Libya: Death toll from escalating unrest 'tops 100'

Footage has emerged purportedly showing unrest in several parts of Libya

At least 104 people have been killed in Libya since anti-government protests erupted on Wednesday, the campaign group Human Rights Watch says.

It said the figure included at least 20 people who died when troops reportedly used heavy weapons in the second city, Benghazi, on Saturday.
The group said its estimates were conservative.
Thousands of people in the east of the country have been protesting against Col Muammar Gaddafi's 42-year rule.
Libya is one of several Arab countries to have experienced pro-democracy demonstrations since the fall of long-time Tunisian President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali in January. Egypt's Hosni Mubarak was forced from power on 11 February.

• Colonel Muammar Gaddafi has led since 1969
• Population 6.5m; land area 1.77m sq km
• Population with median age of 24.2, and a literacy rate of 88%
• Gross national income per head: $12,020 (World Bank 2009)

Reports are difficult to verify as Libyan authorities have not allowed foreign journalists into the country.

In Benghazi - the main focus of the unrest - violence escalated on Saturday, when a funeral procession for victims of previous violence made its way past a major security compound.

Witnesses said troops used machine-guns, mortars, large-calibre weapons, and even a missile, against the mourners.

Opposition supporters said the attack was unprovoked, although security sources suggested some protesters threw firebombs at the compound.

Some described scenes of chaos as army snipers shot from the roofs of buildings and demonstrators fought back against troops on the ground.

One doctor told the BBC that 22 had died at one hospital on Saturday, and that many of the wounded were in a critical condition.

Another hospital source in the city said up to 47 people had been killed and 900 injured, most of them with gunshot wounds.

"Ninety percent of these gunshot wounds mainly in the head, the neck, the chest, mainly in the heart," she told the BBC.

Medical staff are said to be running out of blood and supplies, with the staff exhausted from dealing with the stream of casualties.

There are reports that Col Gaddafi's government is bringing in elite forces, as well as foreign mercenaries from sub-Saharan Africa.

Another Benghazi resident said the government compound was the only part of the town still under military control.

In an appeal sent to Reuters, a group of religious and clan leaders from across Libya urged "every Muslim, within the regime" or anyone helping it: "Do NOT kill your brothers and sisters, STOP the massacre NOW!"

There have been reports of anti-government protests in other eastern cities, including al-Bayd and Dernah, as well as Misrata further west, about 200km (125 miles) from the capital Tripoli.

There is no sign of major unrest in Tripoli, Col Gaddafi's main power base.

Nini/bbc