Source: DTN News - - This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources By Maggie Michael,Paul Schemm, The Associated Press | The Canadian PressProtesters said they had taken over Misrata, which would be the largest city in the western half in the country to fall into their hands. The military has also moved heavy forces into the town of Sabratha, west of the capital, to try to put down protesters who have overwhelmed security headquarters and government buildings, a news website close to the government reported.
International outrage mounted after Gadhafi on Tuesday went on state TV and in a fist-pounding speech called on his supporters to take to the streets to fight protesters. Gadhafi's retaliation has already been the harshest in the Arab world to the wave of anti-government protests sweeping the Middle East.
Italy's Foreign Minister Franco Frattini said estimates of some 1,000 people killed in the violence in Libya were "credible," although he stressed information about casualties was incomplete. The New York-based Human Rights Watch has put the death toll at nearly 300, according to a partial count.
Gadhafi's speech appeared to have brought out a heavy force of supporters and militiamen that largely prevented major protests in the capital Tuesday night or Wednesday. Through the night, gunfire was heard, said one woman who lives near downtown.
"Mercenaries are everywhere with weapons. You can't open a window or door. Snipers hunt people," she said. "We are under siege, at the mercy of a man who is not a Muslim."
During the day Wednesday, more gunfire was heard near Gadhafi's residence, but in many parts of the city of 2 million residents were venturing out to stores, some residents said. The government sent out text messages urging people to go back to their jobs, aiming to show that life was returning to normal. The residents spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation.
http://defense-technologynews.blogspot.com/2011/02/dtn-news-libya-uprising-gadhafi.html
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