'Human Shield' Erected Around Gaddafi Compound

The New York Times reports:

TRIPOLI, Libya — Even as the Allied intervention began, a group of foreign journalists were bused on a rare visit inside Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi‘s compound — a labyrinth of concrete barracks, fortified walls and barbed wire designed to deter potential military coups.

There, hundreds of supporters offered themselves up as human shields, cheering to newly minted dance songs about their adoration for their leader. “House by house, ally by ally,” the catchiest song went, quoting a Qaddafi speech. “Disinfect the germs from each house and each room.”

Mostly women and children, some said they were the families of soldiers in Colonel Qaddafi’s forces. They said they had come to protect Colonel Qaddafi’s compound from bombing by volunteering to be shields. “If they want to hit Muammar Qaddafi, they must hit us because we are all Muammar Qaddafi,” said Ghazad Muftah, a 52-year-old widow of a soldier from the Warfalla tribe, who said she was there with her six grown children.

Find the whole report here.