• Listen to this segment

• Listen to the entire program

According to the Libyan Human Rights League, at least six thousand people have died in Libya since the start of the uprising against dictator Muammar Gaddhafi two weeks ago. International diplomats estimate the number to be between 1000 and 2000, but the actual death toll is unknown. Gadhafi has rejected the death toll—claiming that 150 Libyans have died at the hands of “terrorists”—and refuses to talk to the Western press. His forces continue to occupy the capital city of Tripoli. Over three thousand mercenaries have been deployed to the city, and thousands more reside outside of Tripoli’s borders. Gaddhafi has also launched airstrikes against Eastern Libyan cities liberated by dissidents. Just this morning Gaddhafi’s forces were reported to have captured three crew members of a Dutch naval helicopter who were attempting to rescue Europeans trapped in Libya. Meanwhile, in spite of Gaddhafi’s warnings that thousands of Libyans would die if the West chose to intervene, two US warships have been deployed to the Mediterranean Sea to provide humanitarian relief at the request of the UN Security council, after Britain established a so-called no-fly zone around Libya’s borders. While the White House has given the anti-government dissidents its approval, it is unclear if the Obama administration has chosen to provide financial or military support directly to the rebels. Libyans fighting to end Gaddhafi’s rule have not been supportive of the possibility of Western military intervention, and call for a purely popular revolution to topple Gaddhafi. As the violence continues to escalate, a regional humanitarian crisis is in the making, as at least 75,000 Libyan refugees have fled into the neighboring country of Tunisia.

GUEST: Maimuna Ibrahim, second year university student living in Misurata, Libya.