Amid reports of hundreds killed in Libya protests, long-time ruler Moamer Gaddafi appears to be in increasing jeopardy

Amid reports of hundreds killed in Libya protests, long-time ruler Moamer Gaddafi appeared on Monday to be in increasing jeopardy Monday as anti-government protests reached the capital for the first time, leaving dozens dead at the hands of the security forces as press reports said that Libyan military planes fired at the protests in Tripoli for the first time.

The dramatic developments came less than 24 hours after a “war speech” by Gaddafi’s son, Saif al-Islam Kadhafi, who did not hesitate to warn his nation of a bloody civil war if the demonstrators refuse to accept reform offers.

SEVERAL CITIES HELD BY PROTESTERS
On Monday, several Libyan cities, including Benghazi, have fallen to demonstrators opposing Gaddafi's rule after army units defected.

According to the International Federation for Human Rights, towns have fallen, particularly on the eastern coast, as soldiers have joined the uprising against Gaddafi.

The rights group said that Tobruk, in Libya's far east, as well as Misrata, Khoms, Tarhounah, Zeiten, Al-Zawiya and Zouara, closer to the capital Tripoli, were also under protesters' control. It said that besides soldiers and diplomats, other senior regime officials had also defected to the side of protesters demanding Gaddafi go after more than 41 years in power.

IFHR head Souhayr Belhassen, meanwhile, told AFP that the anti-regime protests had resulted in "between 300 and 400 deaths, probably closer to 400". Human Rights Watch earlier cited a death toll of 233. The Paris-based IFHR said that its information came largely from Libyan human rights organizations.
  
Belhassen said that the embattled Gaddafi was trying to "sow chaos" by intensifying attacks on demonstrators and called for "the immediate suspension of Libya from the (UN's) Human Rights Council". She said that the international community should ensure that Kadhafi was "judged by the International Criminal Court".

WAR CRIMES CONTINUE…
Meanwhile, Gaddafi’s regime committed more massacres and crimes against Libyan people as press reports said that Libyan military planes were attacking the demonstrators in the capital Tripoli in the most dangerous atrocity since the outbreak of the uprising.

According to press reports, military aircraft fired live ammunition at crowds of anti-government protesters in Tripoli.

Libyan state television reported that security forces have launched an operation against "dens of terrorists" in a sweep that has killed a number of people. The report did not give further details on where the operation was being carried out nor on the identity of those being targeted.
  
Security forces "stormed the dens of terrorists and saboteurs who are motivated by hatred," the report claimed. It also urged citizens to cooperate with the authorities to restore security in the country.

In a related development, military sources said that two Libyan fighter jets with four military personnel on board who said they had escaped Benghazi air base after it was taken over by protesters landed in Malta on Monday.
  
Two civilian helicopters also landed on the Mediterranean island around the same time, carrying seven people who said they were French nationals working on oil rigs near Benghazi, although only one had a passport, the sources said. The helicopters were given permission to land in Malta but had not been given clearance to leave Libya, indicating that they had escaped, they added.
  
KADHAFI WILLING TO ESCAPE
In the meantime, press reports suggested that Gaddafi has actually left the country, in what seemed to be part of the preparation to declare the revolution’s victory.

One of the reports was carried out by British Foreign Secretary William Hague who said that Gaddafi may be heading to Venezuela, citing information that suggests he is on his way. Hague told reporters in Brussels that he had no information on reports that Gaddafi was in Venezuela. "I have seen information that suggests he is on his way," he added.

However, a senior source in President Hugo Chavez denied the report.

RIVERS OF BLOOD!
One day earlier, Gaddafi’s son vowed to struggle until the last second, in a “war speech” in which he threatened protesters of a civil war and warned of rivers of blood in this case.

Saif al-Islam Gaddafi promised a program of reforms after bloody protests against his father's rule reached the capital, Tripoli. "Libya is at a crossroads. If we do not agree today on reforms, we will not be mourning 84 people, but thousands of deaths, and rivers of blood will run through Libya," he said in a lengthy TV address to the nation.

Saif Gaddafi also admitted that the police and army had made "mistakes", but said the death toll was far lower than reported by rights watchdogs who said that hundreds are feared dead in an offensive to crush the protesters.

He said opposition groups and outsiders were trying to transform Libya into a group of small states. If they succeeded, he said, foreign investment would stop and living standards would drop drastically. "This is an opposition movement, a separatist movement which threatens the unity of Libya," Gaddafi said in a fiery but rambling speech which blamed Arab and African elements for fomenting the troubles.

"We will take up arms... we will fight to the last bullet," he said. "We will destroy seditious elements. If everybody is armed, it is civil war, we will kill each other."

"Libya is not Egypt, it is not Tunisia," he said, adding that attempts at another "Facebook revolution" would be resisted.

WORLD TO KADHAFI: VIOLENCE MUST STOP
After a suspicious international silence since the beginning of the uprising, world leaders called on Kadhafi to immediately stop violence.

In this context, UN chief Ban Ki-moon told Gaddafi that violence in the country "must stop immediately" and called for a broad-based dialogue. Ban had "extensive" telephone talks with the beleaguered Libyan leader, UN spokesman Martin Nesirky said. "The secretary general expressed deep concern at the escalating scale of violence and emphasized that it must stop immediately. He reiterated his call for respect for basic freedoms and human rights, including peaceful assembly and information," Nesirky said.

Separately, and in a significant crack in the regime's public face, Libya's envoy to the 22-member Arab League in Cairo, Abdel Moneim al-Honi, announced he was "joining the revolution."

Press reports said, meanwhile, that various Libyan ambassadors across the world have announced their resignations. They include ambassadors in UK, China, India, Indonesia and Poland.