AT LEAST 20 people were killed in the Libyan capital, Tripoli, after bodyguards loyal to sons of the leader, Col Muammar Gadafy, fired at spectators who were shouting hostile slogans at a football match, diplomats said yesterday.
Some sections of the crowd shot back, causing thousands of panicked spectators to stampede out of the stadium, one diplomat said. He said he had reports of up to 50 dead at the match, which was played last Tuesday between two local teams.
Several other people were injured in the crossfire and in the crush of the crowd, the diplomats added.
The spectators began chanting the anti Gadafy slogans after the referee sided with the team which Col Gadafy's sons were supporting on a deciding shot, another diplomat said. During the violence, some angry fans ran on to the pitch and stabbed the referee, he added.
The rioters then spilled into the streets, stoning cars belonging to foreigners, harassing passers by and chanting more slogans. At least two car windows were smashed, diplomats said.
"You know not to go out after a football match in Libya," a Western diplomat said. "When they're happy, the Libyans jump on cars after a football match and when they're upset, they throw stones at them."
Libya's state run radio and television reported "riots" at a football match and said a number of people were killed. It did not give any details on casualties but said yesterday was officially declared a day of mourning in the Tripoli region.
A Cairo based Libyan official said there would be no football matches for at least 40 days after the riot in respect for the dead. Other officials said the two Tripoli football clubs Al-Itihad and Al-Ably - had been disbanded.
Tripoli has been relatively free of violent opposition to 27 years of rule by Col Gadafy, in contrast to the Benghazi area in northeastern Libya, a hotbed of Muslim militant activity.
Last month Tripoli police clashed with hundreds of political prisoners at Abu Saleem prison after the prisoners held some of the warders and some 100 people were killed in the clash.
Political analysts say four years of UN sanctions has driven some Libyans into demanding change. But Libya has blamed Egyptian and Sudanese immigrants for the unrest and last year deported hundreds for security reasons.
The UN imposed sanctions against Libya in 1992 for its refusal to hand over two Libyans wanted in connection with the bombing of a Pan Am airliner over Lockerbie, Scotland, in 1988 in which 270 people were killed.