‘Indescribable’ violence reported in Zawiya

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Tripoli, Libya (CNN) — “Indescribable” and deadly violence rippled through the Libyan city of Zawiya on Friday, according to a witness who said pro-government forces gunned down peaceful protesters.

The eyewitness said battalions of forces loyal to Moammar Gadhafi attacked the protesters with mortars and machine guns as they were demonstrating in the city’s Martyrs Square, and they assaulted an ambulance and killed people who fell wounded.

“Civilians were killed but we can not say how many. We buried nine people so far,” the witness said. “The attack was indescribable. Direct gunfire was opened on people.”

It is unclear who has control of the city.

People in Zawiya, west of Tripoli, and “their public leadership have secured and took control over the city from the ‘armed terrorist elements,'” state TV reported. Libyan government spokesman Majid al- Dursi told CNN that “Zawiya has been captured, Zawiya has been liberated.”

However, the eyewitness said protesters have some control inside the city, even though security forces have been surrounding Zawiya.

At least 15 people died and 200 others were injured in the city, according to one doctor, who said “there is a river of blood” at the hospital where the wounded are being treated. He said “the situation is very bad,” with the facility running out of medical supplies.

It is not clear if the casualties stem from the Martyrs Square confrontation. The doctor said wounded people started arriving at the hospital Friday morning, and most of the wounds are from gunshots.

This is the latest of several confrontations that have convulsed the oil-rich North African nation and sparked an exodus of refugees.

In Tripoli, the Libyan capital, security forces dispersed protesters with tear gas and rubber bullets, witnesses said.

The confrontation happened after weekly prayers in the Tajura neighborhood. Witnesses said flatbed trucks full of gunmen drove through the streets and used the tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse crowds.

Government officials won’t allow CNN into Tajura but CNN saw a heavy police and armed security presence on the outskirts of the neighborhood. Those forces were searching cars along the Corniche, a main street in the city, and were controlling routes.

Protesters hoped to march from the Corniche to the center of the city but were unable to do so.

Witnesses said anti-government supporters in the neighborhood hid journalists in abandoned buildings and moved them around to keep them safe and allow them to report.

Near Green Square in the center of the city, anti-government protesters emerged from a mosque to find pro-government supporters outside. Police intervened and fired shots in the air to stop a confrontation, and ushered the anti-government protesters back into the mosque for their safety.

In the eastern city of Ras Lanuf, meanwhile, forces loyal to Gadhafi fought with opposition members Friday, opposition fighters and commanders said.

Large thuds were heard in the distance, indicating heavy fighting around the city of Ras Lanuf itself. More opposition forces arriving heading to the front line.

Such clashes have spurred throngs of people to flee the country. The number of people trying to leave the country has declined, however, as heavily armed government forces intensified their presence on the Tunisian border and on roads leading up to it, the United Nations’ refugee agency said Friday.

“We are concerned that the presence of the forces and the large drop in evacuees could mean that people are being prevented from leaving,” said Sybella Wilkes, a spokeswoman for the Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees.

Roughly 15,000 people had been crossing the border every day, but Thursday and Friday that number plunged to less than 2,000 each day. In all, 200,000 people have fled the escalating violence in Libya, according to the International Organization for Migration, which has been working with the U.N. refugee agency on mass evacuations.

Some of those crossing the border told CNN that their mobile phones and cameras had been confiscated by government forces in Tripoli. Many appeared frightened.

A majority of those fleeing are Egyptians who had been working in Libya. But the foreign workers also include citizens of other nations including Bangladesh, Thailand, Vietnam, Sudan, Ghana and Mali.

Closer to the Egyptian border, about 8,000 foreigners awaited evacuation in the eastern city of Benghazi. They included Eritreans, Ethiopians and Somalis, according to the refugee agency.

“They appear to have gathered spontaneously and are camping together for security as they await,” refugee agency spokeswoman Melissa Fleming said in a statement.

She said most of those people will be evacuated in the next two days.

Another 110,000 people inside Libya have been affected by the crisis, the International Committee of the Red Cross said Friday. It sounded an appeal for $26 million to help both those inside the country and the thousands who have poured into Tunisia.

The agency said it will use the money for food, water, medical care, sanitation and hygiene items.

Meanwhile, a doctor on the northwestern town of Misrata said it was attacked by forces loyal to the long-term ruler. The assailants fired at doctors and ambulances, the doctor said.

“We are holding our city, we are trying to protect our city,” the doctor told CNN’s “AC360” early Friday.

“We are doing our job in the hospital and trying to treat everybody. This morning, they shot at our ambulances. One of them exploded … they shot at our doctors.”

At least 40 people were killed in the city and 300 suffered gunshot wounds to the head and chest, the doctor said.

While CNN has staff in some cities, the network cannot independently confirm reports for many areas in Libya. CNN has gathered information through telephone interviews with witnesses.

Musa Ibrahim, a spokesman for Gadhafi’s regime, has denied reports of attacks on peaceful protesters and military installations.

As the attacks have escalated in the past few days, U.S. military aircraft and French charter jets scrambled to evacuate tens of thousands from the north African nation.

In Washington, President Barack Obama said he has approved the use of U.S. military aircraft to help Egyptians who have fled the unrest to return home. He said he authorized the U.S. Agency for International Development to charter additional planes.

“Tens of thousands of people from many different countries are fleeing Libya, and we commend the governments of Tunisia and Egypt for their response, even as they go through their own political transitions,” Obama said.

The Pentagon has announced the dispatching of two planes carrying humanitarian supplies to Tunisia on Friday afternoon, but they are not yet cleared to bring refugees out. The effort, called Operation Odyssey Dawn, said the planes are carrying in blankets, rolls of sheeting and water cans.

Gadhafi’s use of aerial attacks have prompted the West to step up discussions about imposing a no-fly zone over the country.

U.S. military and diplomatic officials have said enacting a no-fly zone would be complicated and risky, and international support is not strong.

“If it’s ordered, we can do it,” Defense Secretary Robert Gates said, but imposing a no-fly zone “begins with an attack on Libya to destroy the air defenses.”

The United States is exploring a “full range” of options, Obama said Thursday.

Analysts said the Iraq war has prompted nations to be more cautious.

“We went into Iraq with a very dubious understanding of the situation on the ground,” Christopher Hill, a former U.S. ambassador to Iraq, said on “AC 360.” “So I think there is some concern about whether refugee reports are entirely accurate in a sort of macro sense.”

He added, “I think what the president is trying to do is to try to build diplomatic support and see where we can go with this. And I think it would be highly problematic if he just jumped into something.”

The Arab League has rejected foreign intervention, saying Libya is facing “an internal affair that is decided by the people and their governments.”

But the league cannot ignore the suffering of civilians and would consider the imposition of a no-fly zone in coordination with the African Union if fighting were to continue, said Hisham Yousef, chief of staff of the Arab League.

The protests have left more than 1,000 people dead and many more injured, according to the United Nations. Libya’s ambassador to the United States has estimated that the death toll was about 2,000.

The International Criminal Court said Thursday that Gadhafi and some of his sons and advisers are under investigation for alleged crimes against humanity.

Venezuela’s president has said Gadhafi is receptive to the idea of an international commission coming to the country. The two heads of state spoke this week.

“I consulted with him. I asked him if he was willing to accept a commission of countries,” Hugo Chavez said on state-run VTV Thursday night.

CNN’s Nic Robertson, Ben Wedeman, Catherine E. Shoichet and Salma Abdelaziz contributed to this report