Qaddafi Accuses Al-Qaida of Stirring Unrest As Protestors Control More and More of the Country
Protests in Libya (calgaryherald.com)
Unrest continues in Libya as the members of the opposition increase pressure on Muammar al-Qaddafi’s regime by shutting down oil exports and mobilizing the rebel groups to take arms against the forces loyal to the president.
It is said that Qaddafi’s power does not extend further from the capital city of Tripoli and some region in the centre of the country, while towns situated west of Tripoli have fallen under the control of the rebels, as the entire eastern side of the country has.
As the local committees take over, life returns to normal in Benghazi, the second-largest city of the country, after the very serious riots that occurred in this city, where it all started.
As the clashes halted, given that many soldiers defected, the people are trying now to resume normal life, though many governmental buildings were burnt to the ground and looted and most of the shops are still closed.
Protests in Libya (uk.news.yahoo.com)
The city of Benghazi is now being run by an organizing committee of judges, lawyers and other professionals who appointed young people to direct traffic and restore order.
The protest in Benghazi, which triggered the entire revolution, was staged by lawyers who were protesting in favor of one of their colleagues, and then the protest engulfed the entire city, and eventually the country.
Reports say that the town of Mastra fell in the hands of the protestors and so did all the oil fields in the southern part of the country. Thus, protestors instituted a blockade on oil export, sending a message to Qaddafi that it is time to stand down.
Meanwhile, Libyan president Muammar al-Qaddafi said in an interview for the national television that Al-Qaeda was responsible for the situation in the country, and that its operatives drugged the youths in the streets of Tripoli.
In his address, he advised parents, and those “who had any brains” not to let young people in the streets.
Protests in Lybia (thenational.ae)
The protests and the fighting continued on Thursday in the streets of the town of Misrata, situated 200 km east of Tripoli.
In the western town of Zawiya witnesses report that the pro-governmental troops blasted the minaret of a mosque where people had taken refuge.
Qaddafi’s son, Seif al-Islam, said that the number of people who were killed was exaggerated.
Human rights activists say that 300 were killed, while Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini said on Wednesday that more than 1,000 have been murdered by the mercenaries of the pro-governmental militia.
The U.S. State Department confirmed that the regime would allow some reporters to see the situation in the streets of the cities, in order for them “to form a correct impression,” while those journalists who entered the country without Qaddafi’s permission will be considered as Al-Qaeda terrorists.
The president of the Unites States warned the Libyan counterpart to stop killing his own people. Other members of the international community have condemned the crackdown on the population, accusing the president of murdering innocent people.
As many collaborators leave his side, news about his regime surface. Thus, former minister of justice said that the Lockerbie terrorist attack had been ordered by Qaddafi in person.
Speaking of him, some of the people who know him consider he will end up like “a martyr,” a dream Qaddafi himself spoke of, while others consider he will end up like Hitler.
As analysts are beginning to speculate on whether Qaddafi will survive this turmoil, or what will become of Libya after he has left the power, people were spotted in the east of the country with flags of the monarchy that existed in Libya for a litle more than a decade.
