THE GUARDIAN: Anti-Gaddafi demonstrations spread to capital from Benghazi as some soldiers reportedly switch sides to aid activists
Protesters in Libya's capital are reported to have set fire to government buildings and attacked the headquarters of state television as the anti-Gaddafi demonstrations that began in the east of the country threaten to engulf the regime.
Hundreds of demonstrators took to the streets overnight clashing with police and shouting anti-Gaddafi slogans as tribal leaders demanded an end to the violent government crackdown. There were also reports that some soldiers in the east had defected to the opposition, in a revolt that has killed more than 230 people.
Witnesses said that the brutal crackdown, that began in the country's second city of Benghazi, has spread to the capital overnight with reports of automatic gunfire and teargas in Tripoli for the first time since the unrest began.
The government building where the general people's congress, or parliament, meets was reported to be on fire and there were separate reports that protesters had attacked the headquarters of the state television network.
"I can see the People's Hall is on fire, there are firefighters there trying to put it out," a Reuters reporter said.
A hotel worker told the Guardian: "The mood is very tense here. We have heard that government buildings are on fire and locals are scared to leave their homes. Most foreigners are trying to leave." >>> Ian Black and Matthew Taylor | Monday, February 21, 2011
