Gadhafi Vows to Fight to ‘The Last Bullet’

Protesters have seized military bases, leader’s son acknowledges, as death toll rises

This photograph, obtained by The Associated Press outside Libya and taken by an individual not employed by AP, shows dead bodies in coffins during unrest in Benghazi, Libya. AP is unable to independently verify the content, location or date of this image.

Reuters and The Associated Press via MSNBC.com
February 20, 2011

TRIPOLI — After anti-government unrest spread to the Libyan capital and protesters seized military bases and weapons Sunday, Moammar Gadhafi’s son went on state television to proclaim that his father remained in charge with the army’s backing and would “fight until the last man, the last woman, the last bullet.”

Seif al-Islam Gadhafi, in the regime’s first comments on the six days of demonstrations, warned the protesters that they risked igniting a civil war in which Libya’s oil wealth “will be burned.”

The speech followed a fierce crackdown by security forces who fired on thousands of demonstrators and funeral marchers in the eastern city of Benghazi in a bloody cycle of violence that killed 60 people on Sunday alone, according to a doctor in one city hospital. Since the six days of unrest began, more than 200 people have been killed, according to medical officials, human rights groups and exiled dissidents.

Libya’s response has been the harshest of any Arab country that has been wracked by the protests that toppled long-serving leaders in neighboring Tunisia and Egypt. …

Full story

Video

Libya counts dead, heaping pressure on Gadhafi (NBC Nightly News, Feb. 20, 2011) — Amid reports that protesters and army defectors have taken control of Benghazi, the country’s second largest city, by all accounts, the response of Moammar Gadhafi’s regime has been brutal. NBC’s Ron Allen reports. (04:18)

——

2/21/2011 Update

Gadhafi: ‘I’m in Tripoli, not Venezuela’

Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi appears on state television early Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2011 to say he is in Tripoli, not Venezuela, as protests calling for his ouster continue. (Photo credit: NBC News)

Reuters, The Associated Press, and NBC News via MSNBC.com
February 21, 2011

TRIPOLI — Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi appeared for less than a minute Tuesday morning on state television and made brief remarks to say he was in the capital Tripoli and to deny rumors he had fled to Venezuela amid the violent revolt against his 41-year rule. …

Gadhafi spoke hours after reports that Libyan military aircraft fired live ammunition at crowds of anti-government protesters in Tripoli on Monday. …

The accounts came as deep cracks opened in Gadhafi’s regime, with diplomats abroad and the justice minister at home resigning, air force pilots defecting and a fire raging at the main government hall after the clashes in the capital Tripoli. …

Human Rights Watch said Monday that at least 233 people had been killed since the protests began last week, but opposition groups put the figure much higher. Most fatalities were in Benghazi, a region where Gadhafi’s grip has always been weaker than elsewhere in the oil-producing desert nation. …

Gadhafi’s regime has unleashed the bloodiest crackdown of any Arab country against the wave of protests sweeping the region, which toppled the leaders of Egypt and Tunisia. …

Full story

Video

Violence in Libya, nearing civil war (NBC “Today,” Feb. 21, 2011) — Violence in Libya has broken out in the capitol city of Tripoli and Libyan leader Moammar Gaddafi’s son said the country is on the brink of civil war. NBC’s Stephanie Gosk reports. (02:57)

——

Related reports on this site

Middle East Protests Spread to Iraq (Feb. 16, 2011)

Protests Sweep Middle East (Feb. 14, 2011)

Middle East Instability Spreading (Feb. 3, 2011)

Fears of Egyptian Domino Effect (Jan. 31, 2011)

——

FROM THE ARCHIVES: One Year Ago — February 20, 2010

Bachmann Conspiracy Nation

Town Hall Face. (Photos: Landov, AP, Getty Images via Newsweek)

One year ago today, I featured a rundown of current conspiracy theories and prevalent political paranoia, with special emphasis on conspiracy-theorist-in-chief Michele Bachmann.

——

FROM THE ARCHIVES: Two Years Ago — February 20, 2009

Iraqi Shoe Hurler Goes on Trial

Video

Statue honors shoe-thrower (NBC Nightly News, Feb. 19, 2009) — The Iraqi journalist on trial for throwing his shoes at former President George W. Bush has become a hero in the Arab world. NBC’s Kianne Sadeq reports. (02:01)

Two years ago today, on Feb. 20, 2009, I reported that Muntadhar al-Zeidi, the Iraqi reporter who hurled his shoes at George W. Bush, said at his trial that President Bush’s smile as he talked about achievements in Iraq had made him think of “the killing of more than a million Iraqis, the disrespect for the sanctity of the mosques and houses, the rapes of women,” and enraged him.