LIBYA: Google map marks protest, violence, deaths

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A Google maps user has posted an interactive map outlining the locations and details associated with protests in Libya.

Users select icons on the map to separate reports of protests, police violence and death tolls.

“All electricity and gas has been cut off in the city of Zintan (and also Gala). A report that Zintan is surrounded by over 4000 armed soldiers,” wrote someone posting a report of violence at 10:20 p.m. local time.

“A report of revolutionary guards in the main square of Al Birka in Benghazi shooting anyone in sight,” wrote another user about the same time.

Death tolls on the map varied. One user reported a dozen people had died in clashes in Derna, in east Libya. Estimated fatalities in Al Bayda, where users said protesters clashed with security forces Thursday, ranged from four to 35. “City now reported to be under protestor control; images of Gadaffi being burned,” a user wrote.

The map’s creator, identified only as @Arasmus, appears to be based in Tehran, where he has been keeping the map updated by ‘compiling reports from trusted accounts on Twitter.’

In his introduction on the map, he urged others to send in more reports Thursday.

‘Because of the difficulty in properly translating Arabic names into English, reports including latitude and longitude data are preferred,’ he wrote, and linked to a video explaining how to determine latitude and longitude in Google maps.

-- Molly Hennessy-Fiske