Tripoli, Libya (CNN) — “Indescribable” and deadly violence rippled through the Libyan city of Zawiya today, according to a witness who said pro-government forces gunned down peaceful protesters.
The eyewitness said battalions of forces loyal to Moammar Gaddafi attacked the protesters with mortars and machine guns as they were demonstrating in the city’s Martyrs Square, and they assaulted an ambulance and killed people who fell wounded.
“Civilians were killed but we cannot say how many. We buried nine people so far,” the witness said. “The attack was indescribable. Direct gunfire was opened on people.”
It is unclear who has control of the city.
At least 15 people have died and 200 others were injured in the city, according to one doctor, who said “there is a river of blood” at the hospital where the wounded are being treated. He said “the situation is very bad,” with the facility running out of medical supplies.
It is not clear if the casualties stem from the Martyrs Square confrontation. The doctor said wounded people started arriving at the hospital this morning, and most of the wounds were from gunshots.
This is the latest of several confrontations that have convulsed the oil-rich North African nation and sparked an exodus of refugees.
In Tripoli, the Libyan capital, security forces dispersed protesters with tear gas and rubber bullets, witnesses said.
The confrontation happened after weekly prayers in the Tajura neighbourhood. Witnesses said flatbed trucks full of gunmen drove through the streets and used the tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse crowds.
