You have commented 339 times on Rantburg.

Your Name
Your e-mail (optional)
Website (optional)
My Original Nic        Pic-a-Nic        Sorry. Comments have been closed on this article.
Bold Italic Underline Strike Bullet Blockquote Small Big Link Squish Foto Photo
Submit your comments on this article
Africa North
Hundreds of Libyans demand the government's ouster
2011-02-16
I'd love to see Qadaffi go, but we might end up with another Islamicist state.
TRIPOLI, Libya — Hundreds of Libyans calling for the government's ouster took to the streets Wednesday in the country's second-largest city as Egypt-inspired unrest spread to the country long ruled by Moammar Kadafi.

Ashur Shamis, a Libyan opposition activist in London, said the protests began Tuesday in the port city of Benghazi, with demonstrators chanting, "No God but Allah, Moammar is the enemy of Allah" and "Down, down to corruption and to the corrupt."

But police and armed government backers quickly clamped down on the protesters, firing rubber bullets, he said.
How does the reporter know they were 'rubber' bullets? That's not Qadaffi's style at all.
Witnesses and videos posted on the Internet showed protesters calling for a Libyan uprising and chanting slogans against Kadafi, who has held virtually unchecked power for more than four decades, as well as Prime Minister Baghdadi Mahmoudi.

Libya's official news agency did not carry any word of the anti-government protests. JANA quoted a statement from the pro-Kadafi demonstrators as pledging to " defend the leader and the revolution." The statement described the anti-government protesters as" coward and traitors."

A Libyan security official said 14 people, including 10 policemen, had been injured in clashes Tuesday. He said protesters were armed with knives and stones and police tried to disperse the crowd using water cannons.
And rubber bullets...
The clashes occurred a day after several opposition groups in exile called for Kadafi's overthrow and for a peaceful transition of power.

As in the uprisings that toppled longtime autocratic rulers in two countries flanking Libya -- Egypt and Tunisia -- Libyan activists used social networking websites like Facebook and Twitter to rally people in their homeland. They called for a major protest Thursday.
Facebook deserves a Nobel Peace Prize far more than Bambi does...
The protests scheduled for Thursday were to commemorate the fifth anniversary of a day nine people were killed while demonstrating in front of the Italian Consulate against a cartoon depicting Islam's Prophet Muhammad.
Posted by:Steve White

00:00