Embattled Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi is arming civilian supporters in order to quash dissent in Tripoli with checkpoints and roving patrols, the capital’s residents claimed today.

Protesters demanding Muammar Gaddafi’s ousting came under a hail of bullets when pro-regime militiamen opened fire to stop the first significant anti-government marches in days in the Libyan capital.