BENGHAZI, Libya — Mercenaries and army forces put down an attempt by protesters on Friday to break Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi’s hold on the capital, Tripoli, opening fire on crowds who had taken to the streets after prayers to mount their first major challenge to the government’s crackdown, witnesses said….
“They shoot people from the ambulances,” said one terrified resident, Omar, by telephone as he recalled an episode during the protests on Friday when one protester was wounded. “We thought they’d take him to the hospital,” he said, but the militiamen “shot him dead and left with a squeal.”