Foreign relations of Libya under Muammar Gaddafi 1984, Libyan refugees in London protested against the execution of two dissidents. Libyan diplomats shot at 11 people and killed Yvonne Fletcher, a British policewoman. The incident led to the breaking off of diplomatic relations between the United Kingdom and Libya for over a decade. Two months later, Gaddafi asserted that he wanted his agents to assassinate dissident refugees, even if they were just on pilgrimage in the holy city of Mecca—in August 1984, a Libyan plot in Mecca was thwarted by Saudi Arabian police. After the December 1985 Rome and Vienna airport attacks, which killed 19 and wounded around
Muammar Gaddafi's response to the 2011 Libyan Civil War a wall by Gaddafi's soldiers, who then shot next to a journalist's ear and laughed at them. Throughout the uprising, Gaddafi had been able to use the state owned television channel, Al-Jamahiriya, to appear as if he and his forces were in control and to craft a pro-government message. For example, channels that appeal to Libyan youth had broadcast Libyans reciting Gaddafi's historical accomplishments and patriotic songs. On 8 March, the state television broadcast what appeared to be Gaddafi loyalists celebrating in Martyrs' Square in Zawiya; however, analysis determined that the footage was actually shot elsewhere, outside of Zawiya. Analysts