Paramilitaries target civilians in Libya crackdown
New fighting erupted in the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi on Sunday as anti-regime protests spread across the country. Security forces in Libya's second city were reportedly assisted by mercenaries shooting into crowds "without discrimination".
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One protester, a 32-year-old architect in Benghazi who asked that his name not be used, described the mercenaries as "African".
Libya witness: architect in Benghazi
He told RFI that civilians were "putting their hands up and telling them, 'just go out, we don't need your violence, we're just peaceful, just go', and they answered them with bullets."
A doctor in the main hospital of Benghazi said one of the mercenaries had been admitted to his care.
He said the man's nationality could not be verified, but described him as African and English-speaking.
"They are African guerrillas, this I can confirm...they have machine guns and move around Benghazi, killing without any reason" in "huge numbers".
He also said snipers were shooting and killing people in the street.
Human Rights Watch said it feared catastrophe and cited a death toll of at least 104.
Libya witness: doctor in a Benghazi hospital
But the toll could be much higher, as the doctor saying that in his hospital alone, there were "around 100 killed by gunshots and over 700 injured."
"It feels liek an open war zone between protesters and security forces," said Fathi Terbeel, a protest organiser.
"Our numbers show that more than 200 people have been killed," he said.
The violence in the city, which lies 1000 kilometres east of Tripoli, increased after security forces opened fire on mourners who were going to a funeral.
The architect said people were afraid, but many community members were doing what they could to help meet their needs.
"They are making checkpoints, they are controlling the roads, they are controlling the traffic, to make it easier for people to get their food and daily needs.
"But", he said, "I'm going out. Every Libyan man will die for this city, we will die for this country. We won't be silent anymore. We've been silent for 42 years."
His reference is to the regime of Moamer Kadhafi, which has ruled Libya for more than four decades.
"These are the words of everyone like me," he said. "We don't want to live in his rule again. We don't want him anymore."
Security forces also clashed with anti-regime demonstrators in the city of Misrata as protests spread closer to the capital, Tripoli.
Al Jazeera and other news channels were scrambled across the country, and internet services were also blocked.
Libyan authorities bluntly warned the European Union they will "suspend cooperation" in the fight against illegal immigration if the bloc does not stop fanning pro-democracy protests, the EU presidency said on Sunday.
When the ambassador of Hungary, which currently holds the EU's rotating presidency, was summoned by Tripoli on Thursday, it was "signalled" that "if the EU were to continue to encourage demonstrations, Libya would suspend its cooperation with the EU in the fight against illegal immigration."
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