W O R L D

Regimes hit back at protesters
Yemen security forces shoot protester dead
Sanaa, February 19
The Yemeni riot police shot dead a protester and injured five others today when they opened fire on thousands marching in the 10th day of unrest rocking the capital Sanaa.

Anti-government protesters shout slogans as they raise their shoes during a demonstration in Sanaa on Saturday. — Reuters

Libyan security forces storm protest camp
Cairo, February 19
Libyan special forces stormed a two-day-old protest encampment in the country’s second largest city, clearing the area early today, said witnesses, as a human rights group estimated 84 persons have died in the harsh crackdown on days of demonstrations.

Snipers fire on mourners in Libya, 1 dead
Cairo, February 19
Moammar Gaddafi’s forces fired on mourners in the eastern city of Benghazi, wiped out a protest encampment and clamped down on Internet service throughout Libya today as the regime tried to squelch calls for an end to the ruler's 42-year grip on power.

Meanwhile, police retreats in Bahrain
Manama, February 19
Anti-government protesters in Bahrain swarmed back into a symbolic square today, putting the riot police to flight in a striking victory for their cause.

Regimes hit back at protesters
Yemen security forces shoot protester dead

Algerian police thwarts pro-reform rally

Algiers: The Algerian police thwarted a rally by thousands of pro-democracy supporters on Saturday, breaking up the crowd into isolated groups in a bid to keep them from marching. The police brandishing clubs, but no firearms, weaved their way through the crowd in central Algiers, banging their shields, tackling some protesters and keeping traffic flowing through the planned march route. The new protest comes on the heels of uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt that toppled those countries’ autocratic leaders.

Crackdown coming, warns Iran

Tehran: Iran on Saturday warned of a crackdown if opposition supporters stage new rallies which they have called to mourn the deaths of two victims of recent unrest and to show support to their leaders. Websites of opposition leaders Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi have posted calls by their supporters to stage nationwide rallies on Sunday.

Libyan security forces storm protest camp

Cairo, February 19
Libyan special forces stormed a two-day-old protest encampment in the country’s second largest city, clearing the area early today, said witnesses, as a human rights group estimated 84 persons have died in the harsh crackdown on days of demonstrations.

Internet was also cut around 2 am removing one of the few ways of Libyans can get out information about the waves of anti-government protests in one of the most isolated and repressive nations in North Africa.

At 5 am, special forces attacked hundreds of protesters, including lawyers and judges, camped out in front of the courthouse in the eastern city of Benghazi, which has been a focus for the anti-government unrest.

“They fired tear gas on protesters in tents and cleared the areas after many fled carrying the dead and the injured,” one protester said over the phone from Benghazi. “This is a ghost city; we are all afraid that something big is going to happen in Benghazi today.” The protester spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal.

Thousands of protesters are calling for the removal of Moammar Gaddafi, Libya’s leader for the past 42 years, mainly in the cities of the country’s impoverished east. Their demonstrations have been brutally suppressed with a combination of armed militias and elite forces.

The New York-based Human Rights Watch estimated 84 persons have been killed across the east over the past three days, based on reports from hospitals and witnesses.

“The Libyan authorities should immediately end attacks on peaceful protesters and protect them from assault by pro-government armed groups,” the organisation said in its statement. — AP

Snipers fire on mourners in Libya, 1 dead

Cairo, February 19
Moammar Gaddafi’s forces fired on mourners in the eastern city of Benghazi, wiped out a protest encampment and clamped down on Internet service throughout Libya today as the regime tried to squelch calls for an end to the ruler's 42-year grip on power.

Libyan protesters were back on the street for the fifth straight day, but Gaddafi has taken a hard line toward the dissent that has ripped through the Middle East and swept him up with it.

Snipers fired on thousands of people gathered in Benghazi, a focal point of the unrest, to mourn 35 protesters who were shot yesterday, a hospital official said. At least one person was killed today and a dozen more shot in the head and chest, he said.

"Now we have youth coming to the hospital to donate blood," he said. "We are running out of supplies." Like most Libyans who have talked to The Associated Press during the revolt, the hospital official spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal.

Before today's violence, Human Rights Watch had estimated at least 84 persons have been killed. Just after 2 am local time in Libya, the US-based Arbor Networks security company detected a total cessation of online traffic in the North African country.

Protesters confirmed they could not get online. Information is tightly controlled in Libya, where journalists cannot work freely, and activists this week have posted videos on the Internet that have been an important source of images of the revolt.

Egyptian officials briefly tried to cut Internet service during the uprising that toppled Hosni Mubarak on February 11, but that move was unsuccessful. Libya is more isolated, however, and the Internet is one of the few links to the outside world. — AP

Meanwhile, police retreats in Bahrain