Hundreds Dead as Libya Cracks Down on Tripoli Protests

Gadhafi Regime Using Warplanes to Bomb Demonstrators

The exact death tolls are unknown but there were hundreds of additional protesters killed today alone in protests in Libya, as the Gadhafi regime’s control on the nation further wanes and violence engulfed the capital city of Tripoli.

There were violent clashes reported across Tripoli today, but the real story perhaps was in Benghazi, where the government has lost all control. The regime deployed warplanes to bomb the protesters in the streets of Benghazi, though exactly how many were killed in this bombing run were unknown.

Indeed, the Libyan government lost two warplanes in the effort, when two of the pilots ordered on the bombing run decided instead to defect, with their warplanes, to Malta. The pilots confirmed their orders were to attack the protests.

But while the increased violence took the situation to another stage inside the country, outside the regime is seeing what credibility it had left crumbling, as overseas diplomats disavow the government en masse and religious leaders are openly calling for Gadhafi’s assassination over the crackdowns.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.