The Libyan military launched a brutal campaign against protesters yesterday, killing at least 24, according to Human Rights Watch. “According to multiple witnesses, Libyan security forces shot and killed demonstrators in efforts to disperse the protests,” the group said. The worst violence appeared to be in the eastern city of Benghazi where today thousands more took to the streets, al Jazeera reports, adding that the funerals of those killed could serve as catalysts for even more intense demonstrations later today.
Yesterday was intended as a “Day of Rage” in Libya, and protests broke out in at least five cities. Meanwhile Moammar Gadhafi held his own demonstration in the capitol of Tripoli, the New York Times reports. The Colonel himself made an appearance in what he’s calling his “revolution,” even though he’s an entrenched dictator wielding absolute authority over the media and military. There were also reports of anti-government protests in the city. (More Moammar Gadhafi stories.)