Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi counters an unprecedented challenge to his rule, amid Saturday reports on security forces waging a crackdown on anti-regime protesters.
Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi counters an unprecedented challenge to his rule, amid Saturday reports on security forces waging a crackdown on anti-regime protesters.
On Friday, the opposition "day of anger" - following violent attacks against peaceful protests the day before - became a bloodbath in several eastern cities.
Medical sources and witnesses in the country informed Human Rights Watch that Libyan security forces have killed 84 people, over three days of demonstrations, after Tripoli pledged to crush the opposition.
Most martyrs were killed by live ammunition, with wounds to the chest, neck and head, according to a senior Libyan hospital official.
"Moammar Qaddafi’s security forces are firing on Libyan citizens and killing scores simply because they're demanding change and accountability," The watchdog's deputy Middle East and North Africa director, Joe Stork said.
"Libyan authorities should allow peaceful protesters to have their say," he added.
FRIDAY’S ATTACKS
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.
After the February 18 shootings, protesters in Benghazi continued on to the courthouse and gathered there throughout the evening. The crowd swelled to thousands.
"Al Jazeera" channel revealed that all police stations in Benghazi were totally unmanned, and the Security Directorate in the city was empty as well.
LIBYAN REGIME ACTS
After regime opponents used Facebook to call for a national "day of anger" for Thursday to mobilize demonstrations, Internet services were cut overnight, according to an AFP reporter in Tripoli.
The country's Revolutionary Committees – the backbone of Gadhafi's regime - had warned on the website of its newspaper, Azzahf Al-Akhdar (Green March) that their response "to any adventure... will be sharp and violent."
Libyan newspaper Quryna reported on Friday that some 1,000 inmates had escaped from a Benghazi prison.
However, in an interview with "Al Jazeera" channel, a human rights activist stated that the Libyan government released all prisoners from prisons of Benghazi, and “paid them money to stand by the rule against the demonstrators," he noted.
WORLD WIDE REACTIONS
International reactions emerged on Friday, when US administration condemned the use of violence against peaceful protesters.
Britain and EU urged Libyan authorities to exercise restraint.
Britain also warned its citizens against all but essential travel to eastern Libya.
France condemned what it called an "excessive use of force which led to several deaths and numerous injuries" in Libya, and suspended authorization of exports of security equipment to the North African nation.
Libya is rich in oil, but the CIA estimates that about one-third of Libyans live in poverty.
Kadhafi, 68, is the longest-serving leader in the Arab world, who ruled Libya since 1969, and the country now holds the Arab League's rotating presidency.
