Libyan 'massacre' fears as protests grow

 Anti-regime protesters in the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi have reportedly seized army vehicles and weapons amid worsening turmoil in the African nation.

A local witness told Al Jazeera that a section of the troops had joined the protesters as chaos swept the streets of the city, worst hit by the uprising against Muammar Gaddafi's 42-year old rule.

Mohamed, a doctor from Al Jalaa hospital in Benghazi, confirmed to Al Jazeera that members of the military had sided with the protesters.

"We are still receiving serious injuries, I can confirm 13 deaths in our hospital. However, the good news is that people are cheering and celebrating outside after receiving news that the army is siding with the people," he said.

"But there is still a brigade that is against the demonstrators. For the past three days demonstrators have been shot at by this brigade, called Al-Sibyl brigade."

Human Rights Watch said it feared a catastrophe, with more than 200 people dead in the bloody crackdown.

More detailed information is difficult to obtain, as western journalists are banned from Libya.

Meanwhile, Bahrain came under fresh pressure to introduce reforms and thousands rallied for change in Morocco.

British Foreign Secretary William Hague urged Arab nations to speak out and said he would raise the iron-fisted crackdown with EU ministers beginning a two-day meeting in Brussels late on Sunday.

Libya bluntly warned the European Union it will "suspend cooperation" in the fight against illegal immigration if the bloc does not stop fanning pro-democracy protests, the EU presidency said.

When the ambassador of Hungary, which holds the EU chair until the end of June, was summoned by Tripoli on Thursday, it was "signalled" to Europe that "if the EU were to continue to encourage demonstrations, Libya would suspend its cooperation with the EU in the fight against illegal immigration".

Libyan security forces clashed with anti-regime protesters in the Mediterranean city of Misrata, 200km from Tripoli, witnesses said.

Demonstrators took to the streets there to show support for residents of Benghazi, 1000km from the capital, who have endured the brunt of a crackdown in eastern Libya, they said.

The witnesses said Libyan security forces backed by "African mercenaries" had been shooting into the crowds "without discrimination".

In Libya's second largest city, Benghazi, there were protests against Gaddafi's four-decade rule and new fighting, lawyer Mohammed al-Mughrabi told AFP by telephone.

"Lawyers are demonstrating outside the Northern Benghazi court; there are thousands here. We have called it Tahrir Square Two," he said, referring to the Cairo square central to protests that brought down Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak.

Separately, others are "storming the garrison" and "taking fire from snipers," Mughrabi said, without elaborating.

"At least 200 have been killed altogether (since the outbreak of unrest this week) but we can't verify from hospital. We are pleading for the Red Cross to send field hospitals. We can't take it any more."

Bahrain's Sunni Muslim ruling family came under increased pressure to open in-depth negotiations with the Shi'ite-led opposition on Sunday, as protesters stayed camped out in the capital Manama's Pearl Square.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called for immediate reforms and blasted as unacceptable any violence by the Gulf kingdom's security forces.

"Bahrain had started on some reform and we want to see them get back to that as quickly as possible," she told ABC's This Week program in an interview conducted on Friday.

Bahraini Crown Prince Sheikh Salman bin Hamad al-Khalifa has offered to open a sweeping national dialogue with the opposition, after a deadly police raid on Pearl Square on Thursday, which was followed by the army deploying to quell anti-government protests.

Morocco became the latest in a string of Arab nations rocked by protest, as thousands gathered in several cities demanding political reform and limits on the powers of King Mohammed VI.

Between 3000 and 4000 people demonstrated in the capital Rabat, shouting "The people want change" and denouncing corruption.

Libya-watchers are now waiting anxiously to see if protests spread to western Libya and the capital, Tripoli.

Most violence is confined to the east of the country where unemployment is high and Gaddafi's grip said to be weaker. But they stressed that his regime had survived for 41 years through brutality and he showed no signs of losing his nerve.

William Hague, Britain's Foreign Secretary, condemned Libya for firing on demonstrators. "This is clearly unacceptable and horrifying," he said. "Governments must respond to the legitimate aspirations of their people, rather than resort to the use of force, and must respect the right to peaceful protest."

However, experts admitted the British Government and business interests were watching the situation closely. BP declined to comment on the situation today but said it was concerned for its 140 employees in Libya. Security experts said all UK companies in Libya had contingency plans if the uprising spread.

Douglas Alexander, the Shadow Foreign Secretary, said: "From Libya to Bahrain, many past assumptions have been dissolved by these demonstrations. Britain should speak out against violence, speak up for human rights in all countries and make clear that moves towards democracy are the best guarantee of long-term stability."

Critics claim that British economic interests in Libya had muted support for the uprising there. British exports to Libya have risen to more than £400m and are set to increase dramatically as oil and gas investments by Shell and BP deevelop.

Protests have continued to grow in strength and violence after the first demonstration last Tuesday, when thousands massed following the arrest of a human rights campaigner.

A Benghazi cleric, Abellah al-Warfali, told al-Jazeera television he had a list of 16 people being buried yesterday, most with bullet wounds. "I saw with my own eyes a tank crushing two people in a car," he said. "They hadn't done any harm to anyone."

Several reports said government-recruited mercenaries were behind the worst violence including sniper attacks and the use of heavy machine guns. A British-based IT consultant, Ahmed Swelim, 26, originally from Benghazi, said relatives told him the situation had reached "critical point".

"People are living in fear since he [Gaddafi] brought in African mercenaries. They are dressing as normal people but doing random killings. They will shoot or cut people's hands off. The shops are shut; there's no medical aid getting in; people have no weapons to defend themselves. The whole city is erupting. People went out to protest peacefully. They want an end to this oppression. The death toll is much higher than reported. There are more than 200 dead. My cousin, a doctor at a main hospital, has seen the bodies. There are more than 1,000 injured."

He said people in Benghazi were desperate. "We need an end to this oppression. It's been 41 years. We've been dreaming of this day. There's no going back. If we go back, the whole area will be wiped out. We know how crazy he is. If we step down, we will be taken out."

The Libyan regime has suppressed the internet. Technical experts reported that 13 globally routed links were withdrawn late on Friday. Foreign journalists are prevented from entering Libya and local reporters are barred from travelling to Benghazi. Al-Jazeera said its signal was being jammed on several frequencies. The state-run media defended the regime.

The Al-Zahf Alakhdar (Green March) newspaper published an editorial entitled: "No leader except Gaddafi!" Elsewhere, the country appeared calm. A government-run newspaper blamed the protests on Zionism and the "traitors of the West". Officials said foreign media had exaggerated the violence.

Sir Richard Dalton, of the foreign affairs think tank Chatham House, described it as the most serious crisis yet faced by Colonel Gaddafi. "It could be the regime is approaching a tipping point that threatens its survival," he said. "We don't know what the willingness of ordinary Libyans will be to take such casualties without coming out in larger numbers.

"It's clear that itis a highly political revolution. It's not economic grievance, although that will be in the background. It's an extraordinary significant event for Libya." He warned that the security forces and protest groups both possessed "considerable capability for ruthlessness".

"It is too early to write off Gaddafi's regime because it is resilient and has a lot of people who will go to considerable lengths to maintain their positions," he warned. Complaints about poor economic and social provisions such as education and health were of long standing, he said.

"The ratio between risk and likely reward is still pointing towards the risk being unacceptably high. In Egypt, when it was clear that the army wasn't going to use live ammunition, the perception of potential for success soared and a lot more people came out on to the streets. That could happen in Libya, but we're still some way from that point because the security forces are still willing to inflict considerable casualties."

He denied UK economic interests in the country would compromise the official response. "It is very much in the UK's political and security interest to work with Libya," he said.

- AFP, INDEPENDENT, AL JAZEERA, AGENCIES

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