45 killed in Libya protests
By DPA, IANSFriday, February 18, 2011
CAIRO/TRIPOLI - Libyan security forces were expecting violent demonstrations Friday, a day after an estimated 45 people were killed in clashes across the country.
Online postings by opposition groups called for demonstrations against the country’s ruler of 41 years Muammer Gaddafi to start after Friday prayers.
Violent clashes erupted between demonstrators and security forces across the country Thursday in what opposition organisers had billed as a “Day of Anger”.
Videos posted online appeared to show the bodies of several young men in different locations, and hundreds of demonstrators tearing down a monument in honour of Gaddafi’s Green Book in the eastern coastal town of Tobruk.
In the Green Book, first published in 1975, Gaddafi outlines his philosophy of direct democracy through popular committees. Critics say that he actually uses those committees for political repression.
Coverage of the unrest in the Libyan media has shown pro-government demonstrators taking to the streets to proclaim their support for the country’s leaders.
