THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: Women and children leapt from bridges to their deaths as they tried to escape a ruthless crackdown by Libyan forces loyal to Colonel Muammar Gaddafi.
Snipers shot protesters, artillery and helicopter gunships were used against crowds of demonstrators, and thugs armed with hammers and swords attacked families in their homes as the Libyan regime sought to crush the uprising.
"Dozens were killed ... We are in the midst of a massacre here," a witness told Reuters. The man said he helped take victims to hospital in Benghazi.
Libyan Muslim leaders told security forces to stop killing civilians, responding to a spiralling death toll from unrest which threatens veteran leader Muammar Gaddafi's authority.
Mourners leaving a funeral for protesters in the eastern city of Benghazi came under fire, killing at least 15 people and wounding many more. A hospital official said one of those who died was apparently struck on the head by an anti-aircraft missile, and many had been shot in the head and chest.
The hospital was overwhelmed and people were streaming to the facility to donate blood. "Many of the dead and the injured are relatives of doctors here," he said. "They are crying and I keep telling them to please stand up and help us." >>> Nick Meo, Cairo | Sunday, February 20, 2011
THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: Ayatollahs of Iran watch Libya's Colonel Muammar Gaddafi practise the art of violent repression: Few of the Arab regimes facing rebellion are as brutal as that of Colonel Muammar Gaddafi - and now he's shown just how Libya deals with protesters >>> Con Coughlin | Sunday, February 20, 2011
