Moammar
Gadhafi took advantage of international indecision to attack
the heart of the 5-week-old uprising on Saturday, sending
troops, artillery and warplanes to swarm the first city
seized by the rebels. Crashing shells shook buildings, and
the sounds of battle drew closer to Benghazi's center.
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Leaders
from the Arab world, the United States and other Western
powers are holding urgent talks in Paris over possible military
action, and France's ambassador to the United Nations, Gerard
Araud, told BBC Newsnight that he expected military action
to begin within hours of the meeting. Gadafhi warned international
forces: "You will regret it if you dare to intervene
in our country."
This
Saturday March 19, 2011, , a warplane was shot down over
the outskirts of Benghazi, sending up a massive black cloud
of smoke. An Associated Press reporter saw the plane go
down in flames and heard the sound of artillery and crackling
gunfire.
Abdel-Hafez,
a 49-year-old Benghazi resident, said rebels and government
soldiers were fighting on a university campus on the south
side of the city, with government tanks moving in, followed
by ground troops.
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