Saif Gadhafi: A strategic war exists over oil refineries in eastern Libya<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Tripoli, Libya (CNN)<\/b> — As Libya moves toward civil war, reports of violence and casualties continue to mount between forces loyal to longtime leader Moammar Gadhafi and rebel fighters who refuse to let up until Gadhafi’s rule ends. <\/p>\n
The unrest entered a 19th day Saturday with no clear answer on who controls the contested city of Zawiya and how many more lives will be lost before either side relents. <\/p>\n
Saif al-Islam Gadhafi, one of Gadhafi’s sons who has spoken on behalf of his father’s regime in recent days, told CNN’s Nic Robertson late Friday that the country is not in a civil war — but says the “armed militia” — or opposition — are trying to drag the country into a civil war. <\/p>\n
“Civil war means everybody is fighting everybody,” Saif Gadhafi said. “Here in Libya, it’s the government against armed militia. And they are 200, 300 — even 1,000. We are 6 million.”<\/p>\n
The younger Gadhafi did say a strategic war exists over oil refineries in eastern Libya. <\/p>\n
“The militia wants to control the oil,” he said. <\/p>\n
But reports in different parts of Libya indicated pro-Gadhafi crews initiated attacks on anti-government protesters.<\/p>\n
“Indescribable” violence rippled through the city of Zawiya on Friday, according to a witness who said pro-government forces gunned down peaceful protesters there.<\/p>\n
The witness said battalions of forces loyal to Gadhafi attacked protesters with mortars and machine guns as they were demonstrating in the city’s Martyrs Square. The witness also said the forces assaulted an ambulance, killing its occupants.<\/p>\n
“We buried nine people so far,” the witness said. “The attack was indescribable. Direct gunfire was opened on people.”<\/p>\n
Conflicting reports surfaced of who controlled the city, which lies just west of the capital city of Tripoli.<\/p>\n
People in Zawiya 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.”<\/p>\n
However, the witness said protesters retained some control inside the city, which security forces were surrounding.<\/p>\n
“They (Gadhafi’s forces) haven’t been in control and they never were in control,” said one rebel fighter, who said his forces lost seven men in fighting in Zawiya on Friday. He said were some 20 casualties among government fighters. Referring to Gadhafi, he said, “All the man has left is his lies.”<\/p>\n
At least 15 people died and 200 others were wounded in Zawiya, according to one doctor, who said there was “a river of blood” at the hospital where the wounded were being treated. “The situation is very bad,” he said, adding that the facility was short of medical supplies.<\/p>\n
The doctor said the wounded started arriving at the hospital Friday morning, and most of the wounds were from gunshots.<\/p>\n
The protests in Libya 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.<\/p>\n
Witnesses said anti-government protesters hid journalists in abandoned buildings and helped move them from location to location so that they could report firsthand in safety.<\/p>\n
In the eastern city of Ras Lanuf, forces loyal to Gadhafi fought with opposition members Friday, opposition fighters and commanders said.<\/p>\n
CNN’s Ben Wedeman described seeing truckloads of people “organizing themselves in a rather haphazard way” and headed toward the front with no command-and-control structure.” “It’s complete chaos, really,” Wedeman said.<\/p>\n
Such clashes have spurred throngs of people to flee the country. The number of people trying to leave the country has declined in recent days, however, as heavily armed government forces have intensified their presence at the Tunisian border and on roads leading up to it, the United Nations refugee agency said Friday.<\/p>\n
“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.<\/p>\n
Roughly 15,000 people had been crossing the border every day, but that number plunged to fewer than 2,000 per day on Thursday and Friday. In all, about 200,000 people have fled Libya, according to the International Organization for Migration, which has been working with the U.N. refugee agency on mass evacuations.<\/p>\n
A doctor in the northwestern town of Misrata said the town was attacked by forces loyal to Gadhafi. <\/p>\n
“We are holding our city, we are trying to protect our city,” the doctor told CNN 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.”<\/p>\n
At least 40 people were killed in the city and 300 wounded, the doctor said.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Musa Ibrahim, a spokesman for Gadhafi’s regime, has denied reports of attacks on peaceful protesters and military installations.<\/p>\n
In his interview with CNN, Saif Gadhafi said reforms will not begin until the “militias” in the east have been defeated.<\/p>\n
He called international efforts to persuade his father to give up power “a big mistake,” and said his father remains a popular figure in the country.<\/p>\n
“Even if we were to hold tomorrow an election, my father would win with a big majority,” he said.<\/p>\n
Gadhafi’s aerial attacks have prompted the West to step up discussions about imposing a no-fly zone over the country.<\/p>\n
U.S. military and diplomatic officials have said enacting a no-fly zone would be complicated and risky, and international support is not strong.<\/p>\n
“If it’s ordered, we can do it,” Defense Secretary Robert Gates said earlier this week, but imposing a no-fly zone “begins with an attack on Libya to destroy the air defenses.”<\/p>\n
Analysts said the Iraq war has prompted nations to be more cautious.<\/p>\n
“We went into Iraq with a very dubious understanding of the situation on the ground,” Christopher Hill, a former U.S. ambassador to Iraq, told CNN. “So I think there is some concern about whether refugee reports are entirely accurate in a sort of macro sense.”<\/p>\n
He added, “I think what (U.S. President Barack Obama) 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.”<\/p>\n
The Arab League has rejected international intervention, saying Libya is facing “an internal affair that is decided by the people and their governments.”<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
The United Nations has proved to be a sore point for the Libyan government. On Friday, the United Nations said it was studying Libya’s request to install a more loyal diplomat as its ambassador.<\/p>\n
A letter from Libya’s government asked that former Foreign Minister Ali Abdussalam Treki be approved as its envoy. Treki would replace Mohamed Shalgham as ambassador in New York.<\/p>\n
Shalgham and his deputy, Ibrahim Dabbashi, have denounced Gadhafi and requested that he stop leading Libya.<\/p>\n
A separate letter from Libya to the United Nations demanded that Shalgham and Dabbashi be denied the right to speak for Libya. In emotional scenes last week, the New York-based ambassadors were hugged by fellow ambassadors after the Libyans criticized Gadhafi and pleaded in the Security Council chamber for international assistance to the country.<\/p>\n
U.N. spokesman Martin Nesirky said the situation “is complicated” and that the world body’s legal office was looking into the dueling diplomats’ situation.<\/p>\n
The International Criminal Court said Thursday that Gadhafi and some of his sons and advisers are under investigation for alleged crimes against humanity.<\/p>\n
CNN’s Nic Robertson, Ben Wedeman, Jill Dougherty and <\/b>Salma Abdelaziz contributed to this report<\/b><\/p>\n
\n<\/div>\n<\/p>\n
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The unrest entered a 19th day Saturday with no clear answer on who controls the contested city of Zawiya and how many more lives will be lost before either side relents.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@ghanamma\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@ghanamma\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"7 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/03\/05\/reports-of-violence-escalate-as-libya-moves-toward-civil-war\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/03\/05\/reports-of-violence-escalate-as-libya-moves-toward-civil-war\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"\",\"@id\":\"\"},\"headline\":\"Reports of violence escalate as Libya moves toward civil war\",\"datePublished\":\"2011-03-05T07:48:35+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/03\/05\/reports-of-violence-escalate-as-libya-moves-toward-civil-war\/\"},\"wordCount\":1422,\"commentCount\":0,\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/03\/05\/reports-of-violence-escalate-as-libya-moves-toward-civil-war\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/03\/05\/reports-of-violence-escalate-as-libya-moves-toward-civil-war\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/03\/05\/reports-of-violence-escalate-as-libya-moves-toward-civil-war\/\",\"name\":\"Reports of violence escalate as Libya moves toward civil war - Ghanamma.com\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2011-03-05T07:48:35+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/03\/05\/reports-of-violence-escalate-as-libya-moves-toward-civil-war\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/\",\"name\":\"Ghanamma.com\",\"description\":\"News In Ghana - Latest Ghana News Headlines\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Reports of violence escalate as Libya moves toward civil war - Ghanamma.com","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/03\/05\/reports-of-violence-escalate-as-libya-moves-toward-civil-war\/","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_title":"Reports of violence escalate as Libya moves toward civil war - Ghanamma.com","twitter_description":"STORY HIGHLIGHTS Rebel fighter on Moammar Gadhafi: \"All the man has left is his lies\" Saif Gadhafi says his father is popular and would win election by a big majority A witness says pro-Gadhafi forces shot protesters with machine guns Saif Gadhafi: A strategic war exists over oil refineries in eastern Libya Tripoli, Libya (CNN) -- As Libya moves toward civil war, reports of violence and casualties continue to mount between forces loyal to longtime leader Moammar Gadhafi and rebel fighters who refuse to let up until Gadhafi's rule ends. 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