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 OFFLINE | A bloody crackdown by Libyan leader Moamer Gaddafi's security forces has left hundreds of protesters killed as the military reportedly launched an airstrike on the capital of Tripoli Monday. Two military planes landed in the northeastern city of Benghazi after its pilots refused to bombard the city, shortly after reports emerged from Malta that two Libyan fighter pilots sought political asylum there.
The Dubai-based broadcaster Al Arabiya, citing witnesses, reported that more than 150 people had been killed during Monday's clashes between supporters and opponents of Gaddafi in Tripoli alone.
Since protests began last week, Gaddafi's regime has cut off food, fuel and medical supplies to the different cities, as well as most communications. But he failed to prevent unrest from spreading across Libya.
The Doha-based channel aired pictures and video footage showing people killed in the northeastern city of Benghazi. It said they were killed by the "Abu Omar Brigade" which is responsible for protecting the Gaddafi family.
One video showed charred bodies as people were crying and shouting near them.
While some of the pictures were blurred by the channel, it indicated that more photographs would not be aired "because they were too horrific to show, no matter how much they were blurred".
Libyan diplomats have been calling on Gaddafi to step down, while others resigned from their posts, due to the violence against protesters.
Minister of Justice Mustafa Abdel-Jalil resigned in protest at what he called an "excessive use of force against unarmed protesters", he was quoted as saying by the Quryna, a Libyan newspaper with close ties to Gaddafi's son, Saif al-Islam.
The representatives of Libya in the Arab League as well as Libya's ambassadors to China and India have announced their resignation. Several staff members at the Libyan embassy in Malta have joined hundreds of protesters calling for Gaddafi's resignation.
The diplomatic mutiny also reached Libya's mission to the United Nations in New York, where the deputy ambassador accused Gaddafi's government of genocide, and predicted the demise of the regime.
"He has to get out," Ibrahim Dabbashi, the second in command at the mission, said on Al Jazeera. "Either he gets out or the Libyan people will kick him out."
"It is the end of the game," he added. "We will soon see the fall of this regime."
A member of the county's armed forces confirmed that he and others in the military in Benghazi, had joined the protesters and that security forces were fleeing.
He said that around 400 people were killed in the city during last week's clashes.
Human Rights Watch has estimated the death toll from protests taking place in five Libyan cities since last week at 233.
Protesters are believed to have also taken control of other cities, including Ajdabiya and Sirte.
Independent verification has proved difficult due to the government's clampdown on communications and travel to the area. |
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