Libyan rebels face guns and grenades

Gaddafi militia opens fire on defiant protesters as they prepare to fight for Tripoli to the death

Libyan rebels face guns and grenades

Gaddafi militia opens fire on defiant protesters as they prepare to fight for Tripoli to the death

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Libyan anti-regime demonstrators in front of a burnt police station in Tobruk yesterday. Protesters hold a caricature depicting Libyan leader Moammar Gaddafi

In rebellious cities in the east, tens of thousands held rallies in support of the first Tripoli protests in days.

In the capital's Souq al-Jomaa district, protesters came under fire from gunmen on rooftops as they tried to march to Tripoli's central Green Square, several miles away. "There are all kind of bullets," said one man in the crowd.

One witness reported seeing three protesters killed in Souq al-Jomaa, and another reported a fourth death in the district of Fashloum, where another rally was trying to march to the center. The reports could not be immediately confirmed.

Gunmen opened a hail of bullets on thousands heading toward the center from Tajoura. "We can't see where it is coming from," he said. "They don't want to stop."

The call for regime opponents to march from mosques after prayers was the first attempt to hold a major anti-Gaddafi rally.

In the morning and night before, SMS messages were sent around urging, "Let us make this Friday the Friday of liberation," residents said.

The New York-based Human Rights Watch has put the death toll in Libya at nearly 300, according to a partial count.

Asked about alternatives in the face of growing unrest, Gaddafi said, "Plan A is to live and die in Libya, Plan B is to live and die in Libya, Plan C is to live and die in Libya."

Armed young men with green armbands to show their support of Gaddafi set up checkpoints on many streets, stopping cars and searching them. Tanks and checkpoints lined the road to Tripoli's airport, witnesses said.

Several tens of thousands held a rally in support of the Tripoli protesters in the main square Benghazi. "We will not stop this rally until Tripoli is the capital again," said Omar Moussa, a demonstrator. "Libyans are all united.

Tripoli is our capital."

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