Libyans vow to protest despite violence from government

CNN News, By the CNN Wire Staff, February 20, 2011

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Protester in Benghazi: "There are a lot of people getting killed for their freedom"
• An army official siding with the opposition says the government "caused a massacre"
• The Libyan government's tight controls make it difficult to verify information

(CNN) -- Libyans protesting against longtime ruler Moammar Gadhafi vowed to hit the streets again Sunday, saying a violent crackdown by security forces since demonstrations started last week has left them energized.

Meanwhile, a doctor in Benghazi said her facility is taking on trauma patients because a trauma hospital in the city is inundated by those injured in the unrest.

"All of them have been injured by bullets," said the doctor, whose identity is not being released for security reasons. She said most suffered gunshot wounds to the head, chest or neck.

Benghazi, the North African nation's second-largest city and hub of its eastern province, was home to some of the bloodiest clashes Saturday. Still, an anti-government demonstrator there said that despite having been barraged for days by tear gas and bullets, many of his colleagues slept outside the city's courthouse and planned another rally at 1 p.m. Sunday.

"There are a lot of people getting killed for their freedom," the man, who was not identified for safety reasons, told CNN Sunday morning. "Our goal is simple: We want Gadhafi to leave. We want freedom. ... We want democracy."

The man, a technology expert who has set up cameras airing live online video streams around Benghazi, estimated that the numbers of anti-government demonstrators in the city has grown by 20% since the protests began Tuesday.

"We are peaceful people," he said. "They are killing unarmed civilians."

Another protester in Misratah, a city about 250 km (155 miles) east of Tripoli, said that roughly 1,300 remained on the streets there through the night and into the morning Sunday, burning pictures of Gadhafi and calling for an end to his rule.

CNN could not independently confirm information on the escalating unrest in Libya, the most isolated nation in the region, though it has interviewed numerous witnesses by phone. The government has not responded to repeated requests from CNN for access to the country and maintains tight control over communications.

Instead, a report from Libya's state-run JANA news agency blames "acts of sabotage and burning" on outsiders aiming to undermine the nation's stability, security and unity. The report claims that the unrest has been fomented in Libya as well as Tunisia, Morocco, Sudan, Egypt, Lebanon and Iran by an Israeli-led network of covert operatives.

Since Wednesday, authorities have arrested "dozens of foreign members of this network who were trained on starting clashes," the JANA story said, adding that the outsiders were of Tunisian, Egyptian, Sudanese, Turkish, Palestinian and Syrian descent.

Meanwhile, the toll from the unrest continued to mount. Human Rights Watch, citing interviews with hospital staff and witnesses, reported at least 84 deaths since Tuesday. CNN could not independently verify the numbers.

Medical sources at a Misratah hospital said at least three died and 70 were wounded in clashes Saturday between security forces and anti-government protesters. Three of those injured were in critical condition, the sources said.

A doctor at a Benghazi hospital said at least 30 people died Saturday, most from gunshot wounds to the head. Hovering helicopters fired into the crowds and the hospital was receiving a steady stream of injured people, said the doctor, who CNN is also not identifying for security reasons.

His count did not include casualties from a clash between the protesters on the funeral march and soldiers at a military camp. Soldiers there fired tear gas and guns; the protesters hurled rocks and at least two hand grenades, witnesses said.

The female doctor in Benghazi said Sunday she worries that her hospital will not be able to keep up with the need.

"Every day it's increasing," she said.

Lt. Col. Mohammed al-Majbari, who helped lead Libyan military forces in Benghazi before deciding early this week to join the opposition, claimed that government forces -- aided by mercenaries from other African countries -- "caused a massacre."

"It is time for freedom," al-Majbari said. "(Gadhafi) is not a human being. A Libyan would never do this to his people. He is a dictator."

Several eyewitnesses told CNN that cars of riflemen drove past protesters, indiscriminately firing at them.

RELATED TOPICS

• Libya
• Moammar Gadhafi

A Libyan woman supportive of the protesters, who was not identified to protect her safety, told CNN that army soldiers on Saturday initially claimed solidarity with the demonstrators, only to reverse their tack and open fire on the crowd.

"The soldiers ... said, 'We are with you.' We believed them," she said. "After that, they started shooting the people. Why? Why did they lie?"

Others in Libya reported similar protests in the cities of al-Baida, Ajdabiya and significantly in Misratah -- an indication that the demonstrations centered in the east were spreading west.

A protester identified only as Moftah told CNN that Libyans, inspired by the toppling of dictators in neighboring Egypt and Tunisia, had simply had enough of Gadhafi.

"He will tell you that his secret police are everywhere," Moftah said. "It's time to break this fear barrier. We reach a point that we don't care anymore."

The official Jamahiriya News Agency reported that Gadhafi had spoken in recent days with fellow leaders from Guinea, Liberia and Yemen.

The government also sent out, via text, a tacit warning against "the inappropriate use of telecommunications services (that) contradict our religion ... our customs ... and our traditions." Internet service in Libya shut down Friday evening, though it was more available by Sunday.

The government's firm grip on power heightened the concerns of a woman from Benghazi, who urged U.S. President Barack Obama and other world leaders to help the Libyan people in the face of the government crackdown.

"We have no freedom here," she said. "I speak to all the world, to America, to Mr. Obama: Please help us. We (did) nothing. We want to live a good life."

The female doctor at the Benghazi hospital said Sunday she worries more violence will ensue.

"I think -- and I hope not -- it's going to be (a) more disastrous situation than yesterday because yesterday was more of a disaster than the two days before," she said. "I'm so scared."

CNN's Moni Basu, Amir Ahmed, Yousuf Basil, Greg Botelho, Salma Abdelaziz, Zain Verjee, Anderson Cooper, Holly Yan and Mitra Mobasherat contributed to this report.

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