The situation in Libya is becoming increasingly violent. Early Saturday morning, special forces launched a surprise attack against protesters camped out in front of the courthouse in Benghazi. "They fired tear gas on protesters in tents and cleared the areas after many fled carrying the dead and the injured," one protester said. Human Rights Watch estimates that 84 people have been killed so far. On Friday, President Muammar Qaddafi tried to appease protesters be announcing that the congress had been suspended indefinitely and many members would be replaced when it resumed. Qaddafi seems to be following Hosni Mubarak's playbook in other ways as well, as the U.S.-based Arbor Networks security company says the country’s Internet has been shut down. The BBC is reporting that the government has shut off electricity to protest areas, to try to quell rising unrest. The airport in Benghazi, the country's second largest city, has been closed, amid reports that protesters have taken it over with the help of senior army officers who switched sides to join the protesters.
In Bahrain, thousands of protesters flooded back into Pearl Square as the military withdrew Saturday. Violence has been escalating in Bahrain, with the death toll climbing to six on Friday when soldiers opened fire on protesters during a funeral march for someone killed earlier in the week. It’s unclear who exactly in Bahrain is responsible for the violent crackdown. While the king and his son are viewed as modernizers, the king’s uncle, the prime minister is in charge of security. Below is a graphic video of the army firing on peaceful protesters:
In Algeria, the AP reports that police, using clubs and not firearms, thwarted a rally by thousands of pro-democracy supporters Saturday, breaking up the crowd into isolated groups to keep them from marching. The march came on the heels of weeks of strikes and scattered protests in the North African country, which has promised to lift a 19-year state of emergency by month's end in a nod to the growing mass of disgruntled citizens.
In Yemen, riot police fired shots in the air and used tear gas against thousands of government opponents who also clashed with supporters of Yemen's longtime ruler on what protest organizers billed as a nationwide "Friday of Rage." At least four people were wounded, according to HuffPo. Riots also flared overnight in the southern port of Aden, the country's second-largest city, with police shooting to death one demonstrator after cars and a local government building were set ablaze, officials said. Tens of thousands rallied in the southern city of Taiz, a hotbed of dissent.
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