Libyan protesters have defied a fierce crackdown by Muammar Gaddafi's regime, returning today to a square in the city of Benghazi to demand his overthrow.
Witnesses told The Associated Press hundreds of demonstrators gathered early this morning in the square after a day of bloodshed during which Libyan forces opened fire on mourners leaving a funeral for protesters.
In the hours after that attack, a medical official said at least 15 people were killed.
But Mohammed Abdullah, a Dubai-based member of the Libyan Salvation Front, said that the toll could be much higher. He quoted hospital officials in Benghazi saying the death toll might have reached 300.
Witness accounts said a mixture of special commandos, foreign mercenaries and Gaddafi loyalists armed with knives, Kalashnikovs and even anti-aircraft missiles attacked the demonstrators.
Getting concrete details about the six days of protests in Libya is difficult because journalists cannot work freely inside the country, which Gaddafi has tightly controlled for 42 years. Information about the uprising has come through telephone interviews, along with videos and messages posted online, and through opposition activists in exile.
The US-based Arbor Networks reported another internet service outage in Libya just before midnight yesterday. The company said online traffic ceased in Libya at about 2am yesterday, was restored at reduced levels several hours later, only to be cut off again that night.
According to several accounts, police in Benghazi initially followed orders to act against the protesters, but later joined them because they belong to the same tribe and saw foreign mercenaries taking part in the killings.
"People are defiant here and they are ready to die," said a women on the phone from Benghazi. She spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal, as did other witnesses.
Before yesterday's violence, Human Rights Watch estimated at least 84 people had been killed in anti-Gaddafi unrest.
Mr Abdullah said smaller protests were staged yesterday on the outskirts of the capital Tripoli, a stronghold of support for Gaddafi, but demonstrators were quickly dispersed by security men. Besides Tripoli and Benghazi, the nation's second-largest city, the US State Department listed five other cities that have seen demonstrations in a travel warning to American citizens.
The protests, inspired by the successful uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia, have been driven by frustration and anger over Gaddafi's authoritarian rule, corruption, economic hardships.
Supporters of the Libyan uprising also demonstrated in Switzerland and in Washington yesterday, waving flags and burning Gaddafi's photo.
Meanwhile some 3,000 students have been protesting at Sanaa University in the Yemeni capital, calling for the country's long serving US-backed president to step down.
Today's demonstration marks the 11th straight day of anti-government protests in Yemen. Yesterday, riot police fired on marchers, killing one and injuring five. Seven have been killed since the unrest began.
The protesters are seeking to oust long-time President Ali Abdullah Saleh, a key US ally in the fight against al-Qaida, and have been inspired by uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia.
Marching students chanted and carried signs reading "Get out Ali for the sake of future generations".
Riot police watched the march but have not yet intervened. Past protests were often attacked by government supporters, degenerating into riots.