Momammar Gadhafi's Ambassadors Turn on Him, Call for President's Resignation
U.S., Oil Companies Prepare to Evacuate Citizens; More Than 200 Killed
Libya's UN ambassadors called for the country's dictator Moammar Gadhafi to step down today as protesters claimed to have taken control of the country's second largest city and fighting -- including the burning of government buildings -- spread to the capital of Tripoli. Libyan officials appeared to be defecting from the leader who has ruled the country for 40 years. Two senior Libyan Air Force colonels arrived in Malta today seeking political asylum, saying they fled the country after they were ordered to attack protesters, according to various reports. The pilots said they were told to bomb protesters, in Benghazi Protesters clashed with the police in Libya as the brutal crackdown over the weekend spread to the country's capital, Tripoli, where angry demonstrators stormed the state television station, set fire to government buildings and the Olympic Square.
Protesters were celebrating in the streets of Benghazi, where they claimed victory over Gadhafi's forces, according to the Associated Press.
The government responded by deploying military on the streets for what many are reporting is a brutal crackdown.
"What I've seen today is hundreds, if not thousands of troops" that were massing along with helicopters, one Libyan-American who is visiting family in Tripoli and did not want to be identified, told ABC News. "They're using heavy gauge weapons and helicopters air craft and I think a massacre is in the making is all I can say. ... There's a lot of fear and tension."
The witness said what other have been saying, that many of the forces protecting the government are foreign mercenaries.
"They seem to be people from African cities, South Asian states, and for some reason, even European looking soldiers. But the majority of the ones that I saw seem to be foreign soldiers or mercenaries, whatever you want to call them," the witness said.
Anti-government protesters demanding the ouster of its longtime dictator Gadhafi also reportedly laid siege to military bases as the unrest in the country spread. The BBC was reporting that Gadhafi ordered the Air Force to bomb his own bases so rebels can't get their hands on weapons, but reports could not be confirmed.
Protesters carrying placards and signs saying "Free Libya" and "Gadhafi - murderer, criminal," descended on the nation's capital and its second largest city this weekend despite the government crackdown.
One witness in Tripoli who identified himself only as Adam, told Al Jazeera English he saw mercenaries driving by in Land Cruisers firing indiscriminately. He said he also heard gunfire in the city's Green Square and heard planes overhead.
Oil prices surged this morning as violence spread across the Middle East. Companies and countries prepared to evacuate their staff and citizens as the United States ordered embassy family members and all non-emergency personnel to depart Libya.
With landlines and communications cut and news media mostly blocked from accessing the country, it has been difficult to confirm reports of what's happening on the ground.
The escalating violence comes a day after Gadhafi's son, Seif al-Islam, insisted in a televised message Sunday that his father is still in the country and in control and warned of a civil war if the protests aren't controlled.
He vowed that they would "fight until the last man, the last woman, the last bullet."
He also blamed the uprising on Islamic extremists and foreigners, claimed the media was exaggerating casualty figures, and offered his people a deal: constitutional reform and a new government in 48 hours or civil war.
"We are not Tunisia and Egypt," Seif al-Islam Gadhafi said. "Moammar Gadhafi, our leader, is leading the battle in Tripoli, and we are with him."
The State Department said it was "gravely concerned" about the "disturbing reports and images coming out of Libya," and said it had received "multiple credible reports that hundreds of people have been killed and injured in several days of unrest."
President Obama was briefed on the security situation in Libya Sunday night and he is considering "all appropriate actions," said a senior administration official.
"We are analyzing the speech of Saif al-Islam Qadhafi to see what possibilities it contains for meaningful reform," he said. "We will seek clarification from senior Libyan officials, as we continue to raise with them the need to avoid violence against peaceful protesters and respect universal rights."
Unlike Egypt, where 18 days of protests brought down the 30-year-long presidency of Hosni Mubarak, the protests in Libya have been particularly brutal.
Hospital officials and human rights groups say more than 200 people have been killed and thousands wounded since the unrest started about a week ago.
Protesters are calling for the ouster of Gadhafi, who has ruled the oil-rich country for more than 40 years.
"We need this guy to get out," said protester Ahmed Mansour. "Gadhafi, you are ruling over Libya, it's now your 42nd year. This type of issues is over in the whole world, there are no more dictatorships again in the whole world. We people are supporting each other and we need all dictators to get out of the whole world, not just Libya."
In Benghazi, the bodies of security forces were hung from flag poles after protesters took over a government building.
In some cities, there are reports military units are siding with protesters. The country's state-operated TV news channel was also ransacked.
Witnesses reported a massacre with hundreds dead as the military opened fire on anti-government demonstrators, attending a funeral for protesters killed the day before.
"They're firing on civilians here. They're crazy. They're going crazy here," a doctor told the BBC.
Seif al-Islam said that the army has made mistakes during protests because it was not trained to deal with the demonstrations.
"If it comes to civil war, 5 million people will fight and 100,000 will die. It will be a bloodbath," he warned.
The unrest prompted British Petroleum (BP) officials to prepare the "likely" evacuation of its staff the Associated Press reported.
BP spokesman David Nicholas said the company has about 140 employees in the country.
EU foreign ministers condemned Libya's crackdown on the protesters and are also preparing to transport their citizens out the country.
"We are very worried about the situation in Libya," Spain's Foreign Minister Trinidad Jimenez told the Associated Press. "At the same time we are coordinating the possible evacuation of EU citizens from Libya, especially from Benghazi."
Since Mubarak resigned, protests have spread across the Middle East though unlike in Egypt, they have taken on a brutally violent shape.
Reports of protests were seen in Morocco and Yemen, both U.S. allies, and Algeria.
In Bahrain, the streets were calmer Sunday, after nearly a week.
It seemed as though the tiny kingdom was headed for revolution and more bloodshed. But under pressure, the king allowed protesters to return to Pearl Square and now he's seeking a political settlement.
But political opposition parties are calling for huge protests Tuesday hoping to build momentum. Protesters have been busy organizing themselves, setting up a media center, kitchens, first aid station, even garbage collection in Pearl Square. In a worrisome sign of a political stalemate, the Crown Prince has yet to announce that negotiations have even begun.
Outside the Middle East, Iran has also been ransacked by protests in recent days. Eyewitness reports from Tehran describe large protests met with gunfire from security forces. Guards were seen shooting at people who, in turn, threw stones back at security officers.
ABC News' Lama Hasan, Jim Sciutto, Luis Martinez, Ann Compton, Lara Setrakian and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
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