TRIPOLI (Reuters) – Libya's Muammar Gaddafi used tanks,
helicopters and warplanes to
fight a growing revolt,
witnesses said on Tuesday, as
the veteran leader scoffed at
reports he was fleeing after four decades in power. The U.N. refugee agency urged
to Libya's neighbors not to
turn back those fleeing the
violence, as hundreds of
refugees streamed into Egypt
on tractors and trucks, describing a wave of killing
and banditry unleashed by the
revolt. In the eastern town of Al
Bayda, resident Marai Al
Mahry told Reuters by
telephone that 26 people
including his brother Ahmed
had been shot dead overnight by Gaddafi loyalists. "They shoot you just for
walking on the street," he
said, sobbing uncontrollably as
he appealed for help. Protesters were attacked
with tanks and warplanes, he
said. "The only thing we can do
now is not give up, no
surrender, no going back. We
will die anyways, whether
we like it or not. It is clear
that they don't care whether we live or not. This is
genocide," said Mahry, 42. In Tripoli, residents told
Reuters there was no visible
security force presence on the
streets. The only police
present were directing traffic,
they said, the day after reports that warplanes had
bombed portions of the
capital and mercenaries had
shot civilians. Refugees fleeing into Egypt
told of a wave of violence and
crime. "Five people died on the street
where I live," Mohamed
Jalaly, 40, told Reuters at
Salum on his way to Cairo
from Benghazi. "You leave
Benghazi and then you have ... nothing but gangs and youths
with weapons," he added.
"The way from Benghazi is
extremely dangerous," he
said. Libyan guards have
withdrawn from their side of
the border and Egypt's new
military rulers -- who took
power following the
overthrow of President Hosni Mubarak on February11 -- said
the main crossing would be
kept open round-the-clock to
allow the sick and wounded
to enter. Libyan security forces have
cracked down fiercely on
demonstrators across the
country, with fighting
spreading to Tripoli after
erupting in Libya's oil- producing east last week, in a
reaction to decades of
repression and following
uprisings that have toppled
leaders in Tunisia and Egypt. Human Rights Watch says at
least 233 people have been
killed and opposition groups
put the figure much higher
but independent verification is
impossible. The revolt in OPEC member
Libya has driven oil prices to a
2 1/2 year high above $108 a
barrel. As the fighting has intensified
some supporters have
abandoned Gaddafi. Tripoli's
envoy to India, Ali al-Essawi,
resigned and told Reuters that
African mercenaries had been recruited to help put down
protests. "The fall of Gaddafi is the
imperative of the people in
streets," he said. The justice
minister also quit and a group
of army officers urged
soldiers to "join the people." Two pilots flew their
warplanes to nearby Malta. DEFIANCE AND
CONDEMNATION Gaddafi's son Saif on Sunday
vowed his father would keep
fighting "until the last man
standing" and the Libyan
leader appeared on television
after days of seclusion to dismiss reports he had fled to
the Venezuela of his ally Hugo
Chavez. "I want to show that I'm in
Tripoli and not in Venezuela.
Do not believe the channels
belonging to stray dogs," said
Gaddafi, who has ruled Libya
with a mixture of populism and tight control since taking
power in a military coup in
1969. World powers have
condemned the use of force
against protesters, U.N.
Secretary General Ban Ki-
moon accusing Libya of firing
on civilians from warplanes and helicopters. The Security
Council was to discuss Libya at
9 a.m. EST. Washington and Europe have
demanded an end to the
violence and Germany's
Foreign Minister Guido
Westerwelle said: "A ruling
family, threatening its people with civil war, has reached
the end of the line." Demonstrations spread to
Tripoli from the second city
Benghazi, cradle of the revolt
that has engulfed a number of
towns and which residents
say is now in the hands of protestors. Residents said anxious
shoppers were queuing
outside stores to try to stock
up on food and drink. Some
shops were closed. In Tripoli, one resident said
locals were patrolling their
neighborhood at night to
protect it from roaming
mercenaries, reporting sniper
fire and the use of military transport helicopters to ferry
security forces about. "Gaddafi obviously does not
have any limits. We knew he
was crazy, but it's still a
terrible shock to see him
turning mercenaries on his
own people and just mowing down unarmed
demonstrators," he told Lisa
Goldman, a Canadian-Israeli
journalist based in Tel Aviv.
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