Casualties:
Residents of Benghazi told Al Jazeera that at least 200 people had died, while the New York-based Human Rights Watch put the countrywide death toll at a "conservative" 104 on 19 February, while an update on 22 February stated that there were at least 62 casualties. They also suggested the actual deaths in Benghazi had probably passed 100 on 20 February. Other sources list the number of deaths to be 220 in Benghazi alone. On 22 February the International Coalition Against War Criminals gave an estimate that 519 people had died, 3,980 were wounded and over 1,500 were missing.
Human Rights Watch have estimated that at least 233 people had been killed by February 22.
On 23 February Italy's Minister of Foreign Affairs Franco Frattini stated that according to his information 1,000 people had died so far.
Among the security forces there had been more than 300 dead, including mercenaries. On February 18, two policemen were hanged by protestors in Benghazi. Also, on the same day, 50 African mercenaries, mostly from Chad, were executed by the protestors in al-Baida when they burned down the police station in which they locked them up. Additionaly, another 11 captured mercenaries were lynched in al-Baida, Benghazi and Darnah. The bodies of some of them were put on display and caught on video. By February 23, the government confirmed that 111 soldiers had been killed. On February 24, the IFHR said that 130 soldiers had been executed in Benghazi and al-Baida, after they mutinied and sided with the protestors.
Thursday 24 February
Protesters assumed complete control of Tobruk, where soldiers and residents celebrated by waving the former Libyan flag used between 1951 and 1969, firing guns into the air, honking horns, and chanting "the people demand the fall of the Colonel". Army units in Tobruk and throughout eastern Libya sided with protesters, with some soldiers and officers participating in demonstrations. Commanders pledged to defend the "liberated territory" with their lives after Gaddafi threatened to take it back by force. Two airmen bailed out of their jet, which crashed into the desert, after defying orders to bomb Tobruk. In the collapse of central authority, residents formed public defence committees for security, and opened welfare organizations to ensure that residents had enough to eat. At newly established security checkpoints, demonstrators handed out bottled water and juice to passing motorists.
Cities and towns close to Tripoli were reported to be falling to protesters, while in Tripoli itself, pro-Gaddafi militia patrolled the streets to prevent demonstrations. In the east, civilian protesters and military units that had defected and reorganized armed themselves to prepare for an upcoming "Battle of Tripoli". Meanwhile Gaddafi prepared for the defense of the city by gathering pro-government forces in the capital and deploying tanks in the suburbs.
The North African wing of al-Qaeda announced that they would support the Libyan uprising. In a televised phone call to the people of Az Zawiyah, where fighting was taking place, Gaddafi claimed the revolts could be blamed on bin Laden, and that young Libyans had been duped with drugs and alcohol. Gaddafi dispatched an envoy to Zawiyah, who warned protesters of a "massacre" if they didn't leave.
Pro-Gaddafi Libyan forces and foreign mercenaries opened fire on a mosque in Zawiya, where residents, some armed with hunting rifles, had been holding a sit-in to support the protesters in Tripoli. The troops blasted the mosque's minaret with an anti-aircraft gun, killing 10 people and wounding 150. Thousands of people then gathered in Zawiyah's main square to demonstrate against Gaddafi. Hours after the attack, Gaddafi gave a speech on state television, where he expressed condolences for the deaths, but scolded the city's residents for siding with the uprising, saying "shame on you, people of Zawiyah, control your children", and that "they are loyal to Bin Laden. What do you have to do with Bin Laden, people of Zawiyah? They are exploiting young people... I insist it is Bin Laden". He also blamed teenagers on hallucinogenic pills given to them "in their coffee with milk, like Nescafe".
Pro-Gaddafi militia and foreign mercenaries also attacked an airport outside Misrata, which was defended by protesters armed with rifles. During the fighting, the militia bombarded the protesters with rocket-proppelled grenades and mortars, while the protesters managed to seize an anti-aircraft gun and turn it against the militia. At the same time, officers from an air force school near the airport mutinied, and with the help of local residents, overran an adjacent airbase where Gaddafi loyalists were holed up, and disabled fighter jets to prevent their use against protesters. Five people were killed during the fighting: four protesters and one pro-Gaddafi militiaman, and another forty wounded.
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