Reply #80: The Guardian: Huge demo in Benghazi; stronger clamor for NFZ

[pinboy3niner]

12.17pm:

The rebel clamour for a no-fly zone is getting stronger and stronger as armed forces loyal to Gaddafi continue to pound his opponents:

(Reuters) - A Libyan rebel who for days has been fighting off government attacks in the besieged town of Zawiyah has appealed to the world to implement a no-fly zone. Witness accounts suggest forces loyal to Gaddafi now control almost all of Zawiyah, a city on the Mediterranean Sea about 50 km (30 miles) west of Tripoli, but rebels are still fighting there.

"We do not know what is going on in the outside world. We do not have television channels or radios, we are kind of cut off from the outside world," the rebel fighter, called Ibrahim, told Reuters by telephone.

"But all we want is a no-fly zone. To ban <Gaddafi> from flying his planes. I swear to God, if this happens we will be talking to you from Bab al-Aziziyah in a week," he said, referring to Gaddafi's compound in the Libyan capital.

12.12pm:

More from Chris McGreal, who's at a huge demo in Benghazi, where "thousands upon thousands" of opposition supporters have turned out. The crowds are waving pre-Gaddafi Libyan flags — and, significantly, French tricolores.

Chris reports that rebel leaders are now calling not only for the creation of a no-fly zone, but also for air strikes to stop Gaddafi's attacks on cities such as Ras Lanuf. ....

Audio report at link:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/blog/2011/mar/11/libya-gaddafi-uprising?intcmp=239