CNN: Thousands of mourners, some carrying coffins above their heads, crowded into the streets of Benghazi, Libya, on Sunday as the protests against longtime ruler Moammar Gadhafi showed no sign of letting up.
The crowds walked as part of a funeral for several people killed in clashes that began Saturday afternoon between civilians and security forces loyal to Gadhafi, eye witnesses told CNN.
The protesters said the violent crackdown by security forces since demonstrations started last week has left them energized. The reported death toll grew quickly over the weekend, passing 180.
Two medical sources in two hospitals in Benghazi told CNN that 97 people were killed in the city since Saturday, following clashes between protesters and security forces. All those confirmed dead were wearing civilian clothing and are believed to be protesters, the sources said. Medical sources at a Misratah hospital said at least three died and 70 were wounded in clashes Saturday between security forces and anti-government protesters. Three of those injured were in critical condition, the sources said.
On Friday, Human Rights Watch said 84 people had been killed by government security forces. The group cited interviews with hospital staff and witnesses. CNN could not independently verify the numbers. Meanwhile, a doctor in Benghazi said her facility is taking on trauma patients because a trauma hospital in the city is inundated by those injured.
"All of them have been injured by bullets," said the doctor, whose identity is not being released for security reasons. She said most suffered gunshot wounds to the head, chest or neck.
Doctors at al-Jalaa hospital said there was a shortage of beds and facilities since there are only 15 operating rooms. They said the hospital is using a nearby school to store some of the dead bodies until they are transported to morgues and cemeteries. They have appealed to people to donate blankets.
People who appear to be African mercenaries circled Benghazi's security headquarters Sunday. Continued clashes took place at the gates of the Alfadeel Abu-Omar military camp in the center of the city, eyewitness said. Sporadic shooting from the camp at the civilians continued on Sunday, citizens who live near the camp told CNN.
Thousands, many of whom are lawyers, remained camped outside the city's high court chanting, "The people want to bring down the regime." Citizens spoke of a food shortage in various parts of the city. Libyans in Benghazi told CNN the internet remained down in the city and electricity was cut off for the second night in the row, but was back in the morning.
Benghazi, the North African nation's second-largest city and hub of its eastern province, was home to some of the bloodiest clashes on Saturday. Still, an anti-government demonstrator there said that despite having been barraged for days by tear gas and bullets, many of his colleagues slept outside the city's courthouse and planned another rally for Sunday afternoon.
"There are a lot of people getting killed for their freedom," the man, who was not identified for safety reasons, told CNN on Sunday. "Our goal is simple: We want Gadhafi to leave. We want freedom. We want democracy." The man, a technology expert who has set up cameras airing live online video streams around Benghazi, estimated that the numbers of anti-government demonstrators in the city has grown by 20 per cent since the protests began on Tuesday.
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.
A report from Libya's state-run JANA news agency blames "acts of sabotage and burning" on outsiders aiming to undermine the nation's stability, security and unity. The report claims that the unrest has been fomented in Libya as well as Tunisia, Morocco, Sudan, Egypt, Lebanon and Iran by an Israeli-led network of covert operatives.
Since Wednesday, authorities have arrested "dozens of foreign members of this network who were trained on starting clashes," the JANA story said, adding that the outsiders were of Tunisian, Egyptian, Sudanese, Turkish, Palestinian and Syrian descent.
Lt Col Mohammed al-Majbari, who helped lead Libyan military forces in Benghazi before deciding early this week to join the opposition, claimed that government forces - aided by mercenaries from other African countries - "caused a massacre."
"It is time for freedom," al-Majbari said. "(Gadhafi) is not a human being. A Libyan would never do this to his people. He is a dictator."
Several eyewitnesses told CNN that cars of riflemen drove past protesters, indiscriminately firing at them. A Libyan woman supportive of the protesters, who was not identified to protect her safety, told CNN that army soldiers on Saturday initially claimed solidarity with the demonstrators, only to reverse their tack and open fire on the crowd. "The soldiers said, 'We are with you.' We believed them," she said. "After that, they started shooting the people. Why? Why did they lie?"
Others in Libya reported similar protests in the cities of al-Baida, Ajdabiya and significantly in Misratah - an indication that the demonstrations centered in the east were spreading west.
A protester identified only as Moftah told CNN that Libyans, inspired by the toppling of dictators in neighboring Egypt and Tunisia, had simply had enough of Gadhafi.
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