17 killed in deadly attack on Libyan city of Zawiya
Almaty. February 25. Kazakhstan Today - 17 people have been killed and 150 wounded in a deadly government forces attack on a Libyan city of Zawiya, Kazakhstan Today reports.
Doctors at a field hospital in Martyrs Square in Zawiya said Friday that 17 people were killed and another 150 were wounded when government forces attacked the city. They predicted the death toll would rise by morning, CNN reported.
Six pro-regime soldiers who were captured said they had been told that the city was being run by Arab militants and it was their job to liberate it, according to the doctors, who asked not to be identified. The soldiers added that they had been misled so that they would fight against their countrymen, the doctors said.
By the end of the day, the situation was calm in the seaside city, they said.
The casualties were announced shortly after Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi accused followers of al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden of brainwashing the youth of Zawiya with hallucinogenic drugs, resulting in the unrest.
"They put it with milk or with other drinks, spiked drinks," he said. After taking the tablets, "they attack this police station or that one so they can steal from there the criminal records."
He pleaded with the protesters' mothers to track them down in the streets of the coastal town about 55 kilometers (about 35 miles) west of Tripoli and take them home.
He added that he had ordered an end to the violence there, but his order upset his security forces.
Addressing the people of Zawiya, he sent condolences to the families of the dead and wounded. "These are our children," he said. "We are quite upset about the senseless loss of lives."
Zawiya's residents are free to do as they like, though there will be consequences, he said. "If you want to pit against one another, then it's up to you," he said. "But the borders of the city will be sealed in order to stop it from spreading elsewhere."
Gadhafi said Libya has peaceful ways for its citizens to address their grievances. "We are not like Egypt or Tunisia," he said, referring to two countries that have ousted their leaders in recent weeks. "Here, the authority is in the hands of the people. You can change your authority, just make committees. And if you think they are corrupt, take them to court. Prosecute them."
In an apparent allusion to calls for government officials to be held accountable for violence against Libyan civilians, Gadhafi said it is bin Laden who should be prosecuted. "He's responsible for any acts of murder or sabotage," Gadhafi said.
He accused foreigners of fomenting the discontent. "These acts cannot happen by Libyan men," he said. "No Libyan of any background would go into this, join these acts of sabotage."
Some of the people involved in the opposition, he said, were detained by the United States in Guantanamo.
Ten days into protests that have resulted in his loss of control of eastern Libya and led members of his government to defect, Gadhafi faced new international pressure Thursday. Switzerland ordered that his assets, and those of his entourage, be frozen, the Swiss Foreign Ministry said.
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