Monday, February 21, 2011
CAIRO (AP) — Deep cracks open up in Moammar Gadhafi’s regime after more than 40 years in power, with diplomats abroad and the justice minister at home resigning, air force pilots defecting and a fire raging at the main government hall after clashes in the capital Tripoli. Protesters called for another night of defiance in Tripoli’s main square despite the government’s heavy crackdown. Gadhafi’s regime appeared to be preparing a new major assault in the capital tonight in an attempt to crush unrest that has already swept the eastern parts of the country — leaving Libya’s second largest city in protesters’ control — and was now overwhelming the capital of 2 million people.