Death Toll from Escalating Unrest in Libya Tops 200 - Doctor

Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, who has been ruling the country for 42 years, has ordered a crackdown on protesters. Photo by EPA/BGNES

At least 200 people have been killed in Libya since anti-government rallies erupted on Wednesday and the Libyan leader ordered a crackdown on protesters, according to a local doctor.

The doctor in Benghazi, who spoke to Al Jazeera on condition of anonymity because he fears reprisal, said his hospital is out of supplies and cannot treat more than 70 wounded who were hit in the attacks and need attention.

"I am crying," the doctor said. "Why is the world not listening?"

New York City-based Human Rights Watch said earlier on Sunday that it now estimated at least 104 people had died in the unrest, though it called that figure "conservative".

Witnesses in Benghazi, Libya's second-largest city, tell Al Jazeera that at least 200 people have died there, with hundreds more wounded. Protests have also reportedly broken out in other cities, including Bayda, Derna, Tobruk and Misrata.

In Tripoli, the capital, supporters of the government took to the streets in large numbers, and security forces prevented large demonstrations against Muammar Gaddafi's 42-year reign.

Against this backdrop of violence, opposition groups said around 50 Libyan Muslim leaders have urged security forces to stop killing civilians.

"This is an urgent appeal from religious scholars, intellectuals, and clan elders from Tripoli, Bani Walid, Zintan, Jadu, Msalata, Misrata, Zawiah, and other towns and villages of the western area," the appeal signed by the group of leaders said.

"We appeal to every Muslim, within the regime or assisting it in any way, to recognize that the killing of innocent human beings is forbidden by our Creator and by His beloved Prophet of Compassion (peace be upon him) ... Do NOT kill your brothers and sisters. STOP the massacre NOW!"

The deaths came amid claims that a military brigade in Benghazi had fallen to the people. The doctor in Benghazi told Al Jazeera that protesters stormed the building on Saturday.

Ahmed, a Benghazi businessman who also gave only his first name, said hospitals in the city were overwhelmed with the number of dead and injured and were running out of blood.

"It's a big, big massacre. We've never heard of anything like this before. It's horrible," he said.

"The shooting is still taking place right now. We're about three kilometers away from it, and we saw this morning army troops coming into the city. You can hear the shooting now. They don't care about us."

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