Libyan leader’s son warns of bloody civil war

PanARMENIAN.Net - Libyan leader Moamer Gadhafi's son warned that the country faces a bloody civil war if protesters refuse to accept reform offers, in a speech broadcast as gunfire rang out in the capital.

Saif al-Islam Gadhafi condemned the unprecedented uprising against his father's 41-year rule as a foreign plot, but admitted mistakes were made in a brutal crackdown and urged citizens to build a "new Libya".

"Libya is at a crossroads. If we do not agree today on reforms, we will not be mourning 84 people, but thousands of deaths, and rivers of blood will run through Libya," he said.

Heavy gunfire broke out in central Tripoli and several city areas Feb 21 for the first time since the anti-regime uprising began in eastern Libya, AFP reports.

Witnesses reported clashes in Tripoli's downtown Green Square between protesters and Gadhafi supporters. A witness in the working-class Gurgi area said security forces fired tear gas to disperse protesters.

According to Human Rights Watch, at least 173 people have died in Libya since the anti-regime protests broke out on February 15.

"This is an opposition movement, a separatist movement which threatens the unity of Libya," Gadhafi said. "We will take up arms . . . we will fight to the last bullet," he said. "We will destroy seditious elements. If everybody is armed, it is civil war, we will kill each other."

"Libya is not Egypt, it is not Tunisia," he said, adding that attempts at another "Facebook revolution" will be resisted.