Protesters ransack Gaddafi's summer home

Protesters ransack Gaddafi's summer home

2011-02-28 01:17:04 GMT+7 (ICT)

CAIRO (BNO NEWS) -- Anti-government protesters have ransacked a summer home belonging to Libyan leader Colonel Muammar Gaddafi, the Dubai-based Gulf News newspaper reported on Sunday.

Gulf News reporter Abbas Al Lawati and Deputy Managing Editor Mick O'Reilly stumbled upon the ransacked residence on Sunday morning in the mountains of eastern Libya, which is said to have been partly taken over by the Libyan opposition.

Abbas said a bunker beneath a swimming pool had been broken into. "The door to the bunker was like a vault and there were yellow arrows on the walls indicating escape routes. One leads to the bunker and the other escape route leads to the outdoors," he said, as reported by the newspaper.

Abbas added that the secret bunker was soundproof and appeared to be designed for someone to stay in for a long time. "All the facilities inside the bunker were ripped out including the toilet," he said.

Libya has been plunged into chaos as massive anti-government protests continue nationwide, resulting in a violent crackdown by security forces which included aerial bombardments on protesters. At least 300 people and as many as more than 1,000 people have been killed in the uprising, but confirmed information has been difficult to obtain due to reporting restrictions by Libyan authorities.

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