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04.03.2011 Libya

Tripoli on edge ahead of prayers

By BBC
The rebels intend to move on as soon as they canThe rebels intend to move on as soon as they can
04.03.2011 LISTEN


Embattled Libyan ruler Col Muammar Gaddafi's bastion in the capital Tripoli is on edge ahead of possible demonstrations later.

The opposition has called for protests when worshippers emerge from mosques in the city after Friday noon prayers.

Fresh air strikes have been launched on rebel-held territory in the east of the country.

The revolt, which broke out in mid-February to end Col Gaddafi's 41-year rule, has shown signs of deadlock.

There are unconfirmed reports of mosques having been closed and arrests overnight, while internet services appeared to have been cut off.

Gaddafi loyalists have set up two checkpoints on the main highway leading to the centre of Tripoli and are searching cars, reports AP news agency.

Media restrictions
The authorities meanwhile blocked foreign journalists from leaving the main media hotel in Tripoli to report on any protests.

A government spokesman said correspondents were being kept in the hotel for their own protection in case of violence from "al-Qaeda elements".

Reporters were later told they could leave the hotel on condition they boarded official buses to government-selected locations.

Protests last week after Friday prayers in several districts of the city ended in bloodshed when government forces fired on civilians, witnesses have said.

Pro-Gaddafi militias have been roaming Tripoli in civilian cars, according to residents.

A wave of detentions, killings and disappearances has been reported in the city in recent days.

Bodies of missing people have reportedly been left in the street.

A Libyan warplane bombed the rebel-held Mediterranean port town of Ajdabiya on Friday, narrowly missing a munitions dump.

Gaddafi forces also carried out the second air raid in as many days on the nearby key rebel-held harbour of Brega, home to the country's second largest oil facility, Al Arabiya news network reported.

'Malian mercenaries'
Opposition fighters reportedly advanced on Friday on the oil port of Ras Lanuf, to where pro-Gaddafi forces withdrew after a battle two days earlier.

"We're going to take it all, Ras Lanuf, Tripoli," one rebel, Magdi Mohammed, told Reuters news agency.

The opposition - a mixture of citizen militias and army defectors armed with machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades - have also been securing Brega in anticipation of a fresh onslaught by Gaddafi loyalists.

Several hundred mercenaries from Mali's Tuareg community have just joined government forces, a senior official from that North African country told the BBC.

The major western rebel-held cities of Zawiya and Misrata have also repelled attacks by Gaddafi loyalists.

On Thursday, rebels in Libya's second city of Benghazi said they would not negotiate unless the embattled ruler resigned and went into exile.

The National Libyan Council - led by former Libyan Justice Minister Mustafa Abdel-Jalil, who went over to the opposition last month - also called for foreign intervention.

Meanwhile, during a White House news conference, US President Barack Obama repeatedly said Col Gaddafi should quit.

"Going forward, we will continue to send a clear message: the violence must stop," he said. "Muammar Gaddafi has lost legitimacy to lead and he must leave."

The International Criminal Court announced the Libyan leader, his inner circle and some of his sons would be investigated in the coming weeks for alleged crimes against humanity.

The court has identified at least nine incidents, including claims 257 people were killed over a few days last month in Benghazi.

The revolt has spawned a humanitarian crisis, with some 200,000 migrant workers having fled to neighbouring countries, according to the International Organization for Migration.






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