Militias shoot protesters as Gaddafi stands defiant

MILITIAS loyal to Muammar Gaddafi shot and killed protesters as they streamed from mosques and marched across the Libyan capital yesterday to demand an end to the regime.

In rebellious cities in the east, tens of thousands held rallies in support of the first Tripoli protests in days.

Protesters described coming under a hail of bullets as they tried to march toward Tripoli’s central Green Square. One man among a crowd of thousands said gunmen on rooftops and in the streets opened fire with automatic weapons and even an anti-aircraft gun.