Dozens killed in Libyan capital as Arab leaders struggle to calm unrest

Libyan leader Moammar Gaddafi's regime showed more signs of crumbling Monday following a volatile night in which dozens were reportedly killed in the capital and Gaddafi's son and heir-apparent declared in a televised speech that the North African nation could fall into anarchy if his father was ousted.

By Monday morning, the six-day-old uprising had reached the capital, Tripoli, amid reports of buildings being set ablaze and looting in some neighborhoods. In Libya's second-largest city of Benghazi, anti-government demonstrators celebrated on the streets, as reports grew that the city was now under their control.

Tribal leaders railed against Gaddafi while reports swirled of soldiers defecting from their units to the opposition. There were also reports of senior Libyan officials resigning from their posts, outraged by the killings carried out by security forces, according to Washington Post.

Reports say that 61 people have been killed in overnight clashes in Libya after a state address by leader Muammar Gaddafi's son.

Capital Tripoli was relatively peaceful until Sunday, with only pro-Gaddafi demonstrations being reported. But the situation there changed drastically on Sunday with tens and thousands of anti-government protesters taking to the streets demanding the ouster of the Gaddafi regime.

A number of European oil companies, including Norway's Statoil, Austria's OMV and Royal Dutch Shell, have moved some staff in Libya following the violence, while dependents of British Embassy staff in the country have been asked to fly home, Britain's Foreign Office said, RTTNews reports.