Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi’s son, Saif al-Islam, has warned that civil war could hit the country.
His comments came in a lengthy TV address to the nation broadcast as anti-government protests spread to the capital Tripoli, BBC online reports Monday.
He offered significant political reforms, and admitted that the police and army had made “mistakes”, but said the death toll was lower than reported.
The speech will “redouble the determination of Libyans to get rid of the regime. They know they face fearful retribution (hævn/gengældelse) should Col Gaddafi somehow hang on to power, a BBC correspondent said.
Human Rights Watch says at least 233 people have died since last Thursday in the North African country.
On Sunday evening, witnesses spoke of tear gas and live ammunition being used against protesters by the security forces. A man who attended a rally in Tripoli’s central Green Square said snipers on rooftops had fired indiscriminately into the crowd using what sounded like machine guns.
– People were shot in the head and in the back. I have now taken refuge in my home. I am afraid to leave. There is a climate of fear, he told the BBC.
In the hours before Saif Gaddafi’s speech was broadcast, crowds in Tripoli could be heard chanting slogans calling for the toppling of the regime. Muammar Gaddafi has ruled his country for more than 40 years.
