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| Africa North |
| From al-Jazeera live blog... |
| 2011-02-24 |
| 4:15pm Qadaffy's speech, broadcast on state television, was a phone-in affair, in which he said that like Queen Elizabeth II, he was only a symbolic leader of Libya. Qadaffy also blamed the unrest on al-Qaeda arming drugged teenagers. "Really, I'm pretty harmless. They're the ones to be scared of!" He said that married people with families and good jobs weren't participating in the protests, saying that no one over the age of 20 was involved and that "people with any brains won't take part in these protests". "Not if they know what's good for 'em!" He also said that "It's obvious now that this issue has been lead by al-Qaeda ...get control of your children, keep them at home". "We can tell it has! They're speaking Arabic!" 4:00pm An eyewitness named Ali from Az Zawiyah tells Al Jazzera that soldiers fired at protesters with heavy fire arms for five hours this morning. Some of the protesters, he said were armed with hunting rifles, others were unarmed. "The shooting was direct to the people. They shot the people in the head or in the chest. They were trying to kill the people, not just terrify them," said Ali. He added that at least 100 people had been killed and that around 400 injured were taken to the hospital in Az Zawiyah. 3:24pm There are multiple reports of shootouts taking place between security forces and protesters in the town of Az Zawiyah, 50 km west of Tripoli, on Thursday. Rooters reports that gun fire has broken out there, while sources tell Al Jizz that the army attacked the town this morning, firing shots at protesters for roughly four hours. The corpse counts vary greatly - from 16 to 100, and Rooters is unable to confirm any numbers. The agency reports that the army attacked the Souq Mosque where protesters had been camped out for several days. The witness said that earlier in the day, a Qadaffy "envoy" had come to Az Zawiyah and told the protesters in the mosque to leave or "you will see a massacre". He also said, "Those who attacked us are not the mercenaries, they are the sons of our country". 3:15pm The US state department has issued a statement saying that in a meeting between two US diplomats and the senior Libyan officials, the US diplomats were told that while some journalists were allowed to report from Libya, others who had entered the country illegally (presumably through the country's broken eastern border) were considered "al-Qaeda collaborators" by the Libyan government. 3:07pm Al Jizz's Jamal Elshayyal reporting from Saloum, Egypt, reports that things are slowing down at the eastern border crossing with Libya, where, he said, the situation has been "quite chaotic". He said roughly 20,000 have crossed the border in two days. Elshayyal also said people continue to get injured or killed in attempting to cross the border. 2:52pm Rooters also reports that Britain has urged greater pressure on Qadaffy, while the European Union might be sending humanitarian intervention into Libya. 2:11pm Another caller from Misurata tells Al Jizz that up to 1,000 members of Qadaffy forces - the "Hamza Brigade" - mounted an attack on protesters near the city's airport and were repelled, but later launched an attack on the centre of the city, and fighting continues. He says anti-Qadaffy protesters are holding their ground. 2:07pm Chinese citizens fleeing across the border into Tunisia confirm to Al Jizz's Nazanine Moshiri in Ras Ajdir that there was fighting in the nearby Libyan cities of Az Zawiyah and Zuwarah. 2:01pm Miftah Mohamed, a caller from Misurata, tells Al Jizz "the revolutionary forces have driven Qadaffy's forces from Misurata". 1:51pm Sherine Tadros, Al Jizz's correspondent in Cairo, gives us more information on Ahmed Kaddaf el-Dem - Qadaffy's cousin and former Libya-Egypt security co-ordinator. We understand he's on his way to Syria, after the statement which AP reported - condemning Qadaffy's use of violence - was issued by his Cairo office. Kaddaf el-Dem denied he was asked to recruit Egyptian bedouin tribes to fight in Libya - a charge reportedly brought against him by a group of Egyptian lawyers yesterday. 1:31pm Soddy Arabia says it is "ready and willing" to make up for any shortfall in oil production caused by the uprising in Libya, says Rooters. 1:23pm Several reported dead in the latest attack on Misurata, Rooters reports. 1:15pm A cousin of Qadaffy, and one of his closest aides, has arrived in Cairo, says AP. Kaddaf el-Dem reportedly says the crackdown has seen "grave violations to human right and human and international laws". 1:11pm Qadaffy forces attack crowds near Misurata, which was earlier reported to have been taken over by protesters, eyewitnesses tell Rooters. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #2 Der Spiegel today: Helicopters from Italy, firearms from Malta and communication technology from Germany: When the arms embargo against Libya was lifted in 2004, the country's dictator Moammar Gadhafi went on a shopping spree in the European Union. Now he is using those weapons against his own people -- to the EU's shame |
| Posted by: Anguper Hupomosing9418 2011-02-24 12:29 |
| #1 "grave violations to human right and human and international laws". Of course the world and the very same people now speaking were just as concerned when similar events unfolded in Tehran. /sarc off |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2011-02-24 11:16 |