Security forces in Libya and Yemen fired on pro-democracy demonstrators Saturday as the two hard-line regimes struck back against the wave of protests that has already toppled autocrats in Egypt and Tunisia. At least 15 died when police shot into crowds of mourners in Libya's second-largest city, a hospital official said. 
 
 Bahraini protesters hold up flowers toward riot police near the Pearl roundabout after the military pulled out in Manama, Bahrain, Saturday, Feb. 19, 2011. The deputy chief of Bahrain's armed forces... (Associated Press) 
 
 Bahraini protesters celebrates at the Pearl roundabout soon after the military pulled out in Manama, Bahrain, Saturday, Feb. 19, 2011. The deputy chief of Bahrain's armed forces has ordered the military... (Associated Press) 
 
 A masked anti-government demonstrator seen during clashes with Yemeni government supporters, unseen, in Sanaa, Yemen, Saturday, Feb. 19, 2011. Hundreds of Yemenis began demonstrating early in the morning... (Associated Press) 
 
 A wounded anti-government demonstrator is helped by other demonstrators after being hit by a stone thrown by Yemeni government supporters during clashes in Sanaa, Yemen, Saturday, Feb. 19, 2011. Hundreds... (Associated Press) 
 
 Riot police pull out as Bahraini protesters rush to celebrate at the Pearl roundabout in Manama, Bahrain, Saturday, Feb. 19, 2011. The deputy chief of Bahrain's armed forces has ordered the military to... (Associated Press) 
 
 Bahraini protesters celebrates at the Pearl roundabout after the military pulled out in Manama, Bahrain, Saturday, Feb. 19, 2011. The deputy chief of Bahrain's armed forces has ordered the military to... (Associated Press) 
 
 Bahraini protesters remove barbed wire near the Pearl roundabout after the military pulled out in Manama, Bahrain, Saturday, Feb. 19, 2011. The deputy chief of Bahrain's armed forces has ordered the military... (Associated Press) 
 
 Yemeni anti-government demonstrators shout slogans during a demonstration demanding the resignation of President Ali Abdullah Saleh, in Sanaa, Yemen, Saturday, Feb. 19, 2011.Hundreds of Yemenis began... (Associated Press) 
 
 Supporters of the Yemeni government shout at anti government demonstrators, not pictured, in Sanaa, Yemen, Saturday, Feb. 19, 2011. Hundreds of Yemenis began demonstrating early in the morning Saturday... (Associated Press) 
 
 Anti-government demonstrators display the traditional head scarf of a wounded demonstrator during clashes with Yemeni government supporters in Sanaa, Yemen, Saturday, Feb. 19, 2011. Hundreds of Yemenis... (Associated Press) 
 
 Even as Bahrain's king bowed to international pressure and withdrew tanks to allow demonstrators to retake a symbolic square in the capital, Libya's Moammar Gadhafi and Yemen's Ali Abdullah Saleh made clear they plan to stamp out opposition and not be dragged down by the reform movements that have grown in nations from Algeria to Djibouti to Jordan. 
 
 Libyans returned to the street for a fifth straight day of protests against Gadhafi, the most serious uprising in his 42-year reign, despite estimates by human rights groups of 84 deaths in the North African country _ with 35 on Friday alone. 
 
 Saturday's deaths, which would push the overall toll to 99, occurred when snipers fired on thousands of mourners in Benghazi, a focal point of unrest, as they attended the funerals of other protesters, a hospital official said. He spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal. 
 
 "Many of the dead and the injured are relatives of doctors here," he told The Associated Press in a telephone interview. "They are crying and I keep telling them to please stand up and help us." 
 
 Earlier, special forces had attacked hundreds of demonstrators, including lawyers and judges, who were camped out in front of a courthouse in Benghazi, Libya's second-largest city. 
 
 Authorities also cut off the Internet across Libya, further isolating the country. Just after 2 a.m. local time in Libya, the U.S.-based Arbor Networks security company detected a total cessation of online traffic. Protesters confirmed they could not get online. 
 
 Reports could not be independently confirmed. Information is tightly controlled in Libya, where journalists cannot work freely, and activists this week have posted videos on the Internet that have been an important source of images of the revolt. Other information about the protests has come from opposition activists in exile. 
 
 A female protester in Tripoli, the capital city to the west, said it was much harder to demonstrate there. Police were out in force and Gadhafi was greeted rapturously when he drove through town in a motorcade on Thursday. 
 
 Throughout the Middle East, protesters for weeks have been crying out against a similar litany of injustices: repressive governments, corrupt officials and pathetic wages among them. Government responses seem to be hardening. While there was violence during the uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia, the government retaliation in Yemen and Libya in particular appeared to be more sustained. 
 
 In Yemen's capital of Sanaa, riot police opened fire on thousands of protesters, killing one anti-government demonstrator and injuring five others on a 10th day of revolt against Saleh, a key U.S. ally in fighting al-Qaida. 
 
 As on other days earlier this week, protesters marching from Sanaa's university were met by police and government supporters with clubs and knives who engaged in a stone-throwing battle with the demonstrators. At one point, police fired in the air to disperse the march. 
 
 A medical official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the press, said one man was shot in the neck and killed, raising the total death toll from Yemen protests to seven. 
 
 In a meeting with civic leaders, Saleh said Yemenis have the right to express themselves peacefully and the perpetrators of the unrest were trying to seize power by fomenting instability. 
 
 "The homeland is facing a foreign plot that threatens its future," Saleh said, without elaborating. 
 
 Saleh, who has been in power for three decades, has tried to blunt discontent by promising not to seek re-election when his term ends in 2013. 
 
 But he is facing a restless population, with threats from al-Qaida militants who want to oust him, a southern secessionist movement and a sporadic armed rebellion in the north. To try to quell new outbursts of dissent, Saleh also has reached out to tribal chiefs, who are a major base of support for him. So far, however, that has not changed the response in the streets. 
 
 In the tiny island nation of Bahrain, thousands of joyful protesters streamed back into the capital's central Pearl Square after the armed forces withdrew from the streets following two straight days of a bloody crackdown. 
 
 The royal family, which was quick to use force earlier this week against demonstrators in the landmark square that has been the heart of the anti-government demonstrations, appeared to back away from further confrontation following international pressure. 
 
 President Barack Obama discussed the situation with King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, asking him to hold those responsible for the violence accountable. He said in a statement that Bahrain must respect the "universal rights" of its people and embrace "meaningful reform." 
 
 In a telephone call to the crown prince, British Foreign Secretary William Hague said he welcomed the government's military withdrawal and strongly supported efforts to initiate a dialogue. 
 
 The demonstrators have emulated protesters in Tunisia and Egypt by attempting to bring political change to the government in Bahrain, home to the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet _ the centerpiece of Washington's efforts to confront Iranian military influence in the region. 
 
 Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, deputy supreme commander of the armed forces, appealed for calm and political dialogue in a brief address on state TV. 
 
 As night fell, though, defiant protesters in Pearl Square erected barriers, wired a sound system, set up a makeshift medical tent and deployed lookouts to warn of approaching security forces. 
 
 Protesters took over the square earlier in the week, setting up a camp with tents and placards, but they were driven out by riot police in a deadly assault Thursday that killed five people and injured more than 200. The government then clamped down on Manama by sending the tanks and other armored vehicles into the streets around the square, putting up barbed wire and establishing checkpoints to deter gatherings. 
 
 On Friday, army units shot at marchers streaming toward the square. More than 50 people were injured. 
 
 Some of the protesters were wary of Bahrain's leaders, despite the military withdrawal. 
 
 "Of course we don't trust them," said Ahmed al-Shaik, a 23-year-old civil servant. "They will probably attack more and more, but we have no fear now." 
 
 The cries against the king and his inner circle reflected a sharp escalation of the political uprising, which began with calls to weaken the Sunni monarchy's power and address claims of discrimination against the Shiite majority. 
 
 Algerian police, meanwhile, thwarted a rally by thousands of pro-democracy supporters, breaking up the crowd into isolated groups to keep them from marching. 
 
 Police brandishing clubs, but no firearms, weaved their way through the crowd in central Algiers, banging their shields, tackling some protesters and keeping traffic flowing through the planned march route. 
 
 A demonstrating lawmaker was hospitalized after suffering a head wound when he fell after police kicked and hit him, colleagues said. 
 
 The gathering, organized by the Coordination for Democratic Change in Algeria, comes a week after a similar protest, which organizers said brought an estimated 10,000 people and up to 26,000 riot police onto the streets of Algiers. Algeria has also been hit by numerous strikes over the past month. 
 
 President Abdelaziz Bouteflika has promised to lift the state of emergency, which has been in place since early 1992 to combat a budding insurgency by Islamist extremists. The insurgency, which continues sporadically, has killed an estimated 200,000 people. 
 
 Bouteflika has warned, however, that a long-standing ban on protests in Algiers would remain in place, even once the state of emergency is lifted. 
 
 Algeria does have many of the ingredients for a popular revolt. It is riddled with corruption and has never successfully grappled with its soaring jobless rate among youth _ estimated by some to be up to 42 percent _ despite its oil and gas wealth. 
 
 "The people are for change, but peacefully," said sociologist Nasser Djebbi. "We have paid a high price." 
 
 ___ 
 
 Ahmed al-Haj in Sanaa, Yemen; Hadeel al-Shalchi and Barbara Surk in Manama, Bahrain; Elaine Ganley in Algiers, Algeria, and John Affleck in Cairo contributed to this report. ||||| Libyans Flee As Gadhafi's Hold Over Country Weakens 
 
 Enlarge this image toggle caption AFP/Getty Images AFP/Getty Images 
 
 The scope of Moammar Gadhafi's control in Libya was whittled away Wednesday as major cities and towns closer to the capital fell to the rebellion against his rule. In Libya's east, now all but broken away, the opposition vowed to "liberate" Tripoli, where the Libyan leader is holed up with a force of militiamen roaming the streets. And in Washington, President Obama said the U.S. was looking at "a full range of options" to deal with the crisis. 
 
 In a further sign of Gadhafi's faltering hold, two air force pilots — one from the leader's own tribe — parachuted out of their warplane and let it crash into the deserts of eastern Libya, rather than follow orders to bomb a opposition-held city. 
 
 The opposition reportedly seized control of Misurata, 125 miles east of the capital Tripoli, after days of fighting. Witnesses said people were honking their horns and raising flags representing the monarchy overthrown by Gadhafi more than 40 years ago. 
 
 Misurata would be the first major city in western Libya to fall to anti-government forces, which claim — with the help of defecting security forces — to have taken control of nearly the entire eastern half of Libya's 1,000-mile Mediterranean coast, including several oil-producing areas. 
 
 Faraj al-Misrati, a local doctor in Misurata, said six residents had been killed and 200 wounded since Jan. 18, when protesters attacked offices and buildings affiliated with Gadhafi's regime 
 
 Heard On NPR Africa Anti-Gadhafi Forces Control Eastern Libya Anti-Gadhafi Forces Control Eastern Libya Listen · 4:52 4:52 
 
 Protesters also said they had taken over the eastern city of Tobruk, with people taking to the streets to vent their anger at the regime. Clashes broke out over the past two days in the town of Sabratha, west of the capital, where the army and militiamen were trying to put down protesters who overwhelmed security headquarters and government buildings, a news website close to the government reported. 
 
 Independent reporting was scarce in much of Libya, but new opposition videos posted on Facebook showed scores of anti-government protesters raising the flag from the pre-Gadhafi monarchy on a building in Zawiya, on the outskirts of the capital. Another showed protesters lining up cement blocks and setting tires ablaze to fortify positions on a square inside the capital. 
 
 A provisional government was being formed in the eastern city of Bayda. 
 
 "Ordinary people, doctors, lawyers, are talking about how we can coordinate with all other cities in Libya who are now under the protesters' control," said Ahmed Jibril, a former diplomat at the Libyan mission at the U.N. 
 
 The Arab World 
 
 International outrage mounted after Gadhafi — in a televised address punctuated by anger and fist-pounding — exhorted his supporters to strike back at anti-government protesters as he pledged never to relinquish power. 
 
 He promised to have his supporters go "house to house" to hunt down protesters, whom he described as rats and cockroaches. 
 
 Celebratory gunfire from Gadhafi supporters rang out in Tripoli after the speech, while people in Benghazi threw shoes at a TV screen to show their contempt. 
 
 Gadhafi's address appeared to have brought out a heavy force of supporters and militiamen that largely prevented major protests in the capital Tuesday night and Wednesday. Gunfire was heard throughout the night, one woman who lives near downtown told The Associated Press. 
 
 "Mercenaries are everywhere with weapons. You can't open a window or door. Snipers hunt people," she said. "We are under siege, at the mercy of a man who is not a Muslim.'' 
 
 During the day Wednesday, more gunfire was heard near Gadhafi's residence, but in many parts of the city of 2 million, residents were venturing out to stores, some residents said. The government sent out text messages urging people to go back to their jobs, aiming to show that life was returning to normal. The residents spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation. 
 
 Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini said estimates of some 1,000 people killed in the violence in Libya were "credible," although he stressed that information about casualties was incomplete. The New York-based Human Rights Watch has put the death toll at nearly 300, according to a partial count. 
 
 As the fighting in Libya intensified, streams of people continued to flee the country. The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees said thousands of people have crossed into Tunisia. The initial escapees consisted mostly of Tunisians who had been working in Libya, but more and more Libyans were leaving, the refugee agency said. 
 
 The Tunisian military sent extra troops to its border with Libya. U.N. officials in Tunis told NPR that the purpose of the reinforcement was mainly to provide humanitarian assistance. 
 
 "Situation is not good. It's very bad. It's very bad," said Mohammed Abdu, an Egyptian, who crossed from Libya into Tunisia. "All the night, every day, all the night, we hear, da, da, da, da, da, da. I don't sleep from three days ago." 
 
 The Tunisians who were crossing the border said they were singled out for harsh treatment by Gadhafi's police, who blamed them for starting the trouble. Two Tunisian men whipped off their shirts and showed purple bruises across their backs, where they said they were beaten. 
 
 At the Egyptian border, guards had fled, and local tribal elders formed local committees to take their place. "Welcome to the new Libya," graffiti spray-painted at the crossing proclaimed. Fawzy Ignashy, a former soldier now in civilian clothes at the border, said that early in the protests, some commanders ordered troops to fire on protesters, but then tribal leaders stepped in and ordered them to stop. 
 
 "They did because they were from here. So the officers fled," he said. 
 
 More than a dozen countries — including Russia, China, Germany and Ukraine — sent planes to help their people escape an increasingly unstable situation. 
 
 Hundreds of Americans boarded a 600-passenger ferry at Tripoli's As-shahab Port Wednesday for a five-hour crossing of the Mediterranean to Malta. Others, such as Kathleen Burnett of Baltimore, Ohio, managed to get a seat on one of the few flights out of Libya. As she stepped off the airplane in Vienna, Burnett described the scene she left behind as "total chaos." 
 
 "The airport was mobbed; you wouldn't believe the number of people," Burnett said. 
 
 Britain was chartering flights and positioning a Royal Navy frigate off the Libyan coast in case it's needed to assist in the evacuations. Turkey has already pulled out thousands of its citizens by sea and air. 
 
 International alarm has risen over the crisis, pushing oil prices to a 28-month high of $100 a barrel on Wednesday. 
 
 President Obama condemned the use of violence in Libya, saying the "actions violate international norms and every standard of common decency." 
 
 "I've ... asked my administration to prepare the full range of options that we have to respond to this crisis," he said. 
 
 U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said she's working with others in the international community to help end the bloodshed, adding everything is on the table. 
 
 Nonessential U.S. diplomats and families of embassy workers were ordered out of the country Monday, but it took until Wednesday to put 35 of them on a ferry, along with other Americans and foreign nationals. 
 
 State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said the ferry was delayed, in part because Libyan authorities had to stamp the passports of everyone leaving. He said the U.S. has also had trouble getting charter flights to Libya. 
 
 British Foreign Secretary William Hague, who wouldn't rule out the possibility of sending in military flights without permission to evacuate British nationals, expressed deep concern about British oil sector workers who live in the Libyan desert. 
 
 "These camps are remote; they are isolated; they are scattered over a large distance; they are dependent for food or water on supplies from Libyan cities that have been severely disrupted by the violence and unrest, and some we know have been subjected to attacks and looting," he said. "They are in a perilous and frightening situation." 
 
 The U.N. Security Council held an emergency meeting Tuesday that ended with a statement condemning the crackdown, expressing "grave concern" and calling for an "immediate end to the violence" and steps to address the legitimate demands of the Libyan people. The U.N. Development Program dropped Gadhafi's daughter, Aisha al-Gadhafi, as a goodwill ambassador Wednesday, citing the crackdown. 
 
 Yemeni Lawmakers Quit Ruling Party 
 
 Mass uprisings sparked by successful revolts in Tunisia and Egypt have ratcheted up pressure on governments across Northern Africa and the Middle East. 
 
 In Yemen, thousands of people streamed into a square in the capital, Sanaa, on Wednesday to strengthen anti-government protesters' hold on the area after club-wielding government supporters tried to drive them out. One person was killed and at least 12 injured in the clashes late Tuesday near Sanaa University, medics said. A local human-rights group said two people were killed and 18 hurt. 
 
 In the port city of Aden, medics said a 19-year-old man died from injuries during clashes last week. Thirteen demonstrators have been killed since the crisis began nearly a month ago. 
 
 Seven legislators in President Ali Abdullah Saleh's ruling party resigned from the group Wednesday, citing the country's precarious political situation. Parliament member Abdul-Aziz Jabbari said they planned to form their own independent bloc. With the latest resignations, nine legislators have quit Saleh's Congress Party since protests began earlier this month. 
 
 U.S.-backed Saleh, who has held power for 32 years, has said he will step down after national elections are held in 2013. But a widening protest movement demands that he leave office now. 
 
 Kings Of Bahrain, Saudi Arabia Discuss Unrest 
 
 Across the Arabian Peninsula, in Bahrain, thousands of anti-government protesters marched in the capital Wednesday after King Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa freed at least 100 political prisoners, an acknowledgment of the mounting pressure being placed on him by the Shiite opposition. 
 
 Tens of thousands of protesters have flooded the tiny kingdom's capital, Manama, calling for the fall of the Sunni dynasty that rules majority-Shiite Bahrain. There are concerns that Bahrain's uprising, now in its second week, could spread to Saudi Arabia, which also has a significant Shiite population that has long complained of oppression by Sunni rulers. 
 
 Al-Khalifa was in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday to discuss the popular uprisings with his royal counterpart, King Abdullah bin Abdul-Aziz, according to state media. 
 
 Abdullah had just returned home after three months of medical treatment to face a country that has been dramatically changed by revolutions sweeping the Middle East. More than ever before, Saudis are publicly calling for political reforms, on the Web, in Facebook groups and in political forums across the country. 
 
 Ahead of his arrival in Riyadh, Abdullah announced a hefty package of giveaways including unemployment benefits and billions to help Saudis buy homes. 
 
 With reporting from NPR's Lourdes Garcia-Navarro in eastern Libya; Jason Beaubien in Cairo; Deborah Amos in Khobar, Saudi Arabia; Tom Gjelten in Tunis, Tunisia; and Peter Kenyon in Manama, Bahrain. Material from The Associated Press was used in this story. ||||| Army units and militiamen loyal to Moammar Gadhafi struck back against rebellious Libyans who have risen up in cities close to the capital Thursday, attacking a mosque where many were holding an anti-government sit-in and battling with others who had seized control of an airport. A doctor at the mosque said 10 people were killed. 
 
 A Libyan doctor treats a wonded man who was injured last week during the demostration against Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi, in Benghazi, Libya, on Thursday Feb. 24, 20011. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla) (Associated Press) 
 
 Tunisians carrying their belongings are guided by a Tunisian army border guard after crossing the border from Libya and into Tunisia, near the village of Ras Ajdir, Tunisia, Thursday, Feb. 24, 2011. ... (Associated Press) 
 
 Tunisians carry their belongings after crossing the border from Libya and into Tunisia, near the village of Ras Ajdir, Tunisia, Thursday, Feb. 24, 2011. Many thousands of people are fleeing from Libya... (Associated Press) 
 
 In this photo released by China's Xinhua News Agency, a man walks inside a burned police station in the eastern Libyan town of Derna Wednesday, Feb. 23, 2011. (AP Photo/Xinhua, Nasser Nouri) NO SALES (Associated Press) 
 
 In this photo released by China's Xinhua News Agency, people attend a protest in the eastern Libyan town of Derna Wednesday, Feb. 23, 2011. (AP pHoto/Xinhua, Nasser Nouri) NO SALES (Associated Press) 
 
 In this photo released by China's Xinhua News Agency, people attend a protest in the eastern Libyan town of Derna Wednesday, Feb. 23, 2011. (AP Photo/Xinhua, Nasser Nouri) NO SALES (Associated Press) 
 
 In this photo released by China's Xinhua News Agency, people attend a protest in the eastern Libyan town of Derna Wednesday, Feb. 23, 2011. (AP Photo/Xinhua, Nasser Nouri) NO SALES (Associated Press) 
 
 Tunisian men who fled from Libya eat at the Tunisia-Libyan border, near the town of Ben Guerdane,Tunisia, Wednesday, Feb. 23, 2011. (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis) (Associated Press) 
 
 A Libyan man Fathi Masour, 39, mourns his brother killed last week during the demostration against Libyan Leader Moammar Gadhafi, at a morgue hospital, in Benghazi, Libya, on Thursday Feb. 24, 20011.... (Associated Press) 
 
 Egyptian men, that used to work in Libya, carry their belongings through a checkpoint after crossing the border from Libya and into Tunisia, near the village of Ras Ajdir, Tunisia, Thursday, Feb. 24,... (Associated Press) 
 
 Egyptian men, that used to work in Libya, carry their belongings after crossing the border from Libya and into Tunisia, near the village of Ras Ajdir, Tunisia, Thursday, Feb. 24, 2011. Many thousands... (Associated Press) 
 
 This photo released by China's Xinhua News Agency shows general view of the eastern Libyan town of Derna Wednesday, Feb. 23, 2011. (AP Photo/Xinhua, Nasser Nouri) NO SALES (Associated Press) 
 
 This Wednesday, Feb. 23, 2011 photo made available in Rome Thursday Feb. 24, 2011 shows people outside Tripoli's International airport. European countries are sending planes and ferries to Libya to evacuate... (Associated Press) 
 
 Libyan mortuary assisstants look to unidentified dead burned bodies who were killed last week during the demonstration against Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi at a morgue hospital, in Benghazi, Libya,... (Associated Press) 
 
 The assaults aimed to push back a revolt that has moved closer to Gadhafi's bastion in the capital, Tripoli. The uprising has already broken away nearly the eastern half of Libya and unraveled parts of Gadhafi's regime. 
 
 In the latest blow to the Libyan leader, a cousin who is one of his closest aides, Ahmed Gadhaf al-Dam, announced that he has defected to Egypt in protest against the regime's bloody crackdown against the uprising, denouncing what he called "grave violations to human rights and human and international laws." 
 
 In Zawiya, 30 miles (50 kilometers) west of Tripoli, an army unit attacked the city' Souq Mosque, where regime opponents had been camped for days in a protest calling for Gadhafi's ouster, a witness said. The soldiers opened fire with automatic weapons and hit the mosque's minaret with fire from an anti-aircraft gun, he said. Some of the young men among the protesters, who were inside the mosque and in a nearby lot, had hunting rifles for protection. 
 
 A doctor at a field clinic set up at the mosque said he saw the bodies of 10 dead, shot in the head and chest, as well as arond 150 wounded. 
 
 The witness said that a day earlier an envoy from Gadhafi had come to the city and warned protesters, "Either leave or you will see a massacre." Zawiya is a key city near an oil port and refineries. 
 
 After Thursday's assault, thousands massed in Zawiya's main Martyrs Square by the mosque, shouting "leave, leave," in reference to Gadhafi, the witness said. "People came to send a clear message: We are not afraid of death or your bullets," he said. 
 
 The other attack came at a small airport outside Misrata, Libya's third largest city, where rebel residents claimed control Wednesday. Militiamen with rocket-propelled grenades and mortars barraged a line of them who were guarding the airport, some armed with automatic rifles and hunting rifles, said one of the rebels who was involved in the battle. 
 
 During the fighting, the airport's defenders seized an anti-aircraft gun used by the militias and turned it against them, he said. He said dead and wounded had been taken to Misrata hospitals but could not give exact figures. 
 
 The militias pulled back in the late morning. In Misrata, the local radio _ controlled by the opposition like the rest of the city _ called on residents to march to the airport to reinforce it, said a woman who lives in downtown Misrata. 
 
 In the afternoon, it appeared fighting erupted again, she said, reporting heavy booms from the direction of the airport on the edge of the city, located about 120 miles (200 kilometers) east of Tripoli. 
 
 She and other witnesses around Libya spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals. 
 
 Gadhafi's crackdown has so far helped him maintain control of Tripoli, a city that holds about a third of Libya's 6 million population. But the uprising has divided the country and threatened to push it toward civil war: In cities across the east, residents rose up and overwhelmed government buildings and army bases, joined in many cases by local army units that defected. In those cities, tribal leaders, residents and military officers have formed local administrations, passing out weapons looted from the security forces' arsenals. 
 
 The leader's cousin, Gadhaf al-Dam, is one of the most high level defections to hit the regime so far, after many ambassadors around the world, the justice minister and the interior minister all sided with the protesters. 
 
 Gadhaf al-Dam belonged to Gadhafi's inner circle, officially his liaison with Egypt, but he also served as Gadhafi's envoy to other world leaders and frequently appeared by his side. 
 
 In a statement issued in Cairo on Thursday, Gadhaf al-Dam said he had left Libya for Egypt "in protest and to show disagreement" with the crackdown. 
 
 Gadhafi's control now has been reduced to the northwest corner around Tripoli, the southwest deserts and parts of the center. The uprisings in Misrata, Zawiya and several small towns between the capital and Tunisian border have further whittled away at that bastion. 
 
 The Zawiya resident said that until Thursday's attack, Gadhafi opponents held total sway in the city after police fled days earlier. Residents had organized local watchgroups to protect government buildings and homes. 
 
 The capital, Tripoli, saw an outbreak of major protests against Gadhafi's rule earlier this week, met with attacks by militiamen that reportedly left dozens dead. 
 
 Pro-Gadhafi militiamen _ a mix of Libyans and foreign mercenaries _ have clamped down on the city since the Libyan leader went on state TV Tuesday night and called on his supporters to take back the streets. Residents say militiamen roam Tripoli's main avenues, firing the air, while neighborhood watch groups have barricaded side streets trying to keep the fighters out and protesters lay low. 
 
 At the same time, regular security forces have launched raids on homes around the city. A resident in the Ben Ashour neighborhood said a number of SUVs full of armed men swept into his district Wednesday night, broke into his neighbor's home and dragged out a family friend as women in the house screamed. He said other similar raids had taken place on Thursday in other districts. 
 
 "Now is the time of secret terror and secret arrests. They are going to go home to home and liquidate opponents that way, and impose his (Gadhafi's) control on Tripoli," said the witness. 
 
 Another Tripoli resident said armed militiamen had entered a hospital, searching for protesters among the injured. He said a friend's relative being treated there escaped only because doctors hid him. 
 
 International momentum has been building for action to punish Gadhafi's regime for the bloodshed. 
 
 President Barack Obama said the suffering in Libya "is outrageous and it is unacceptable," and he directed his administration to prepare a full range of options, including possible sanctions that could freeze the assets and ban travel to the U.S. by Libyan officials. 
 
 French President Nicolas Sarkozy raised the possibility of the European Union cutting off economic ties. 
 
 Another proposal gaining some traction was for the United Nations to declare a no-fly zone over Libya to prevent it using warplanes to hit protesters. U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay said that if reports of such strikes are confirmed, "there's an immediate need for that level of protection." 
 
 Italy's Foreign Minister Franco Frattini said estimates of some 1,000 people killed in the violence in Libya were "credible," although he stressed information about casualties was incomplete. The New York-based Human Rights Watch has put the death toll at nearly 300, according to a partial count. 
 
 Gadhafi's son Seif al-Islam claimed Thursday that the reported death tolls have been exaggerated, although he didn't provide his own figure. In a press conference aired on state TV, he said the number killed by police and the army had been limited and "talking about hundreds and thousands (killed) is a joke." 
 
 He also said a committee had been formed to investigate alleged foreign involvement in the protests. 
 
 Earlier Thursday, Libyan TV showed Egyptian passports, CDs and cell phones purportedly belonging to detainees who had allegedly confessed to plotting "terrorist" operations against the Libyan people. Other footage showed a dozen men lying on the ground, with their faces down, blindfolded and handcuffed. Rifles and guns were laid out next to them. 
 
 ____ 
 
 Michael reported from Cairo. Associated Press writers Sarah El Deeb and Bassem Mroue contributed to this report.
– In direct contrast to the "delirious joy" in Bahrain, the death toll keeps climbing in Libya's protests. Moammar Gadhafi's minions killed another 20 people today, bringing the five-day total to at least 104, says Human Rights Watch. Gadhafi has effectively shut off Internet service and forbid media coverage, but witnesses told AP of attacks by police and government loyalists wielding guns, knives, and even anti-aircraft missiles. While the accounts are impossible to verify—and at least one puts the death toll closer to 200—a grim cycle has emerged, reports the New York Times: "Security forces fire on funeral marches, killing more protesters and creating more funerals." In Yemen, meanwhile, President Ali Abdullah Saleh's forces also opened fire on protesters, killing at least one, reports AP.