AL JAZEERA ENGLISH: Government forces reportedly fire tear gas on protesters rallying against Gaddafi following Friday prayers.At least 1,000 people protesting against the rule of Muammar Gaddafi have taken to the streets of Tripoli, the Libyan capital, raising fears of fresh conflict between anti-government protesters and loyalist forces.
Protests called by the opposition began on Friday when worshippers streamed out of a mosque in the centre of the city, chanting "Gaddaf is the enemy of God", witnesses said.
"This is the end for Gaddafi. It's over. Forty years of crimes are over," Faragha, an engineer at the protest, told the Reuters news agency.
Pro-Gaddafi forces fired tear gas at protesters, the AP news agency said, saying at least five cannisters were fired at the crowd in the district of Tajoura in the capital.
"They fired teargas. I heard shooting. People are scattering," a reporter from the Reuters news agency in Tajoura said.
Anita McNaught, Al Jazeera's correspondent in Tripoli, said it was not possible to immediately verify the reports, but that there was a heavy security presence in the city.
"There is some evidence that there's been burning tyres, but beyond that it has been essentially a state of lockdown. The shops are shut, the streets are empty, minimal traffic and an extremely high and visible security presence in all major intersections in the city."
Government forces set up checkpoints in Tripoli ahead of the action, and residents said soldiers had been roaming the city in civilians cars. >>> Al Jazeera and agencies | Friday, March 04, 2011
