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We have breaking news on the the death and disorder in Libya. We've got the first western correspondent on the ground, inside Libya. Also, an exclusive with Barbara Walters, who's interviewed Moammar Gadhafi several times and we'll talk with a young woman trapped in Tripoli, who is risking her life to talk to us. She wants the world to know what she's seeing.
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Filed under: Live Blog |
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Maureen Miller
AC360° Writer
Tonight on 360°, we'll take you inside the uprising in Libya. An uprising where Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi seems to be losing his grip after 42 years at the helm. CNN's Ben Wedeman has managed to become the first Western journalist to get into the country. He reports the eastern part of the country appears to be under the control of opposition forces.
Meanwhile, in Tripoli witnesses report armed militia are firing on protesters. In the capital there have also been reports aircraft were targeting anti-government protesters.
But Libya's government denies those reports. Gadhafi's son, Saif Al-Islam Gadhafi, told the state news agency Al-Jamahirya the warplanes were targeting weapons depots in remote areas.
However, there's another twist. Two Libyan Air Force pilots defected to Malta today after being asked to bomb Libyan citizens, a Maltese government source said. Their fighter jets were armed with rockets and loaded machine guns, the source added.
Meanwhile, Libya's deputy ambassador to the United Nations told reporters today he's "expecting genocide in Tripoli.'
"The mass killing has reached a stage where no one can stay silent," Ibrahim Dabbaski said.
We'll have more of his message and you'll also hear from Gadhafi's hand-picked ambassador in Washington, who also seems to be breaking with him.
And, we'll talk over all of today's developments with Wedeman, Fouad Ajami, a professor at John Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies and CNN's Foreign Affairs Correspondent Jill Dougherty.
Anderson also talked with Barbara Walters of ABC News, who talked with Gadhafi 12 years ago in an exclusive interview. She has remarkable insight on the dictator.
Back here at home, we're following the budget protests in Wisconsin. Republican Gov. Scott Walker is blaming unions for the state's money woes and slowing fiscal reform.
Walker's budget proposal calls for state workers to pay more for their pensions and health insurance benefits, while slashing their collective bargaining rights. Opponents call the plan an assault on worker's rights.
We'll talk it over with CNN's Eliot Spitzer, the former Democratic governor of New York, and Republican strategist Ed Rollins.
Join us for these stories and much more starting at 10 p.m. ET. See you then.
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Filed under: Maureen Miller • The Buzz |
Ben Wedeman
CNN Correspondent
Eastern Libya (CNN) - Groups of men in civilian clothing, armed with weapons ranging from shotguns to machine guns, guarded streets in eastern Libya on Monday as opposition leaders appeared to be in firm control of much of the region.
Opposition groups formed "popular committees" to maintain some sort of order after pushing out government forces in a spreading revolt against longtime strongman Moammar Gadhafi, who has led the north African country since 1969.
One man who identified himself as a resistance leader said he has been meeting with Libyan military commanders in the region, and that a large part of the army has joined the anti-government forces. An ammunition dump was burning in the nearby desert, apparently set afire by retreating government forces.
But opposition leaders say they are concerned that pro-Gadhafi forces may try to retake the area, so the men on the street remain armed.
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Filed under: 360° Radar • 360º Follow • Ben Wedeman |
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AC360°
Tonight on AC360°, Eliot Spitzer, co-host of CNN's "Parker Spitzer," and CNN Political Analyst Ed Rollins will weigh in on the protests in Wisconsin over the state's strained budget and the role of collective bargaining by unions representing public employees.
Related: Wisconsin governor blasts public-sector unions as wasteful
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