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| Rebels hold a young man at gunpoint between the towns of Brega and Ras Lanuf. They accuse him of being a loyalist to Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi. (Reuters) |
MARCH 4, 2011
By MARGARET COKER
The Wall Street Journal
TRIPOLI, Libya—The residents of Libya’s capital, subject to a clampdown as Col. Moammar Gadhafi loses much of the rest of his country to opponents, are gripped by fear and paranoia.
Pro-Gadhafi security forces, visiting homes at night, have made scores of arrests. Families of some antigovernment activists have gone into hiding after receiving threats from officials. Doctors say patients with gunshot wounds—a sign the injured person may have been at a street demonstration—have been arrested and taken from hospitals.
Some residents of Tripoli, home to two million of Libya’s six million people, on Thursday described these and other incidents that form what they say is a tapestry of terror in the capital. As Col. Gadhafi has rallied his base, these people say, reprisals have escalated against those who protest his rule. Political uncertainty has warped the fabric of once-quiet neighborhoods, residents say, with some saying they are afraid to speak to longtime neighbors.
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