Death Toll in Libya at 200

Via the BBC:  Libya unrest: Scores killed in Benghazi ‘massacre’

More than 200 people are known to have died, doctors say, with 900 injured.

The most bloody attacks were reported over the weekend, when a funeral procession was said to have come under machine-gun and heavy weapons fire.

Human Rights Watch puts the number of dead since Wednesday at 173.

This continues to be a tragic illustration of the fact that protests alone have no inherent power against bullets if the regime in power is willing to pull the trigger.  While the government in Bahrain appears willing to talk, Gaddafi apparently isn’t interested.

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Steven L. Taylor
About Steven L. Taylor
Steven L. Taylor is a Professor of Political Science and a College of Arts and Sciences Dean. His main areas of expertise include parties, elections, and the institutional design of democracies. His most recent book is the co-authored A Different Democracy: American Government in a 31-Country Perspective. He earned his Ph.D. from the University of Texas and his BA from the University of California, Irvine. He has been blogging since 2003 (originally at the now defunct Poliblog). Follow Steven on Twitter

Comments

  1. michael reynolds says:

    Tunisia, Egypt and Bahrain are all US allies. We have some influence, which, I would suggest is being deftly applied to limit government reactions.

    We have no influence over Libya or Iran.

  2. Bilal says:

    MY dear friend,
    You are very naive… Your forget how Qaddafi( Dictator of Libya) got into power?
    let me recall them lost memories… HE WAS BROUGHT INTO POWER BY THE HELP OF LIBYAS US ALLIES…
    Its called battle strategy…Weaken your surroundings, while you rise to power :s
    I like the way you think though 😀
    I bet you if Egypt had done the same as Libya, you would’ve said US had nothing to do with it.