Report of 'massacre' in Tripoli as Gaddafi's hold on power in Libya appears to teeter

[seafan]

Source: News.com.AU

GADDAFI'S four-decade stranglehold on power in Libya appeared to be weakening today as fighting reportedly spiraled into a "massacre" in his home base of Tripoli, where military fighter jets were said to have fired live ammunition at protesters.

Influential Muslim cleric Yusuf al-Qaradawi has issued a fatwa that any Libyan soldier who can shoot dead embattled leader Muammar Gaddafi should do so "to rid Libya of him".
"Whoever in the Libyan army is able to shoot a bullet at Mr Gaddafi should do so," Qaradawi, an Egyptian-born cleric who is usually based in Qatar, told Al-Jazeera television.

The airspace over the Libyan capital Tripoli has been closed.

.....

Residents of Tripoli told Agence-France Presse by telephone there had been "a massacre" in the Tajura and Fashlum districts of the Libyan capital, with indiscriminate shooting and women among the dead.





Read more: http://www.news.com.au/world/libyan-forces-fire-on-mourners-at-funeral-again-as-death-toll-rises-to-more-than-200/story-e6frfkyi-1226009637029

[bemildred]

1. Libya jets bomb arms depots

Seif al-Islam, the son of Muammar Gaddafi, says Libyan armed forces had launched air strikes on arms depots outside urban areas, state television reports quoting the official Jana news agency.

"The armed forces have bombarded arms depots situated far from populated areas," the broadcaster reported in a banner across the screen.

There had been reports from Libya that warplanes had begun indiscriminate bombing across the capital, leaving scores dead, as long-time leader Muammar Gaddafi clings to power.

Two Libyan air force colonels had fled to the Mediterranean island of Malta in fighter jets saying they had refused orders to bomb protesters.

http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-world/libya-jets-bomb-arms-depots-20110222-1b2vj.html

[Heywood J]

2. K&R

I'm picking my teeth up off the floor at this.