BENGHAZI, Libya — Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi maintained a crackdown in the capital Monday as anti-government protesters appeared in the streets of Tripoli and fighting against Gadhafi forces broke out in other cities.
In Tripoli, a few hundred protesters marched in the Tajoura district after burying one of the victims of a deadly crackdown last week, said Ahmad Hamadi, a resident of Tripoli. Pro-government forces dispersed the protesters, and no casualties were reported.
"We were peacefully walking toward Green Square when the militia drove in from both sides of the road," he said. "They shot randomly into the crowd until everybody had to flee."
Banks and many stores in Tripoli were open Monday. Still, some residents stayed in their homes, and the price of basic foods has jumped.
"Even though a state of stability has reigned here for the past few days, people are in a terrible situation," said Nouri Boukhchem, 45, a professor at Al-Wifak University in Tripoli. "Some are starving because of what has happened."
Libyan authorities tried to show all was well. Libyan military troops took foreign reporters on a tour in Sabratha, west of Tripoli, to see a pro-Gadhafi demonstration.
"To escape Gadhafi's wrath and avoid being threatened, you have to wave the green flag and to praise the great leader publicly," Boukchem said. "He doesn't believe in neutrality. Either you are with him or against him. And against him, you know your fate."
Rebels who hold most of the eastern part of the country struggled to keep the cities of Misurata and Zawiya in their hands.
