(CNN) -- Wedged between two countries where decades-long regimes toppled under relentless demonstrations, protesters in Libya hope to accomplish what Egypt and Tunisia has and oust their ruler of 42 years. But the country's fate hanged precariously Monday after the son of longtime leader Moammar Gadhafi warned of a chaotic civil war if citizens side with anti-government demonstrators.
The unrest -- spurred in part by demands for freedom and angst over high unemployment -- has left at least 233 people dead in Libya, according to Human Rights Watch, citing information from hospital sources.
CNN is not able to independently confirm the figure, as the network has not been granted access to report on the ground. But CNN has been in communication with medics and eyewitnesses in Libya, whose accounts corroborate closely with information from Human Rights Watch.
Early Monday, sporadic gunfire continued to ring out in parts of the North African nation, albeit a far cry from the tumult seen Sunday when the unrest came to Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi's doorstep in the capital Tripoli for the first time.
Monday morning, about 500 rioters stormed a South Korean-operated construction site near Tripoli, wounding 17 workers and causing a stand-off with police, the South Korean foreign ministry said.
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A few hour earlier, Gadhafi's second-oldest son proposed the speedy implementation of significant democratic reforms in the traditionally restrictive country while warning of a civil war, return to colonialism and mass poverty if opposition protests continue.
"We can speak rationally, we can spare the blood, we can stand all together for the sake of Libya," Saif al-Islam Gadhafi said on Libyan state television. But if the unrest continues, "forget about democracy, forget about reform ... It will be a fierce civil war."
The younger Gadhafi criticized international media for overstating the extent of the violence but acknowledged "mistakes" by police and military in addressing the unrest. Still, he principally blamed drunks, criminals and foreigners for fanning dissent and instigating attacks that threatened to tear apart Libya.
It was not certain why Saif Gadhafi spoke instead of his father.
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. However, CNN has interviewed numerous witnesses by phone.
Saif Gadhafi accused anti-government elements of "sedition."
"This is a national treason," he said. "Each one of us wants to be a leader; each one of us wants to be a prince."
Unlike in Tunisia and Egypt, where demonstrators proclaimed a stance of nonviolence, some anti-government protesters in Libya set fire to cars and tried to breach a military camp, according to witnesses.
Saif Gadhafi, appointed in 2009 as Libya's general coordinator, insisted his father, Moammar, was not like recently deposed Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and Tunisian President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali.
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He also said Libya was unlike those two countries, predicting that its civil war would be "1,000 times worse" and its economic hardship even more severe should the current government fall.
He conceded these are "difficult times" and that "there are people inside Libya who are opposing us."
Even while he cast blame, Saif Gadhafi also acknowledged changing times regionally and proposed "radical" reforms -- like bolstering local governments, relaxing restrictive laws, raising salaries, extending loans and drafting a constitution, which doesn't now exist.
Michele Dunne ofthe Carnegie Endowment for Peace, noted that the Western-educated Saif Gadhifi has pushed such reforms previously, but they have not gotten much traction.
Saif Gadhafi claimed in his speech that international media had overstated the death toll. He also claimed foreign nationals and "illegal immigrants" had stirred the uprising, with some dissenters attacking government installations as well as stealing caches of weapons.
On Sunday, the central government apparently lost control of Benghazi, with multiple witnesses reporting that protesters took over the city with support from some military who dropped their allegiance to Moammar Gadhafi.
"Benghazi is free from the tyrant," a protester said. "Hopefully the whole country will be free of him."
The witnesses are not being identified for security reasons.
However, Saif Gadhafi continued to insist the military remained loyal to the ruling government and would be taking an increasingly active role in suppressing unrest in the coming days.
One man told CNN that uniformed troops opened fire on thousands of mourners as they passed through the streets during a funeral procession honoring those killed the previous day.
Later Sunday, protesters packed at least one car with explosives and sent it crashing into a compound wall at a military camp in the eastern city, eyewitnesses said. Security forces then fired on the protesters as they attempted to breach the camp.
On the camp's southern side, meanwhile, protesters drove a tank from a nearby army base in another attempt to break in, witnesses said. They have also obtained other weapons, the protester said.
Libyan state television reported the camp has been defended, and that protesters were being warned on loudspeakers not to attack the compound. The network called it an act of sabotage.
The protester said that the military camp is significant because it houses Gadhafi's eastern palace.
A protester said some fellow anti-government demonstrators had other weapons. Saif Gadhafi alluded to this claim in his speech early Monday, claiming criminal elements had stolen weaponry and even fired them in an attempt to cast blame on military and security forces.
One 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 since the protests began Tuesday.
"There are a lot of people getting killed for their freedom," he said Sunday. "Our goal is simple: We want Gadhafi to leave. We want freedom. ... We want democracy."
Meanwhile, the most significant unrest to date hit Tripoli on Sunday.
Clashes broke out between a large crowd of demonstrators and people who appeared to be mercenaries in the center of the city, according to an activist.
A witness said crowds of anti-government demonstrators hit the streets and set cars on fire.
Masked, armed men in sports utility vehicles drove through the streets blasting pro-government music, said the witness, claiming that the same people had been firing at protesters and passerby.
Gunfire also rang out near Green Square and the presidential palace, according to multiple witnesses. Another man said that men were walking around Libya's streets with automatic rifles early Monday, firing seemingly indiscriminately.
The crackdown, as well as the government's role and reaction to it, stoked the ire of many opposed to Moammar Gadhafi as well as governments outside Libya.
Libya's ambassador to the Arab League said Sunday he resigned his position on Saturday over "the killing of innocent people." Abdel Elhuni said the protesters are asking for "normal things" and that Gadhafi is "over, finished." He speculated that the Libyan leader has only a day or two left in power because "he lost the people."
British Foreign Secretary William Hague spoke on Sunday with Saif Gadhafi and "made clear the U.K.'s grave concern at the escalation of violence," the Foreign Office said in a statement. "He expressed alarm at reports of large numbers of people being killed or attacked by Libyan security forces."
The United States also said it was "gravely concerned with disturbing reports and images coming out of Libya."
U.S. officials have communicated to Libyan officials including Libyan Foreign Minister Musa Kusa "our strong objections to the use of lethal force against peaceful demonstrators," State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said. "Libyan officials have stated their commitment to protecting and safeguarding the right of peaceful protest. We call upon the Libyan government to uphold that commitment and hold accountable any security officer who does not act in accordance with that commitment."
One man in Tripoli said was particularly angry at state-run TV for "pretending that nothing is happening." A medical staff member at Benghazi Medical Center was among those sharply critical of Saif Gaddhafi's speech, calling him a liar and disputing his assertion that Libya could split into several parts if not united under his father's rule.
"There are no divisions among Libyans," the staff member said. "We want to be united with our brothers and sisters ... All Libyans think this way, it is the regime that lacks knowledge about the people."
Source : http://edition.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/africa/02/21/libya.protests/index.html?hpt=T1
