Tripoli Protesters Resist After Forces Open Fire

[maddezmom]

Source: NYT

BENGHAZI, Libya — Clashes erupted in Tripoli on Friday as security forces loyal to Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi used gunfire in an attempt to disperse thousands of protesters who streamed out of mosques after prayers to mount their first major challenge to the government’s crackdown in the capital.

The protesters refused to back down, witnesses told news services and the opposition reported on websites, and clashes continued in parts of the city. The renewed violence came even as the government prepared to open Tripoli for the first time to foreign journalists to demonstrate what Colonel Qaddafi and his sons had described as a return normal life there. Some witnesses, in telephone interviews with news services, said that several people had been wounded and killed.

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The antigovernment demonstrators had pledged to take to the streets of the capital on Friday despite threats of a violent crackdown by pro-government mercenaries and security forces, as Colonel Qaddafi attempted to maintain his grip on the city that remains one of his last strongholds in a widespread rebellion.

Before prayers had even begun, security personnel deployed around mosques to prevent demonstrations, witnesses said. In their sermons, prayer leaders followed a text that had been imposed by the authorities calling for a “return to stability” and an end to “sedition” and “acts of sabotage,” worshippers quoted by news services said.



Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/26/world/africa/26libya.html

[Uncle Joe]

1. Kicked and recommended.

Thanks for the thread, maddezmom.

[pinboy3niner]

2. Great job staying on top of this, maddezmom

Thanks for all your posts! :thumbsup:

K&R

:hi: