Tripoli resident describes killings
Mercenaries killing protesters, 18-year-old tells CBC radio via Skype
With reporters kept out of Libya, phone lines down and internet access unreliable, it's been difficult for members of the news media to find out what's going on inside the country.
There are reports that hundreds of protesters calling for the ouster of Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi have been killed by police and government soldiers in recent days.
On Wednesday night, producer Joan Melanson of CBC Radio's Metro Morning took a call via Skype from an 18-year-old woman named Hadil who left Mississauga, Ont., in 2007 and now lives with her family in Tripoli, the Libyan capital. Hadil asked that her last name not be used.
During the seven-minute interview (click on the audio link in this story to hear it) Hadil says mercenaries are roaming the streets, killing innocent people and breaking into houses.
Hadil, who has had to remain inside her family's apartment since Sunday, told CBC News how her father's cousin was shot while protesting and died in hospital two days later.
'Freedom will come'
"His last words were 'freedom will come,'" Hadil said. "The mercenaries are breaking into people's houses. People are asleep. Innocent people that aren't even protesting. They break into their houses and they kill them."
"[The mercenaries] are shooting anything that moves," said Hadil. "They're being paid to kill people."
"[Gadhafi] is killing innocent people, we don't have weapons. We have nothing."
Hadil said despite the violence, many of those who support the protests are certain that Gadhafi is on his way out. "As my dad says these are the happiest days of his life because we know Libya will be free. God is on our side … He is going down."
Anti-government protesters, backed by defecting army units, have claimed control over almost the entire eastern half of Libya's 1,600-kilometre Mediterranean coast, including several oil-producing areas.
The regime of Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi has responded to anti-government protests with a heavy crackdown. There are reports that at least 1,000 protesters have been killed by Gadhafi's forces in recent days.