Gadhafi's Support Crumbles As Libya Protests Continue

CAIRO -- Deep cracks opened in Moammar Gadhafi's regime Monday, with Libyan government officials at home and abroad resigning, air force pilots defecting and a major government building ablaze after clashes in the capital of Tripoli. Protesters called for another night of defiance against the Arab world's longest-serving leader despite a crackdown.

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At sunset, pro-Gadhafi militia drove around Tripoli with loudspeakers and told people not to leave their homes, witnesses said, as security forces sought to keep the unrest that swept eastern parts of the country - leaving the second-largest city of Benghazi in protesters' control - from overwhelming the capital of 2 million people.

State TV said the military had "stormed the hideouts of saboteurs" and urged the public to back security forces. Protesters called for a demonstration in Tripoli's central Green Square and in front of Gadhafi's residence, but witnesses in various neighborhoods described a scene of intimidation: helicopters hovering above the main seaside boulevard and pro-Gadhafi gunmen firing from moving cars and even shooting at the facades of homes to terrify the population.

Youths trying to gather in the streets were forced to scatter and run for cover by the gunfire, said one witness, who like many reached in Tripoli by The Associated Press spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal.

Gadhafi, whose whereabouts were not known, appeared to have lost the support of at least one major tribe, several military units and his own diplomats, including the delegation to the United Nations. Deputy U.N. Ambassador Ibrahim Dabbashi accused Gadhafi of committing genocide against his own people in the current crisis.

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton called on Gadhafi to "stop this unacceptable bloodshed" and said the world was watching the events "with alarm."

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Warplanes swooped low over Tripoli in the evening and snipers took up position on roofs, apparently to stop people outside the capital from joining protests, according to Mohammed Abdul-Malek, a London-based opposition activist in touch with residents.

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Communications to the capital appeared to have been cut, and residents could not be reached by phone from outside the country. State TV showed video of hundreds of Gadhafi supporters rallying in Green Square, waving palm fronds and pictures of the Libyan leader.

State TV quoted Gadhafi's son, Seif al-Islam, as saying the military conducted airstrikes on remote areas, away from residential neighborhoods, on munitions warehouses, denying reports that warplanes attacked Tripoli and Benghazi.

Jordanians who fled Libya gave horrific accounts of a "bloodbath" in Tripoli, saying they saw people shot, scores of burned cars and shops, and what appeared to be armed mercenaries who looked as if they were from other African countries.

The first major protests to hit an OPEC country - and major supplier to Europe - have sent oil prices jumping, and the industry has begun eyeing reserves touched only after Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and the first Gulf War in 1991.

Tripoli was largely shut down Monday, with schools, government offices and most stores closed, except for a few bakeries, said residents, who hunkered down in their homes. Armed members of pro-government organizations called "Revolutionary Committees" hunted for protesters in Tripoli's old city, said one protester named Fathi.

Members of the militia occupied the city center and no one was able to walk in the street, said one resident who lived near Green Square described a "very, very violent" situation.

"We know that the regime is reaching its end and Libyans are not retreating," the resident said. "People have a strange determination after all that happened."

Another witness said armed men dressed in militia uniforms roamed the capital's upscale diplomatic neighborhood and opened fire on a group of protesters gathering to organize a march. People wept over the dead.

Residents hoped that help would arrive from the other parts of the country.

The eruption of turmoil in the capital after seven days of protests and bloody clashes in Libya's eastern cities sharply escalated the challenge to Gadhafi. His security forces have unleashed the bloodiest crackdown of any Arab country against the wave of protests sweeping the region, which toppled the leaders of Egypt and Tunisia. At least 233 people have been killed so far, according to New York-based Human Rights Watch.

British Prime Minister David Cameron, visiting neighboring Egypt, called the Libyan government's crackdown "appalling."

"The regime is using the most vicious forms of repression against people who want to see that country - which is one of the most closed and one of the most autocratic - make progress," he told reporters in Cairo.

The heaviest fighting so far has been in the east. Security forces in Benghazi opened fire on Sunday on protesters storming police stations and government buildings. But in several instances, units of the military turned against them and sided with protesters.

By Monday, protesters had claimed control of the city, overrunning its main security headquarters, called the Katiba.

Celebrating protesters raised the flag of the country's old monarchy, toppled in 1969 by a Gadhafi-led military coup, over Benghazi's main courthouse and on tanks around the city.

"Gadhafi needs one more push and he is gone," said Amal Roqaqie, a lawyer at the Benghazi court, saying protesters are "imposing a new reality. ... Tripoli will be our capital. We are imposing a new order and new state, a civil constitutional and with transitional government."

Gadhafi's son went on state TV in the early hours Monday with a sometimes confused speech of nearly 40 minutes, vowing to fight and warning that if protests continue, a civil war will erupt in which Libya's oil wealth "will be burned."

"Moammar Gadhafi, our leader, is leading the battle in Tripoli, and we are with him," he said. "The armed forces are with him. Tens of thousands are heading here to be with him. We will fight until the last man, the last woman, the last bullet," Seif al-Islam Gadhafi said.

He also promised "historic" reforms if protests stop. State TV said Monday he had formed a commission to investigate deaths during the unrest. Protesters ignored the vague gestures. Even as he spoke, the first clashes between demonstrators and security forces in the heart of Tripoli were still raging, lasting until dawn.

Fire raged Monday at the People's Hall, the main building for government gatherings where the country's equivalent of a parliament holds sessions several times a year, the pro-government news website Qureyna said.

It also reported the first major sign of discontent in Gadhafi's government, saying Justice Minister Mustafa Abdel-Jalil resigned to protest the "excessive use of force" against unarmed demonstrators.

There were reports of ambassadors abroad defecting. Libya's former ambassador to the Arab League in Cairo, Abdel-Moneim al-Houni, who resigned his post Sunday to side with protesters, demanded Gadhafi and his commanders and aides be put on trial for "the mass killings in Libya."

"Gadhafi's regime is now in the trash of history because he betrayed his nation and his people," al-Houni said in a statement.

A Libyan diplomat in China, Hussein el-Sadek el-Mesrati, told Al-Jazeera, "I resigned from representing the government of Mussolini and Hitler."

Two Mirage warplanes from the Libyan air force fled a Tripoli air base and landed on the nearby island of Malta, and their pilots - two colonels - asked for political asylum, Maltese military officials said.

A protest march Sunday night sparked scenes of mayhem in the heavily secured capital. Protesters had streamed into Green Square, all but taking over the plaza and surrounding streets in the area between Tripoli's Ottoman-era old city and its Italian-style downtown.

That was when the backlash began, with snipers firing from rooftops and militiamen attacking the crowds, shooting and chasing people down side streets, according to witnesses and protesters.

Gadhafi supporters in pickup trucks and cars raced through the square, shooting automatic weapons. "They were driving like madmen searching for someone to kill. ... It was total chaos, shooting and shouting," said a 28-year-old protester.

The witnesses reported seeing casualties, but the number could not be confirmed. The witness named Fathi said he saw at least two he believed were dead and many more wounded. After midnight, protesters took over the main Tripoli offices of state-run satellite stations Al-Jamahiriya-1 and Al-Shebabiya, a witness said.

"Gunfire was echoing across the capital all night last night," said Adel Suleiman, a Jordanian adviser to the Libyan Central Bank governor.

"I saw scores of burned cars and shops in the capital," said Suleiman, who was among about 260 Jordanians evacuated from Tripoli.

Mahmoud Shawkat, a 28-year-old computer engineer, said his Libyan neighbor was shot in the head during a protest in Green Square. "I'm not sure if he died," Shawkat said. "I had to flee to the airport."

A Jordanian engineer who identified himself as Abu Saleh, 30, said armed militias were in Green Square on Monday morning, and many of them appeared to be foreigners from other parts of Africa "who were shooting randomly at people and in the air. Some of them were carrying swords."

He said he also saw bloodstains on the road on my way to the airport and "pictures of Gadhafi were also torched."

Fragmentation is a real danger in Libya, a country of deep tribal divisions and a historic rivalry between Tripoli and Benghazi. The system of rule created by Gadhafi - the "Jamahiriya," or "rule by masses" - is highly decentralized, run by "popular committees" in a complicated hierarchy that effectively means there is no real center of decision-making except Gadhafi, his sons and their top aides.

An expert on Libya said she believed the regime was collapsing.

"Unlike the fall of the regime in Tunisia and Egypt, this is going to be a collapse into a civil war," said Lisa Anderson, president of the American University in Cairo, and a Libya expert said:

Seif has often been put forward as the regime's face of reform and is often cited as a likely successor. His younger brother, Mutassim, is the national security adviser, with a strong role in the military and security forces. Another brother, Khamis, heads the army's 32nd Brigade, which according to U.S. diplomats is the best-trained and best-equipped force in the military.

In Benghazi, cars honked their horns in celebration and protesters in the streets chanted "Long live Libya" on Monday, a day after bloody clashes that killed at least 60 people.

Benghazi's airport was closed, according to an airport official in Cairo. A Turkish Airlines flight trying to land in Benghazi to evacuate Turkish citizens was turned away Monday, told by ground control to circle over the airport, then to return to Istanbul.

There were fears of chaos as young men - including regime supporters - seized weapons from the Katiba and other captured security buildings. "The youths now have arms and that's worrying," said Iman, a doctor at the main hospital. "We are appealing to the wise men of every neighborhood to rein in the youths."

Youth volunteers directed traffic and guarded homes and public facilities, said Najla, a lawyer and university lecturer in Benghazi. She and other residents said police had disappeared from the streets.

After seizing the Katiba, protesters found the bodies of 13 uniformed security officers inside who had been handcuffed and shot in the head, then set on fire, said a doctor named Hassan, who asked not to be identified further for fear of reprisals. He said protesters believed the 13 had been executed by fellow security forces for refusing to attack protesters.

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Today 0:09 AM Gadhafi Appears On Television

Moammar Gadhafi is reportedly speaking now on television, Reuters reports. According to the National's Sultan Al Qassemi, he said that he is not in Venezuela:

@ SultanAlQassemi : Must see: Gaddafi on Libyan State TV. "I am not in Venezuela. So don't believe these dog channels" #Libya

02/21/2011 11:32 PM More On Libyan Diplomats Denouncing

According to the AP:

Libya's deputy ambassador at the United Nations, surrounded by fellow diplomats, called Monday for Moammar Gadhafi to step down as the country's ruler.

"If he doesn't," deputy ambassador Ibrahim Dabbashi warned, "the Libyan people will get rid of him."

Dabbashi spoke as deep cracks appeared in Gadhafi's regime after more than 40 years in power, with a fire raging at the main government hall in the capital, Tripoli, and protesters calling for more demonstrations despite the government's deadly crackdown.

Watch Al Jazeera's interview here:

02/21/2011 10:57 PM Reports: Libyan Officers Ask Army To Head To Tripoli, Remove Gadhafi

@ SultanAlQassemi : Breaking Al Jazeera: Statement by Libyan Military Officers asks all members of the Libyan army to head to Tripoli & remove Gaddafi #Libya

02/21/2011 10:50 PM Jordan: Why It's Not A Domino In The Middle East

At any other time, in any other part of the world, a handful of tribesmen airing their grievances in a passionate letter to the local royals would scarcely get noticed.

But as protesters hit the streets in country after country in the Middle East, and with Tunisia and Egypt's leaders toppled along the way, a tribal petition sent to the Royal Hashemite Court in Jordan has sparked a controversy--one that pits Jordan's critics against others claiming that the West, and the Western media in particular, are rushing to lump Jordan into a tidy "Arab" grab bag that overlooks how different it is from its neighbors.

In early February, Agence France Press, a leading French news service, published two reports saying the 36 tribesmen, out of a tribal population of over 2 million, had warned Jordan's royal family that their country "will sooner or later be the target of an uprising similar to the ones in Tunisia and Egypt due to the suppression of freedoms and the looting of public funds."

The royal family shot back with a statement condemning the AFP's coverage of the tribal warnings as unsubstantiated and defamatory, and threatening to "pursue legal action" against the news service. Many media outlets pounced saying the face-off meant that deep-seated unrest was brewing in Jordan, just as it was elsewhere in the region.

Unless, of course, it wasn't.

Read the full article here.

02/21/2011 10:38 PM Saif al-Islam Gadafi Denies Warplanes Targeted Civilian Areas

@ AlanFisher : Saif al-Islam Gaddafi denies warplanes targeted civilian areas - one of the key allegations of anti-Gaddafi protesters. #Libya

02/21/2011 10:35 PM Al Jazeera Questions Libya's Deputy Foreign Minister According to Al Jazeera English:

Libyan deputy foreign minister denies any massacres have occurred in Benghazi or anywhere else in the country. He then blames Al Jazeera for "inciting strife."

He also reportedly told the channel, which is banned in Libya, that they did not "own the airwaves."

02/21/2011 10:16 PM Hillary Clinton: U.S. Strongly Condems The Violence In Libya

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has said in a statement:

"The world is watching the situation in Libya with alarm. We join the international community in strongly condemning the violence in Libya. Our thoughts and prayers are with those whose lives have been lost, and with their loved ones.

The government of Libya has a responsibility to respect the universal rights of the people, including the right to free expression and assembly. Now is the time to stop this unacceptable bloodshed. We are working urgently with friends and partners around the world to convey this message to the Libyan government"

Spokesperson Philip Crowley tweeted:

@ PJCrowley : #SecClinton: We join the international community in strongly condemning the violence in #Libya. Time to stop this unacceptable bloodshed.

02/21/2011 10:12 PM The 'Comparison Is Bosnia Or Kosovo'

Marc Lynch, writing in Foreign Policy, has a piece arguing for intervention in Libya. He writes:

The unfolding situation in Libya has been horrible to behold. No matter how many times we warn that dictators will do what they must to stay in power, it is still shocking to see the images of brutalized civilians which have been flooding al-Jazeera and circulating on the internet. We should not be fooled by Libya's geographic proximity to Egypt and Tunisia, or guided by the debates over how the United States could best help a peaceful protest movement achieve democratic change. The appropriate comparison is Bosnia or Kosovo, or even Rwanda where a massacre is unfolding on live television and the world is challenged to act. It is time for the United States, NATO, the United Nations and the Arab League to act forcefully to try to prevent the already bloody situation from degenerating into something much worse.

You can read the entire piece here.

02/21/2011 9:55 PM Berlusconi Condemns Violence

According to the L.A. Times, Italian President Silvio Berlusconi said in a statement today that the violence in Libya was unacceptable and added, "The European Union and the international community must make every effort to prevent the Libyan crisis from degenerating into a civil war that will have consequences difficult to predict.

02/21/2011 9:42 PM Gadhafi Speech Expected 'Soon'

According to the National's Sultan Al Qassemi:

@ SultanAlQassemi : BREAKING Al Arabiya: Reports that Muammar Gaddafi will be delivering an address on TV soon #Libya

02/21/2011 9:37 PM Airspace Over Tripoli 'Closed Until Further Notice'

The Austrian Defense Ministry, which is attempting to evacuate European citizens from Tripoli by air, is quoted as saying that "the entire airspace is currently blocked." by the German Press Agency dpa.

The BBC quotes another official as saying that airspace will remain closed "until further notice."

Whether this is a precursor to Libyan jets attacking targets in Tripoli, as has been reported happening throughout the day, remains to be seen.

02/21/2011 9:19 PM Reports: Libyan Army Withdraws From Egyptian Border

In what must rank as one of the most unusual Facebook status updates of all time, Egypt's army has reported on its Facebook page that Libyan armed forces have withdrawn from the area around the Egyptian border.

02/21/2011 9:09 PM Update: Libya's Deputy UN Ambassador 'It Is The End Of The Regime'

Deputy permanent representative, Ibrahim Dabbashi told the New York Times:

“We are sure that what is going on now in Libya is crimes against humanity and crimes of war.

We find it is impossible to stay silent and we have to transfer the voice of the Libyan people to the world,” Mr. Dabbashi said.

“We state clearly that the Libyan mission is a mission for the Libyan people,” he said. “It is not for the regime. The regime of Qaddafi has already started the genocide against the Libyan people.”

In a separate interview with Al Jazeera, Mr Dabbashi said he believed that the regime's days were numbered:

"Either he gets out or the Lybian people will kick him out. He's trying to just delay his fate."

Asked if the regime is now crumbling, Mr Dabbashi said:

"Yes it is the end of the game. We will soon see the fall of this regime."