Concern mounts over Libya violence
International concern is mounting about the violent crackdown on protests in Libya, amid reports that the number of demonstrators killed by Muammar Gaddafi’s security forces was approaching 100.
Medical officials in Libya’s second city of Benghazi said 15 people died when troops opened fire on mourners leaving a funeral for protesters killed in earlier clashes.
On Saturday foreign secretary William Hague voiced Britain’s revulsion at the “unacceptable and horrifying” violence meted out by Gaddafi’s loyalists, who are said to have used Kalashnikovs, knives and even anti-aircraft missiles to quell demonstrations.
Internet services have been shut down throughout the north African state, where journalists’ movements are strictly controlled, and only patchy reports have emerged of events over the three days of protests.
The New York-based Human Rights Watch organisation estimated the death toll was at least 84 by Friday and the killings at Saturday’s funeral have brought the figure up to 99.
Reports suggested that mourners were killed by shots to the head and chest, while one was apparently hit by an anti-aircraft missile. Scores of others were injured after the regime sent in commandos, mercenaries and helicopters in what has been the most brutal response to the wave of unrest sweeping across the Arab world.
Gaddafi’s son Saadi is understood to have led the crackdown in Benghazi against protesters calling for an end to his father’s 42-year autocratic rule.
Clashes on a smaller scale were also reported on Saturday in Yemen and Algeria. But in Bahrain, chanting demonstrators flooded back into Pearl Square unopposed after King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa ordered troops off the streets and offered dialogue with all of the Gulf state’s communities.
On the situation in Libya, Mr Hague said: “I condemn the violence in Libya, including reports of the use of heavy weapons fire and a unit of snipers against demonstrators. This is clearly unacceptable and horrifying. I call on the authorities to stop using force and to rein back the army in confronting the demonstrators. The absence of TV cameras does not mean the attention of the world should not be focused on the actions of the Libyan government.”
The Foreign Office is advising against all but essential travel to the cities of Benghazi, Ajdabiya, Al-Bayda, Al-Marj, Derna and Tobruk in eastern Libya, where the protests have been concentrated.
Source: Press Association