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Neon Tommy - Annenberg digital news

Heavy Fighting In Libya Continues Leaving Dozens Dead

Staff Reporters |
March 4, 2011 | 11:56 p.m. PST

 Al Jazeera
Al Jazeera
Fighting between goverment and revolutionary forces continued Saturday morning in a fierce battle for control of the town of Az Zawiyah about an hour's drive west of Tripoli. The Al Jazeera live blog reports that six government tanks were set on fire early Saturday morning in the central town square.  Both sides are claming control of the strategic town. The attack on Az Zawiyah was renewed at 6 a.m. Saturday morning after an earlier day of fighting had left more than two dozen dead. The fighting is contunuing with machine gun and artillery fire. The AP reports that pro-regime forces have broken through opposition lines in the contested town.

The city of Ras Lanouf was also reported to be in insurgent anti-regime hands as of Saturday morning.  Opposition forces were reported to be moving toward Triploi apparently seeking a direct confrontation with regime forces.  Some observers report, however, that pro-regime forces may be gaining momentum in the widespread fighting.

FRIDAY 7:00 p.m. PST: At least 30 civilians are dead and hundreds are injured after Libyan forces loyal to Libyan Leader Col. Moammar Gaddafi tried to retake Az Zawyiah, a rebel-held city almost 50 miles outside the Libyan capitol of Tripoli, according to witnesses.

The Toronto Star reported:

“I have been to hospital less than 15 minutes ago. Dozens were killed and more were wounded. We have counted 30 dead civilians. The hospital was full. They could not find space for the casualties,” a Zawiyah resident Mohamed told Reuters by telephone.

“We receive updates from the hospital and they say the number of casualties is rising,” he added.

Another resident, Ibrahim, said between 40 and 50 people were killed in the clashes.

Gaddafi’s response marks one of the most violent attacks on protesters since rebels began taking control of major Libyan cities.

CNN reported:

The witness said battalions of forces loyal to Moammar Gadhafi attacked the protesters with mortars and machine guns as they were demonstrating in the city's Martyrs Square, and they assaulted an ambulance, killing its occupants.

"We buried nine people so far," the witness said. "The attack was indescribable. Direct gunfire was opened on people."

It was unclear who controlled the city.

Az Zawiya is home to a major Libyan oil facility, which rebels have reportedly controlled since early Thursday. Rebels and pro-Gaddafi forces have clashed in two other oil-driven cities, Brega and Ras Lanuf, in the eastern part of the country. Libyan loyalists attacked the port city of Brega earlier in the week, but could not knock the city from the rebels’ grasp.

Al Jazeera reported

Heavy shelling and machine gun fire has been reported near Ras Lanuf, the eastern oil port located 660km from Tripoli.

Reuters said rebels fired a sustained barrage of mortar bombs and rockets at a military base in Ras Lanuf on Friday, which was met with artillery fire from the army.

"There are lots of flames, thuds and bangs. There is the wailing of sirens and puffs of smoke in the air," a Reuters correspondent said.

The AFP news agency said at least four people were killed in the fighting.

Rebels had vowed "victory or death" as they headed towards the oil terminal, with reports that trucks of armed anti-Gaddafi fighters are heading towards the area.

"We're going to take it all, Ras Lanuf, Tripoli," Magdi, an army defector, told Reuters.

Government forces are said to be battling to regain control of rebel-held towns close to Tripoli, trying to create a buffer zone around what is still Gaddafi's seat of power.

As fighting continues across the country, a Google monitoring tool shows that Libya shut off the internet Friday, in response to a raucous rally in Tripoli.

The Los Angeles Times reported:

The apparent Internet shutdown came as protesters held a rally in the city Friday evening, one that was aggressively squelched by Moammar Kadafi's security forces, according to a Times report by correspondents Borzou Daragahi and Garrett Therolf:

Kadafi loyalists used tear gas to disperse the demonstrators, and some witnesses told news organizations that they used live ammunition, but the reports could not be independently verified. Foreign journalists attempting to reach the site were stopped and aggressively searched by militiamen loyal to the longtime strongman.

Libyan officials have shut down the Internet more than once recently, including an apparent blackout on Feb. 18, when news television channels and websites were down for at least a day.

At least 9 people were killed and 10 injured in a blast in Benghazi Friday, as well. The cause of the blast is unclear.

 

Additional reporting: David McAlpine



 

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