Reports: Benghazi now in the hands of Libyan protesters

Witnesses: Benghazi, Libya in hands of protesters

By the CNN Wire Staff
February 20,
STORY HIGHLIGHTS

NEW: Witnesses report protesters are aided by military who switched sides
NEW: Libya's ambassador to the Arab League resigns
Gadhafi's son will make a speech Sunday night
More than 200 people are reported killed
(CNN) -- Multiple eyewitnesses have reported that Benghazi, Libya's second-largest city, was in the hands of protesters and their military allies after several days of unrest in the nation.
Some of the military dropped allegiances to longtime Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi, according to the report.
Obtaining independent confirmation on events in Libya is very difficult. The Libyan government maintains tight control on communications and has not responded to repeated requests from CNN for access to the country. CNN has interviewed numerous witnesses by phone.

Earlier Sunday, new clashes between anti-government protesters and security forces in Libya killed another 25 people, a doctor at Benghazi's Al Jalla Hospital said, as protesters used an explosives-laden car and a tank to attack a military camp in Benghazi, according to witnesses.

The attack followed a clash between troops and marchers in a funeral procession in Benghazi. Sunday's violence brought the death toll in the recent unrest to 209. Clashes also erupted in Tripoli on Sunday, according to an activist and witnesses.

Libyan state television reported that Saif al-Islam Gadhafi,the son of Moammar Gadhafi, would give a speech Sunday night.


"Our goal is simple: We want Gadhafi to leave. We want freedom. ... We want democracy."
--Libyan protester

Thousands of mourners, some carrying coffins above their heads, crowded into Benghazi streets Sunday in a funeral procession honoring those killed Saturday. The clashes occurred as the procession passed by the Alfadeel Abu Omar military camp, where one man told CNN uniformed troops opened fire on the mourners.

"The situation is very, very grim at the moment," he told CNN. "... What we have here can only be described as genocide."

Libya's ambassador to the Arab League said Sunday he resigned his position on Saturday over "the killing of innocent people." Abdel Ehuni said the protesters are asking for "normal things" and that Gadhafi is "over, finished." He speculated that the Libyan leader has only a day or two left in power because "he lost the people."

The clashes escalated after the incident involving the funeral procession, centered around the military camp. Protesters packed at least one car with explosives Sunday and sent it crashing into a compound wall at the camp, eyewitnesses said. Security forces then fired on the protesters as they attempted to breach the camp.
On the camp's southern side, meanwhile, protesters drove a tank from a nearby army base in another attempt to break in, witnesses said. They have also obtained other weapons, the protester said. Protesters who speak to CNN are not being identified for safety reasons.
Libyan state television reported the camp was defended, and that protesters were being warned on loudspeakers not to attack the compound. The network called it an act of sabotage.

The protester who described the Benghazi fighting said the military camp is significant because it houses Gadhafi's eastern palace.
"It's a symbol of his dominance here," he said. "And it's the last symbol, basically."
He appealed to nations around the world for help, saying "The situation is extreme here."
Other nations expressed concern about the situation Sunday. British Foreign Secretary William Hague spoke on Sunday with Gadhafi's son and "made clear the U.K.'s grave concern at the escalation of violence," the Foreign Office said in a statement. "He expressed alarm at reports of large numbers of people being killed or attacked by Libyan security forces. The Foreign Secretary told Mr. Gadhafi that the Libyan government's actions were unacceptable and would result in worldwide condemnation."