Thousands Slain in Libya Crackdown

Doctor Estimates 2,000 Killed in Benghazi Alone

Efforts to ascertain an accurate death toll for the violent crackdown against the Libyan uprising have so far been very difficult, in no small part because the city of Tripoli remains under the regime’s control, and in and around the city the crackdown is still going on.

The base figure, of course, is the “only 300” protesters massacred number provided by the Gadhafi regime a couple of days ago, but most experts agree the toll is well into the thousands, and reports on the ground in the liberated portions of the nation providing some clues.

One French doctor working on the ground in Benghazi has reported that 2,000 people were killed in that city alone. Surely Benghazi is the major site of violence in East Libya, but with estimates of another 1,000 dead in Tripoli and tolls in the dozens or scores slain in several other cities across the nation.

Some estimates have suggested the toll is around 10,000, and while that is impossible to confirm at this point it seems likely that the final toll will be closer to 10,000 than to the government’s “only 300” figure. Still, it appears that the regime has lost most of its ability to launch attacks in Benghazi and elsewhere, so the worst of the violence, minus the capital city of Tripoli, seems to be behind them.

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.