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Reports: Gadhafi Forces Fire On Protesters In Tripoli; Some Killed

"Protesters chanting for [Moammar] Gadhafi's ouster streamed out of mosques in downtown Tripoli after prayers [today], and they were confronted by a force of troops and militiamen who opened fire in streets near Green Square," The Associated Press reports, citing "several witnesses" as its sources.

The wire service adds that:

"One man in the Souq al-Jomaa area near the square reported seeing dead or injured from the gunfire. 'There are all kind of bullets,' he said, screaming in a telephone call to The Associated Press, with the rattle of shots audible in the background. He could not say how many casualties he saw, and his report could not immediately be confirmed."

Reuters is reporting that "at least five people were killed when security forces opened fire on anti-government protesters in the Janzour district in the west of the Libyan capital on Friday, a resident said."

The BBC notes on its Twitter feed that "Libyan state TV says medical sources deny reports in international media of killing of three protesters in #Tripoli."

As we said earlier, events continue to move quickly in Libya, where Gadhafi is reported to have lost control of much of the country.

Worth noting: Until reporters are able to get into Tripoli, verifying reports such as these will be difficult.

Reminder:There's lots of news about events in Libya being posted on Twitter, and NPR's Andy Carvin ( @acarvin) is trying to sort through and find the best of it.

Copyright 2020 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Mark Memmott is NPR's supervising senior editor for Standards & Practices. In that role, he's a resource for NPR's journalists – helping them raise the right questions as they do their work and uphold the organization's standards.