Militiamen open fire on Tripoli protesters
Source: Agencies |
February 26, 2011, Saturday
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MILITIAS loyal to Moammar Gadhafi opened fire on protesters streaming out of mosques in the Libyan capital yesterday, witnesses said, killing four people.
Across rebellious cities in the east, tens of thousands held rallies in support of the first Tripoli protests in days.
Protesters chanting for Gadhafi to go streamed out of mosques near downtown Tripoli's Green Square and other districts after prayers, and they were confronted by troops and militiamen who opened fire, said several witnesses. Gunmen on rooftops in streets near the square shot down on the marchers, they said.
One witness reported seeing three protesters killed in the Souq al-Jomaa area near the square, and another reported a fourth death in another district, Fashloum.
A call for the government's opponents to march from mosques after prayers was the first attempt to hold a major anti-Gadhafi rally in the capital since militiamen launched a bloody crackdown on marchers early in the week that left dozens dead.
Gadhafi loyalists have clamped down hard in Tripoli, the center of the eroding territory that the Libyan government still controls.
The uprising that began on February 15 has swept over nearly the entire eastern half of the country, breaking cities there out of his regime's hold.
From yesterday morning, pro-Gadhafi militiamen set up heavy security around many mosques in the Tripoli, trying to prevent any opposition gatherings. Armed young men with green armbands to show their support for Gadhafi set up checkpoints on many streets, stopping cars and searching them. Tanks and checkpoints lined the road to Tripoli's airport, witnesses said.
Several tens of thousands held a rally in support of the Tripoli protesters in the main square of Libya's second-largest city, Benghazi, where the revolt began and which is now part of the opposition-held territory in the east.
Tents - some with photographs of people who had been killed in fighting - were set up and residents served breakfast to people, many carrying signs in Arabic and Italian. Others climbed on tanks parked nearby which belonged to army units in the city that allied with the rebellion.
"We will not stop this rally until Tripoli is the capital again," said Omar Moussa, a demonstrator. "Libyans are all united ... Tripoli is our capital. Tripoli is in our hearts."
Muslim cleric Sameh Jaber led the prayers in the square, telling worshippers that Libyans "have revolted against injustice."
To live and die
Signaling continued defiance, Gadhafi's son Seif al-Islam vowed his family will "live and die in Libya," according an interview on CNNTurk.
Asked about alternatives in the face of growing unrest, Gadhafi said: "Plan A is to live and die in Libya, Plan B is to live and die in Libya, Plan C is to live and die in Libya.
Meanwhile, the European Union's foreign policy chief, Catherine Ashton, said that the bloc needs to consider sanctions such as travel restrictions and an asset freeze against Libya to achieve a halt to the violence there.
NATO's main decision-making body also planned to meet in emergency session to consider the situation.
Across rebellious cities in the east, tens of thousands held rallies in support of the first Tripoli protests in days.
Protesters chanting for Gadhafi to go streamed out of mosques near downtown Tripoli's Green Square and other districts after prayers, and they were confronted by troops and militiamen who opened fire, said several witnesses. Gunmen on rooftops in streets near the square shot down on the marchers, they said.
One witness reported seeing three protesters killed in the Souq al-Jomaa area near the square, and another reported a fourth death in another district, Fashloum.
A call for the government's opponents to march from mosques after prayers was the first attempt to hold a major anti-Gadhafi rally in the capital since militiamen launched a bloody crackdown on marchers early in the week that left dozens dead.
Gadhafi loyalists have clamped down hard in Tripoli, the center of the eroding territory that the Libyan government still controls.
The uprising that began on February 15 has swept over nearly the entire eastern half of the country, breaking cities there out of his regime's hold.
From yesterday morning, pro-Gadhafi militiamen set up heavy security around many mosques in the Tripoli, trying to prevent any opposition gatherings. Armed young men with green armbands to show their support for Gadhafi set up checkpoints on many streets, stopping cars and searching them. Tanks and checkpoints lined the road to Tripoli's airport, witnesses said.
Several tens of thousands held a rally in support of the Tripoli protesters in the main square of Libya's second-largest city, Benghazi, where the revolt began and which is now part of the opposition-held territory in the east.
Tents - some with photographs of people who had been killed in fighting - were set up and residents served breakfast to people, many carrying signs in Arabic and Italian. Others climbed on tanks parked nearby which belonged to army units in the city that allied with the rebellion.
"We will not stop this rally until Tripoli is the capital again," said Omar Moussa, a demonstrator. "Libyans are all united ... Tripoli is our capital. Tripoli is in our hearts."
Muslim cleric Sameh Jaber led the prayers in the square, telling worshippers that Libyans "have revolted against injustice."
To live and die
Signaling continued defiance, Gadhafi's son Seif al-Islam vowed his family will "live and die in Libya," according an interview on CNNTurk.
Asked about alternatives in the face of growing unrest, Gadhafi said: "Plan A is to live and die in Libya, Plan B is to live and die in Libya, Plan C is to live and die in Libya.
Meanwhile, the European Union's foreign policy chief, Catherine Ashton, said that the bloc needs to consider sanctions such as travel restrictions and an asset freeze against Libya to achieve a halt to the violence there.
NATO's main decision-making body also planned to meet in emergency session to consider the situation.
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