CycleofSuppressionRisesinLibyaandElsewhereBEIRUT,Lebanon—LibyansecurityforcesmovedagainstprotestersSaturdayinBenghazi,thecountry’ssecond-largestcityandtheepicenterofthemostseriouschallengetofourdecadesofCol.Muammarel-Qaddafi’srule,oppositionleadersandresidentssaid.Thedeathtollrosetoatleast104people,mostoftheminBenghazi,HumanRightsWatchreported.MultimediaTheeventsappearedtomarkadecisiveturninfourdaysofproteststhathaveshakenLibya,aNorthAfricannationrichinoil.Bynightfall,adeadlycyclehadclearlyemergedinacitywherethousandshavegatheredinantigovernmentdemonstrations:Securityforcesfiredonfuneralmarches,killingmoreprotesters,creatingmorefunerals.Thescopeofthecrackdownwasalmostimpossibletoverifyinanisolatedcountrythatremainslargelyofflimitstoforeignjournalistsand,aspartofthegovernment’seffortstosquelchtheprotests,hasbeenperiodicallycutofffromtheInternet.ButdoctorsreachedbyAlJazeera,anArabicsatellitechannel,saiddozensandperhapshundredswerekilledandwoundedinthefighting,whichpersistedintothenight.AndaBenghaziresidentwhovisitedthehospitalsaidbye-mailthat200weredeadandnearly850wounded;ifconfirmed,thatwouldsubstantiallyraisethedeathtollbyHumanRightsWatch,whichreportedatleast20peoplekilledSaturday.“Itistoolatefordialoguenow,”saidaBenghaziresidentwhohastakenpartinthedemonstrationsbutrefusedtobenamed.“Toomuchbloodhasbeenshed.Themorebrutalthecrackdownwillbe,themoredeterminedtheprotesterswillbecome.”“Wedon’ttrusttheregimeanymore,”hesaidinaphoneinterview.ThegovernmentresponseinLibyaunderlinedanunintendedconsequenceofthesuccessofuprisingsinTunisiaandEgypt,whereprotestspouringintothestreetsdayafterdayforcedthedepartureoflong-servingauthoritarianleaders.InLibya,YemenandAlgeria,thegovernmentshavequicklyresortedtoviolencetocrushunrestbeforeitgathersmomentumthatmightthreatentheirgriponpower.AdayofantigovernmentmarchesinYemen,theArabworld’spoorestcountry,tookaviolentturnasgovernmentsupportersopenedfireonagroupopposingthe31-yearruleofPresidentAliAbdullahSaleh,woundingatleastfourpeople.AndhundredsofpoliceofficersintheAlgeriancapital,Algiers,usedclubstooverwhelmantigovernmentdemonstrators.ThecrackdowninLibyahasproventhebloodiestoftherecentgovernmentactions,drawingcriticismfromtheUnitedStatesandEuropeanallies.InLondon,ForeignMinisterWilliamHaguesaidhehadreportsthatheavyweaponsfireandsniperunitswerebeingusedagainstprotests,organizedinahalf-dozencitiesormore.“Thisisclearlyunacceptableandhorrifying,”hesaidinastatement.Earlierintheday,thousandshadreturnedtothecourthouseinBenghazi.IdrisAhmedal-Agha,aLibyanwriterreachedbytelephone,saidthecrowdhadgrowntomorethan20,000bymidday—anaccountconfirmedbyothers—withmanyofthepeoplethereplanningtotakepartinfuneralmarchestoburydozensofpeoplekilledadaybefore.OppositionWebsitesreportedthatsecurityforceslaterfiredonsomeofthemourners.Onesite,AlManara,saidsnipersfiredfromanarmybasethatsitsontheroutetothecemetery,andavideopostedonaFacebookpagethathascompiledimagesfromtheprotestsshowedamarchcomingunderfire,withatleastonemanshotinthehead.Doctorshavesaidthatmostofthedeadhavesufferedgunshots.“ItseemsthatsecurityforcesinLibyadonotfeeltherearelimitsonhowfartheycangoinsuppressingprotests,”saidHebaMorayef,aresearcherforHumanRightsWatchinCairowhohasbeenincontactwithresidentsanddoctorsinBenghazi.ThegovernmenthasviewedthesituationinBenghaziassoprecariousthatColonelQadda...
