Libya state TV, public buildings attacked

21 February, 2011 11:55

Libya state TV, public buildings attacked

Libyan protesters have raided the country’s state TV headquarters and torched the central government building as well as police stations in the capital Tripoli.”The headquarters of Al-Jamahiriya Two television and Al-Shababia radio have been sacked,” AFP quoted a witness as saying on Monday.

Other witnesses are quoted to have said that the protesters set the People’s Committee offices and police stations ablaze.In Benghazi, Libya, thousands of people have taken to the streets since last week, calling for the ouster of the 68-year-old Libyan ruler Muammar Gaddafi, who has been in office since September 1969.

The Libyan regime has brutally cracked down on protesters, and has opened fire with machine guns, as well as sniper fire, killing at least 233 people according to the Human Rights Watch.

The repression became bloodier on Sunday when security forces opened fire on thousands of people who had gathered to mourn for those killed on Saturday clashes in Benghazi.

The human rights group Amnesty International has urged the Libyan government to stop its crackdown on peaceful demonstrations.

Gaddafi’s son, Seif al-Islam, has warned against an ominous civil war in the North African country amidst Libya’s popular uprising.

“Libya is at a crossroads. If we do not agree today on reforms, we will not be mourning 84 people, but thousands of deaths, and rivers of blood will run through Libya,” Saif al-Islam Gaddafi said in a televised speech on Sunday.

He accused the factions of attempting to stir chaos in the country and offered dialog and the establishment of local governments in a bid to quell the nationwide uprising.