Forces loyal to Muammar Gadhafi launched a counter-attack on Thursday as rebels threatened the Libyan leader's grip on power by seizing important towns close to the capital.
The opposition already control major centers in the east, including the regional capital Benghazi, & reports that the towns of Misrata & Zuara in the west have also fallen, brought the tide of rebellion ever closer to the capital.
In the city of Zawiya, 30 miles west of Tripoli, an army unit attacked a mosque where protesters had been camping inside & in a lot outside for several days, calling for Gadhafi's ouster, a witness said. The soldiers opened fire with automatic weapons & hit the mosque's minaret with anti-aircraft missiles, they said. A number of the young men among the protesters had hunting rifles.
"The (pro-Gadhafi) brigade has managed to control the site but they are still trying to push it back. The clashes are still taking place at the moment," a witness told Reuters.
They said there were casualties, but could not provide exact figures. They said a day earlier an messenger from Gadhafi had come to the city & warned protesters, "Either leave or you will notice a massacre." Zawiya is a key city near an oil port & refineries.
"What is happening is horrid, those who attacked us are not the mercenaries; they are sons of our country," they said, sobbing. After the assault, thousands massed in the city's main Martyrs Square, shouting "leave, leave," in reference to Gadhafi, they said.
The brief, grainy pics of Az-Zawiyah were followed by footage of around 20 bodies, most with their hands tied behind their backs. The satellite station said the men had been shot for refusing to shoot protesters.
Al Jazeera tv broadcast pics on Thursday of what it said was a burning police station there. But a witness told Reuters the Libyan army was maintaining a heavy presence there.
World leaders condemned Gadhafi's bloody crackdown on the week-long revolt that has split Libya, but did small to halt the bloodshed from the latest upheaval reshaping the Arab world.
Oil exports dwindling
The rebellion has virtually wiped out Libya's oil exports, said the head of Italy's ENI, Libya's largest foreign oil operator. The unrest has driven world oil prices up to around $120 a barrel, stoking concern about the economic recovery.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy raised the chance of the European Union cutting off economic ties.
President Barack Obama said the suffering & bloodshed in Libya "is outrageous & it is unacceptable," & they directed his administration to prepare a full range of options, including feasible sanctions that could freeze the assets & ban travel to the U.S. by Libyan officials.
In Tripoli, which remains largely closed to foreign media, locals said streets were quiet but that they were terrified to be going outside for fear of being shot by pro-government forces.
"I haven't heard gunshots, unlike in the last few days," said one resident living close to Green Square in the city center, a focus for gatherings.
The Libyan People's Committee for General Security on Thursday called on protesters to surrender their weapons & offered rewards for those who inform on protest leaders, in a statement broadcast live on Libyan TV.
They said Gaddafi supporters had gathered in the square. "They are mostly young men, but there were some older ladies ."
"He who submits his weapon & shows regret will be exempted from being pursued legally. The committee calls on citizens to cooperate & inform on those who led on the youth or supplied them with money, equipment or intoxicating substances & hallucinatory pills," the statement said.
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The committee also said those cooperating would be given money.
"A profitable financial reward will be given to someone who contributes or informs on them," the statement, read out by a Libyan army officer, said on tv monitored in Cairo.
Under opposition control
In cities like Benghazi & Tobruk, troops & police have either withdrawn or have joined diffuse & disparate opposition groups to start providing some order & services.
Breyek, 25, an unemployed graduate, said: "With 1,000 people dead, not one of the clans will return to Gaddafi. They don't know who will govern the country now but Libyans must act with one hand. No one ought to rule the east or the west."
In Tobruk there was evidence of violent protest. An interior ministry building has been burned out, a Reuters correspondent there said, & the shells of about 15 vehicles lie in its central courtyard.
Gadhafi's son claimed Thursday that the reported death tolls have been exaggerated, although they didn't provide his own figure. In a press conference aired on state TV, they said the number killed by police & the army had been limited & "talking about hundreds & thousands (killed) is a joke."
They also said a committee had been formed to inquire into alleged foreign involvement in the protests.
Earlier Thursday, Libyan TV showed Egyptian passports, CDs & cell rings purportedly belonging to detainees who had allegedly confessed to plotting "terrorist" operations against the Libyan people. Other footage showed a dozen men lying on the ground, with their faces down, blindfolded & manacled. Rifles & guns were laid out next to them.
The opposition already control major centers in the east, including the regional capital Benghazi, & reports that the towns of Misrata & Zuara in the west have also fallen, brought the tide of rebellion ever closer to the capital.
In the city of Zawiya, 30 miles west of Tripoli, an army unit attacked a mosque where protesters had been camping inside & in a lot outside for several days, calling for Gadhafi's ouster, a witness said. The soldiers opened fire with automatic weapons & hit the mosque's minaret with anti-aircraft missiles, they said. A number of the young men among the protesters had hunting rifles.
"The (pro-Gadhafi) brigade has managed to control the site but they are still trying to push it back. The clashes are still taking place at the moment," a witness told Reuters.
They said there were casualties, but could not provide exact figures. They said a day earlier an messenger from Gadhafi had come to the city & warned protesters, "Either leave or you will notice a massacre." Zawiya is a key city near an oil port & refineries.
"What is happening is horrid, those who attacked us are not the mercenaries; they are sons of our country," they said, sobbing. After the assault, thousands massed in the city's main Martyrs Square, shouting "leave, leave," in reference to Gadhafi, they said.
The brief, grainy pics of Az-Zawiyah were followed by footage of around 20 bodies, most with their hands tied behind their backs. The satellite station said the men had been shot for refusing to shoot protesters.
Al Jazeera tv broadcast pics on Thursday of what it said was a burning police station there. But a witness told Reuters the Libyan army was maintaining a heavy presence there.
World leaders condemned Gadhafi's bloody crackdown on the week-long revolt that has split Libya, but did small to halt the bloodshed from the latest upheaval reshaping the Arab world.
Oil exports dwindling
The rebellion has virtually wiped out Libya's oil exports, said the head of Italy's ENI, Libya's largest foreign oil operator. The unrest has driven world oil prices up to around $120 a barrel, stoking concern about the economic recovery.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy raised the chance of the European Union cutting off economic ties.
President Barack Obama said the suffering & bloodshed in Libya "is outrageous & it is unacceptable," & they directed his administration to prepare a full range of options, including feasible sanctions that could freeze the assets & ban travel to the U.S. by Libyan officials.
In Tripoli, which remains largely closed to foreign media, locals said streets were quiet but that they were terrified to be going outside for fear of being shot by pro-government forces.
"I haven't heard gunshots, unlike in the last few days," said one resident living close to Green Square in the city center, a focus for gatherings.
The Libyan People's Committee for General Security on Thursday called on protesters to surrender their weapons & offered rewards for those who inform on protest leaders, in a statement broadcast live on Libyan TV.
They said Gaddafi supporters had gathered in the square. "They are mostly young men, but there were some older ladies ."
"He who submits his weapon & shows regret will be exempted from being pursued legally. The committee calls on citizens to cooperate & inform on those who led on the youth or supplied them with money, equipment or intoxicating substances & hallucinatory pills," the statement said.
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The committee also said those cooperating would be given money.
"A profitable financial reward will be given to someone who contributes or informs on them," the statement, read out by a Libyan army officer, said on tv monitored in Cairo.
Under opposition control
In cities like Benghazi & Tobruk, troops & police have either withdrawn or have joined diffuse & disparate opposition groups to start providing some order & services.
Breyek, 25, an unemployed graduate, said: "With 1,000 people dead, not one of the clans will return to Gaddafi. They don't know who will govern the country now but Libyans must act with one hand. No one ought to rule the east or the west."
In Tobruk there was evidence of violent protest. An interior ministry building has been burned out, a Reuters correspondent there said, & the shells of about 15 vehicles lie in its central courtyard.
Gadhafi's son claimed Thursday that the reported death tolls have been exaggerated, although they didn't provide his own figure. In a press conference aired on state TV, they said the number killed by police & the army had been limited & "talking about hundreds & thousands (killed) is a joke."
They also said a committee had been formed to inquire into alleged foreign involvement in the protests.
Earlier Thursday, Libyan TV showed Egyptian passports, CDs & cell rings purportedly belonging to detainees who had allegedly confessed to plotting "terrorist" operations against the Libyan people. Other footage showed a dozen men lying on the ground, with their faces down, blindfolded & manacled. Rifles & guns were laid out next to them.
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