Gaddafi Flees Protests in Tripoli

Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi reportedly fled the state capital, either for Venezuela or for his hometown in the Sahara desert, Monday afternoon after state buildings—including the main courthouse, the parliament building, a bank, an intelligence-agency building, and at least two police stations—were burned down by protesters. The regime fought back the uprising overnight with the most brutal violence the Arab world has seen so far, with clashes claiming more than 300 lives since Thursday. There was reportedly a "massacre" of demonstrators who tried to take over the city's central Green Square, as security insurgents were accused of shooting demonstrators from moving vehicles and running them down. Gaddafi's son, Saif, said during a state TV broadcast that his father would fight "until the last man standing, even to the last woman standing and until the last bullet." Meanwhile, Gaddafi was allegedly spotted at Tripoli's airport where three planes took off. Earlier, British Foreign Secretary William Hague said he had information that suggested Gaddafi was on his way to Venezuela, ruled by his ally Hugo Chavez, but Venezuela then denied it.