."

He denied UK economic interests in the country would compromise the official response. "It is very much in the UK's political and security interest to work with Libya," he said.

Additional reporting by Karina Whalley, Kimberly Middleton and Charlie Cooper

Reports are now coming through (unverified) of 500 dead and Doctors being executed....

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000....html?mod=e2tw

Libya Unrest Appears to Grow

By CHARLES LEVINSON And TAHANI KARRAR-LEWSLEY

CAIRO—Libyan security forces fired live ammunition and rocket-propelled grenades at demonstrators in the eastern city of Benghazi on Sunday, pressing a bloody crackdown on snowballing protests demanding the ouster of leader Moammar Gadhafi that has brought the death toll to at least 173.

Protests consumed at least six other cities in eastern Libya, according to reports from residents and a warning from the U.S. Embassy in Tripoli. In many of the cities, residents said government security forces had withdrawn from the streets to their bases, ceding whole cities to protestors, at least for now.

Protests also sprung up on the outskirts of Libya's capital of Tripoli, according to residents in the city and opposition activists. Though they were quickly quashed security forces, the spread of protests from the country's more isolated eastern half to Mr. Gadhafi's center of power was a sign that calls for Mr. Ghadafi's ouster appeared to be gaining momentum.

The U.S. Embassy in Tripoli warned in a statement of violent clashes between protesters and security forces in at least six other cities in eastern Libya.

There were widely varying casualty figures. Human Rights Watch said they had confirmed 173 deaths in protests so far. Those numbers were limited to confirmed deaths reported by hospitals and the real toll was likely much higher, according to Human Rights Watch's Heba Morayef and doctors at Libyan hospitals.

Libyan state TV broadcast images of burning buildings and blamed the "acts of sabotage and burning" on "foreign agents," echoing the attempts made by other Arab leaders in Egypt, Tunisia, Bahrain and Yemen to dismiss the unrest.

Residents said it was the first time government media had acknowledged the growing unrest, suggesting the violence was spreading to the point that the government had no choice but to address it directly.

Residents said they received text messages from the Libyana mobile network urging calm. "People and youth of Benghazi, the civilians and police killed are all the sons of Libya so stop what is happening and stop the bloodshed," the text read, according to residents.


Reuters Still image from a video footage shows Libya's leader Moammar Gadhafi gesturing to his supporters during a rally in Nalut, Feb. 19, 2011. The death toll from four days of violence, centered on the Libyan city of Benghazi, has passed 100, Human Rights Watch said on Sunday, after witnesses said security forces shot dozens more anti-government protesters.

Reports of the fiercest fighting came from the city of Benghazi, Libya's second largest city, which lies on the country's northeast coast, according to reports from people inside the country and Libyan activists monitoring the situation abroad.

Residents said government control of Benghazi and other cities in eastern Libya appeared to be slipping, at least for now, with police and army forces disappearing from the streets and retreating to their bases. Residents said tens of thousands of people had gathered to protests outside Benghazi's courthouse on Saturday and further protests are planned for Sunday.

They said parts of Benghazi had been consumed by full-fledged urban warfare between protesters and pro-government forces. Residents said pro-Gadhafi loyalists were firing rocket-propelled grenades at civilians and driving in cars randomly shooting down civilians.

"There are some criminals driving cars shooting at people, and they are using antitank weapons such as rocket propelled grenades, the bullets are the size of my hand," said a Benghazi resident whose wife works as a doctor at a local hospital.

Internet remained down in most of the country after the government shut down servers early Saturday morning, according to Renesys, an Internet access watchdog. Journalists were banned from entering the country or reporting on events, making it impossible to confirm reports.

Residents reached by phone were gripped by fear, unwilling to give their names over the telephone for fear the government was monitoring calls and would arrest them for relaying details of the unrest to journalists outside the country.

A Libyan journalist in Tripoli said some journalists who had spoken with Arab television stations had been arrested within minutes of speaking on air.

Amid the information blackout, a sense of panic and mayhem in Benghazi was fueled by rumors sweeping through the city, including unsubstantiated rumors that the government had poisoned the city's drinking supply and was flying planes full of mercenaries into the city.

It was unclear just how much real estate protesters controlled and how much remained in the hands of the government. "Neither side has complete control of Benghazi," said a student in Benghazi who would identify himself only as Abdullah for fear of his safety. "The people are in control of most of the streets, but are not in control of the airport and several other places and army bases. I think the army is in control of the airport."

He said the government had cut electricity in parts of the city. Pro-government forces were targeting doctors and shooting at protesters from cars, according to residents of Benghazi.

Abdullah said he had seen 13 dead bodies himself in just one part of the city.

"It's like a guerrilla war," a female resident of Benghazi said. "There's a battle going on, and sometimes one part is controlled by the protesters, and sometimes other parts are. There are corpses in the street."

A student in Benghazi, who also identified himself only as Abdullah, said that violence flared on Friday when a funeral procession neared an army base in central Benghazi and soldiers inside the base opened fire.

"I saw at least 13 people dead just where I was," said the student.

There were widespread reports that some of the pro-government forces being deployed against protesters were being flown in from neighboring African countries. Amateur video distributed online showed Libyan protesters displaying the corpse of a dark skinned male in blue military fatigues, which protesters in the video claimed was one of the mercenaries that had been attacking them. It was impossible to confirm the reports.

In Tripoli, a resident said protesters were gathering on the city's outskirts, amid heavy security concentrations in the city center.

Amateur video footage from Al Bayda, a smaller city east of Benghazi, showed thousands of chanting protesters demonstrating in front of the city's central mosque.

Al Jazeera: Libya's Ambassador to the Arab League submits resignation over what he called "the mass genocide of Libyans"

Libya Protests: Benghazi 'Liberated' By Soldiers As They Defect From Gaddafi's Forces | World News | Sky News

Libyan Army Defects And 'Liberates' Benghazi

Alex Rossi, in Cairo, and Katie Cassidy

Members of a Libyan army unit have told Benghazi residents they have defected and "liberated" the city from pro-Gaddafi forces.

Speaking from Benghazi, a local man named Benali, told Sky News members of the Libya's armed forces have defected and that anti-regime protesters are now in control of the city.

Habib al-Oba, who heads the intensive care unit at the main Al-Jalae hospital, appeared to confirm the reports, saying the "Thunderbolt" squad arrived with soldiers who had been injured in clashes with Gaddafi's men.

The Foreign Office has advised against all but essential travel to Libya as hospital reports suggest at least 200 people have been killed in four days of anti-government protests.The demonstrations, mainly in the second city of Benghazi, are the most serious against Colonel Gaddafi since he came to power 41 years ago.

However, it has been a confusing picture in Libya as foreign journalists are banned from the country.

Furthermore, telecommunications have been interrupted and the internet cut off.

The FCO has confirmed it is helping British nationals to leave the country and the embassy is offering them consular assistance.


Coffins of protesters are carried through the streets. Photo: Flickr a7fadhomar

Over the past four days Colonel Gaddafi has appeared to crackdown on the protests with lethal force, including reports that troops have fired machine guns at crowds.

There was also widespread speculation within Libya that the regime had hired African mercenaries to suppress any anti-government action.

One doctor in Benghazi was quoted as saying his hospital has counted at least 200 dead since the unrest began.


The protesters' coffins are lined up in Benghazi. Photo: Flickr a7fadhomar

Separately, a hospital worker in the city named Abdullah told Sky News: "(On Saturday) we had a heavy attack - gunshots by the army forces, especially at night.

"People were protesting... the forces just attacked to make them leave."

A video posted on the internet on Saturday night apparently shows protesters in Benghazi being fired on - but it is unclear whether those shooting are Libyan troops.


Colonel Gaddafi came to power in Libya after a 1969 coup

A resident of the city, Mary, also told Sky News there had been a fierce confrontation between protesters and the military on Saturday evening.

"There was artillery fire back at young boys who were protesting infront of a big military compound where Colonel Gaddafi usually lives when he's here," she said.

"The boys are trying to take this from the army but I don't think they'll have any chance because of the heavy artillery they're using against them."

The United Kingdom condemns what the Libyan Government has been doing and how they have responded to these protests, and we look to other countries to do the same.
Foreign Secretary William Hague

It followed reports that said snipers opened fire on a crowd of mourners during the day who had gathered to bury those killed in earlier protests.

Resident Mary said there was another demonstration infront of Benghazi's courthouse on Sunday.

"There was 50 bodies taken for burial from the courthouse and I heard they were travelling to the funeral procession and there was very heavy gunfire," she said.

"I don't know if they were firing at them (the mourners), but it seemed like it."


Protesters gathered outside the Libyan embassy in London

Separate reports backed her comments, indicating Libyan forces had again opened fire on mourners on Sunday.

Britian's Foreign Secretary William Hague has condemned the violence unleashed by Colonel Gaddafi.

He told Sky's Murnaghan programme: "It is such a closed society to the international media, nevertheless the world is watching.

"The United Kingdom condems what the Libyan government has been doing and how they have responded to these protests.

"What Colonel Gaddafi should be doing is respecting basic human rights and there is no sign of that in the dreadful response, the horrifying response, of the Libyan authorities to these protests."

He later phoned Colonel Gaddafi's son Saif to express his "grave concern" about the deteriorating situation in Libya.

In London on Sunday, demonstrators also gathered outside the Libyan embassy, with some telling Sky News they had lost loved ones in the Benghazi violence.

Elsewhere, the EU presidency said it has been warned by Libya to stop "encouraging" the protests - otherwise Tripoli will "suspend co-operation" in the fight against illegal immigration.

Also, the Arabic newschannel Al Jazeera claims its signal across the Middle East and North Africa is being jammed, with Libya being named as the prime suspect.

William Hague: Libya Protest Response 'Horrifying'

Libya is divided down sectarian lines - Colonel Gaddafi draws his main support from the western regions.

In the east there is an opposing tribe to that of the Libyan leader and there have been unrest in Benghazi before.

Over the past two years there has been very violent protests in the city.

If the unrest should spread west, if it catches on in Tripoli for example, that would be a serious problem for Colonel Gaddafi.

Meanwhile, the state-run Jana news agency said authorities had arrested dozens of Arab nationals who were members of a "foreign network trained to damage Libya's stability, the safety of its citizens and national unity".

The group included Tunisian, Egyptian, Sudanese, Palestinian, Syrian and Turkish citizens.

However international observers considered the claim as a way to divert dissatisfaction with Colonel Gaddafi's regime.

http://www.france24.com/en/20110221-...eech-civil-war

Gaddafi's son warns of civil war as protests widen


Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi's son, Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, acknowledged late Sunday, that the army made mistakes during protests but warned that anti-govt protests that have wracked the oil-rich nation for six days might lead to a civil war.

By News Wires (text)

REUTERS: Violent unrest against Libya's Muammar Gaddafi spread to the capital Tripoli on Sunday and his son vowed to fight until the "last man standing" after scores of protesters were killed in the east of the country.

Gaddafi's son Saif al-Islam said in an address on state TV the army stood behind his father as a "leader of the battle in Tripoli" and would enforce security at any price. His comments were the first official reaction from the Libyan authorities since the unrest began.

As he spoke, police used tear gas to disperse thousands of protesters in Tripoli, where gunfire was heard, vehicles were on fire and protesters threw stones at billboards of Gaddafi, who is facing the most serious challenge to his four-decade rule.

Revolutions which deposed the presidents of Tunisia and Egypt have shaken the Arab world and inspired protests across the Middle East and North Africa, threatening the grip of long-entrenched autocratic leaders.

In the Gulf kingdom of Bahrain, thousands of protesters gathered in a square in Manama, calling for political change and awaiting promised talks with the island's Sunni rulers.

After days of violence, the mood among the mainly Shi'ite protesters appeared to be more conciliatory.

Libya, however was witnessing the bloodiest episodes yet in two months of unrest convulsing the Arab world.

A resident in Tripoli told Reuters by telephone he could hear gunshots. "We're inside the house and the lights are out. There are gunshots in the street," he said. "That's what I hear, gunshots and people. I can't go outside."

An expatriate worker said: "Some anti-government demonstrators are gathering in the residential complexes. The police are dispersing them. I can also see burning cars."

Al Jazeera television said thousands of protesters clashed with supporters of Gaddafi in Tripoli's Green Square.

The violence spread to Tripoli after days of protests in Benghazi, Libya's second largest city, in which at least 233 people have been killed, according to Human Rights Watch.

Communications are tightly controlled and Benghazi is not accessible to international journalists, but the picture that has emerged is of a city slipping from the grasp of security forces in the biggest challenge to Gaddafi's rule since the "brotherly leader" seized power in a 1969 military coup.

Habib al-Obaidi, head of the intensive care unit at the main Al-Jalae hospital in Benghazi, said the bodies of 50 people, mostly killed by gunshots, had been brought there on Sunday afternoon. The deaths came after scores were killed on Saturday.

Two hundred people had arrived wounded, 100 of them in serious condition, he said.

Members of an army unit known as the "Thunderbolt" squad had come to the hospital carrying wounded comrades, he said. The soldiers said they had defected to the cause of the hundreds of thousands of protesters in the streets and had fought and defeated Gaddafi's elite guards.

"They are now saying that they have overpowered the Praetorian Guard and that they have joined the people's revolt," another man at the hospital who heard the soldiers, lawyer Mohamed al-Mana, told Reuters by telephone.

A Libyan tribal leader threatened to block oil exports to the West within 24 hours if the government does not stop the "oppression of protesters". Another tribal chief told al Jazeera Gaddafi had to leave the country.

GADDAFI'S SON PROMISES REFORM

Saif al-Islam, who has in the past pushed a reform agenda in Libya with only limited success, said the protests threatened to sink Libya into civil war and split the country.

He said reports of hundreds killed were an exaggeration, but acknowledged the police and army made mistakes in dealing with the protests.

The General People's Congress, Libya's equivalent of a parliament, would convene on Monday to discuss a "clear" reform agenda, while the government would also raise wages, in an apparent attempt to address some of the protesters' demands, he said.

The clamour for reform across a region of huge strategic importance to the West and the source of much of its oil began in Tunisia in December. The overthrow of President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali then inspired Egyptians to rise up against strongman Hosni Mubarak, overthrowing him on Feb. 11.

The tide has challenged Arab leaders, including many who have long been backed by the West as vital energy suppliers and enemies of Islamist militants. While each uprising has its own dynamics, from religion to tribalism, all protesters seem united by frustration over economic hardship and a lack of political freedom under entrenched elites.

Unrest also hit Yemen, Tunisia, Morocco, Oman, Kuwait, Algeria and Djibouti over the weekend as people took to the streets demanding political and economic change.

In Iran, thousands of security personnel deployed in the streets of Tehran and other cities to prevent protesters rallying in spite of a ban, opposition websites said.


U.S. SAYS GRAVELY CONCERNED

The United States said it was "gravely concerned" by the situation in Libya and warned its citizens to delay trips there.

In Bahrain, the main opposition party said it wanted the crown prince to show signs of addressing opposition demands before any formal dialogue could start.

Crown Prince Sheikh Salman bin Hamad al-Khalifa, of the ruling Sunni Muslim dynasty, made conciliatory moves after days of violence in which at least six people died.

"All political parties in the country deserve a voice at the table," he told CNN. "I think there is a lot of anger, a lot of sadness...We are terribly sorry and this is a terrible tragedy for our nation," said the prince, who is seen as a reformist.

Ibrahim Mattar, a lawmaker of the main opposition Wefaq party, said protesters, thousands of whom were camping out in Pearl square, wanted more than words.

"We are waiting for an initiative from him, with a scope for dialogue," he said, adding that the prince should "send a small signal he is willing to have a constitutional monarchy."

Shi'ites, who make up 70 percent of the population, complain of unfair treatment in Bahrain, an ally of the United States, whose Fifth Fleet is based there.

The opposition is demanding a constitutional monarchy that gives citizens a greater role in a directly elected government. It also wants the release of political prisoners.

Speculation was growing that Prime Minister Sheikh Khalifa bin Salman al-Khalifa, in office since independence from Britain in 1971, would be replaced by the crown prince.

In Tunisia on Sunday, security forces fired into the air as tens of thousands of demonstrators gathered downtown to call for the replacement of the interim government -- a sign that problems are not all swept away with the removal of a dictator.

In Yemen, shots were fired at a demonstration in the capital Sanaa on the ninth consecutive day of unrest. Thousands were demanding the departure of President Ali Abdullah Saleh, who called for dialogue with the opposition.

But the coalition of main opposition parties said there could be no dialogue with "bullets and sticks and thuggery", or with a government "which gathers mercenaries to occupy public squares ... and terrorise people".

At least 2,000 protesters gathered in a square in Morocco's capital on Sunday to demand King Mohammed give up some powers.

As usual, the army are used to slaughter their own people for the sake of money, greed and power. This army folk, worldwide, need to consider just who they work for...

Libya looks very similar to Egypt in the processes, now G jnr is promising reform...

More protesters along the Benghazi waterfront.

Live Blog - Libya | Al Jazeera Blogs

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