OTTAWA — About 100 protesters marched on Parliament Hill Saturday to press for changes in Libya after the country responded with lethal force this week in the wake of an uprising against longtime leader Col. Moammar Gadhafi.

The Libyan-Canadians, many of whom still have family in their home country, held signs that read “Set Libya Free” and “Over 40 years of oppression” as they marched, shouting “No Gadhafi. Gadhafi no more!”

The fierce security crackdown was mounted in response to anti-government protests that sought to emulate uprisings in neighbouring Egypt and Tunisia.

At one point, Human Rights Watch said 84 people had been killed in the protests, though the death toll was believed to have rise on Sunday as further clashes in the eastern city of Benghazi took place.

“We’re here to raise awareness about the indiscriminate killing that’s happening by Gadhafi’s hired thugs,” said Balqees Mihiria, who helped to organize the Ottawa protest. “They’ve been arresting journalists, they’ve been arresting activists, anybody who speaks out has been arrested if they get found out.”

The somewhat-eccentric Gadhafi has ruled Libya for 41 years following a coup in 1969.

Ottawa Citizen

With files from Reuters