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"Uprisings: Region in Revolt"

Aired April 02, 2011 - 19:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. I'm Don Lemon at the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta. Welcome to our viewers here in the United States and around the world.

Tonight, a CNN special report, "UPRISINGS: REGION IN REVOLT."

The fight for Libya -- we'll look at the seesaw battle with the rebels and government forces and where they stand tonight.

And look at this footage from Syria -- a violent beating. This one on plain sight on the streets as the hunt intensifies for antigovernment protesters.

Plus -- held captive.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And one of the soldiers was yelling to me, "You're the translator. You're the spy." And then soon after that, they forced us on our stomachs and I think we all have that very sinking feeling of this was it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: A chilling interview with the four reporters from "The New York Times" who were held captive in Libya for nearly week, at the hands of Gadhafi's troops.

And is the United States really moving out of this conflict? As the president says, I'll ask a former defense secretary that very question.

But, first, let's get you caught up on the news in the region.

Libya is receiving the most attention at this moment, but it's only the latest tipping point in the region primed for revolt.

In Syria, security forces are rounding up people who took part in demonstrations against the regime yesterday.

In Yemen, at least five people were hurt today during both pro and anti-government demonstrations. Opposition leaders have unveiled a transition plan for the government. But, so far, Yemen's president refuses to step down.

In Egypt, thousands gathered in Cairo's Tahrir Square Friday to rally against a law that would criminalize protests.

In Jordan, police work to separate pro and anti-government demonstrators in the capital of Amman. They are trying to avoid of last week when protesters and government loyalists fought with rocks and sticks.

And, in Iraq, a peaceful protest turned violent when hundreds of Kurdish protesters clashed with police in the northern part of that country.

Demonstrations have erupted in recent weeks in other Middle Eastern and northern African nations, such as Algeria, Bahrain, Djibouti, Kuwait, Oman, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Tunisia and the Palestinian territories.

And we're returning now to Libya, where NATO forces may have committed one of the worst kinds of mistakes in the battle. The Libyan opposition says NATO airstrikes killed 13 rebels in the eastern oil town of Brega and wounded seven others. NATO is sorting out the details. Moammar Gadhafi's forces are showing no sign of backing down after rejecting a cease-fire offer from the rebels. And the opposition says it has captured Brega after losing it on Wednesday to troops loyal to Moammar Gadhafi.

Let's bring in now, CNN's Reza Sayah, live from the rebel stronghold of Benghazi.

So, Reza, you were at a press conference given by the rebels on that, one that reported the friendly fire incident. What did they say about it?

REZA SAYAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Don, at this point, the opposition is not being critical of NATO and the coalition. They are calling this an unfortunate incident. They say 13 rebels were killed and seven injured in this airstrike on Friday night that hit a convoy. Opposition officials are saying that convoy had learned (ph) airstrikes in the Brega area. And they were going forward to check out the damage, and that's when they were hit. Officials were saying this convoy was told to stay back, but for some reason, it went ahead and that's when the strike happened.

There are some accounts, some reports that perhaps some of the rebels in this convoy were firing celebratory gunfire and that's, perhaps, why the war planes targeted them. But these are accounts that haven't been verified. NATO says it is aware of the incident and is investigating.

But this is the first time that we know of that an airstrike, Don, has killed members of the opposition.

LEMON: And, Reza, the rebels are going to propose another cease-fire to Gadhafi?

SAYAH: That was the story yesterday. But in listening to the opposition officials, the offer seemed empty. It seemed hollow. And I think it had a lot to do with the U.N. special envoy to Libya that was in town who say he was acting as a mediator.

Of course, it's the U.N.'s mandate not regime change, only for a cease-fire and end to the bloodshed. And I think it would have been very awkward for the U.S. envoy to be standing next to the head of the opposition here, without the opposition at least appearing to be open to a cease-fire. But all of that talk of a cease-fire is gone from the opposition right now. Their goal remains regime change, Don.

LEMON: Reza, can you tell us where Gadhafi's men are on the offensive right now?

SAYAH: They are somewhere in or around Brega. Today, the opposition tried to be upbeat, saying they had retaken the town of Brega, the key oil town, and pushed back the Gadhafi forces westward. But that account did not match what civilians and some fighters were telling CNN coming out of Brega. Those individuals are telling CNN that there's still some fierce fighting going on there. And the town is still being fought over.

So, based on the information we have, it's still not clear who's holding this town of Brega. But it appears as if the frontline is somewhere in that area, Don.

LEMON: And, Reza, let's talk now about Eman al-Obeidy for a moment, the woman who was dragged by Libyan security after she made a very public, very emotional accusations that Gadhafi's had men raped her. We heard from her father now.

SAYAH: Yes, we speak to the family almost every day. Of course, all eyes were on today, this Saturday. The regime had promised at least journalists, two female journalists would be able to talk to her, to interview her. But we have no word if indeed that happened.

We've been speaking to the family, both the mother and father. They have no idea about the whereabouts of Eman and her sister. They both live together in Tripoli. The last time they spoke with them they say was on Sunday. So, not clear where they are at this point. Obviously, the family extremely worried and extremely concerned.

LEMON: Reza Sayah in Benghazi -- Reza, thank you very much.

The eyes of the world remain on Libya two weeks after an international coalition began attacking its defenses. But one of the other countries that we'd mentioned could become the next flashpoint in the region.

Mohammed Jamjoom explains why Syria could be a true game change.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MOHAMMED JAMJOOM, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The Arab spring, when seeds of regional revolution were sown. First, in Tunisia, then, Egypt. And now, those winds of change are sweeping through North Africa and the Middle East -- Bahrain, Yemen, Libya, Jordan, just to name a few. Protest movements taking root in countries with authoritarian regimes have never seen such defiance. But, now, what some thought unthinkable.

Syria, it started with citizens taking to the streets demanding more economic prosperity and political freedom, a shocking development in a country known as a police state where demonstrations are banned and emergency law has been in effect since 1963. President Bashar al- Assad has ruled Syria through a combination of nationalism and repression. He has offered concessions to demonstrators, but cracked down on them at the same time, fueling anger.

Now, a call for regime change has begun reverberating throughout the country -- a frightening scenario not just for Syria's leaders, but for regional neighbors, and the U.S., too. Turmoil in Syria could have far reaching consequences in the Middle East.

Allied with Iran, Syria has helped Hezbollah gain power in Lebanon, a move that challenges Israel's power in the region. And while Syria is still on the U.S. State Department list of state sponsors of terror, there has been a recent warming of relations between both. The U.S. knows there can be no comprehensive peace between Arabs and Israelis without Syria.

But, now, thousands of Syrians are risking their lives by taking to the streets to defy al-Assad's regime, demanding freedom and dignity.

Syria is a potential game-changer for the region. These protests suggest that no amount of nationalists or religious credentials can be enough to head off real demands for change.

(on camera): Meaning, there isn't a regime in the Middle East -- not Syria's ally, Iran not even America's ally, Saudi Arabia, that can afford to ignore the potential power of its people.

Mohammed Jamjoom, CNN, Abu Dhabi.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: Will the U.S. arm rebels in Libya? And if so, what could be the consequences? That report is next.

Plus, this --

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I was sitting like this and I guy reached over from the front seat and started caressing my hair like either like a mother would a son or a daughter. And then he started touching my face very sort of gently and saying this phrase over and over. And I sort of tried to put my head down.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: And four journalists held captive at the hands of Gadhafi's henchmen. Their harrowing stories are straight ahead here on CNN. And many of you have been sending or asking for information on social media. You can reach out to us on Twitter, on Facebook, at CNN.com/Don. And also on Foursquare.com

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates has stressed there will be no American boots on the ground in Libya. That's military boots. But CIA operatives reportedly are there to figure out who the opposition is and what they need.

Here's CNN Pentagon correspondent Chris Lawrence.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Libya's rebels say they are fighting tanks with trucks, using rifles when what they need are heavy weapons like more rocket-propelled grenades.

MAHMOUD SHAMMAM, INTERIM NATIONAL COUNCIL: We don't have arms at all. Otherwise, we would finish Gadhafi in a few days.

LAWRENCE: Maybe. Maybe not. Experts say Gadhafi's army is proving it won't give up after a loss or two.

FRANK ANDERSON, PRES., MIDDLE EAST POLICY COUNCIL: In order for the rebels to succeed in a series of battles, they have to have firepower that can be brought to bear enough to destroy formations of the Libyan armed forces.

LAWRENCE: Frank Anderson served 26 years in the CIA. He ran the Afghan task force and helped armed mujahedeen fighters there. So, he knows what he's talking about when he says --

ANDERSON: You can train someone to use a shoulder-fired anti-tank weapon in a matter of hours.

LAWRENCE (on camera): But just knowing how to shoot won't win a war. And Anderson says it could take a couple of weeks to teach battle tactics to small units. And right now, there is no coordination between these various rebel groups.

ROBERT GATES, DEFENSE SECRETARY: There's really no critical mass to work with, perhaps, outside of Benghazi.

LAWRENCE (voice-over): Maybe 1,000 have military training, one-tenth of Gadhafi forces.

The disparity really shows in the wide open desert spaces where rebel guns were no match for the regime's long-range firepower.

ANDERSON: My experience is that Darwin (ph) works very quickly in war.

LAWRENCE: The ex-CIA officer says if the allies give rebels more anti-tank weapons and consistent air support, they could survive enough battles to teach new recruits.

ANDERSON: And that's an army that will grow in skill very, very quickly.

LAWRENCE: But Anderson offers a warning from his own experience of Americans arming Afghanistan's mujahedeen.

ANDERSON: They turn out to be corrupt and rapacious. And I mean rapacious is the sense that they were literally guilty of raping citizens, and they brought on the Taliban.

LAWRENCE: Chris Lawrence, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: And when we return, we'll map out the military gains and losses in Libya between Gadhafi forces and the rebels, and what the rebels need to win.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Advance, retreat, regroup and advance again. We have been seeing that over and over again with the Libya's rebels as they battle Moammar Gadhafi's better armed and more experienced soldiers. I asked CNN's Tom Foreman if NATO airstrikes mean the difference between victory and defeat -- Tom.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Don, the equation all along has really been very simple. The truth is, in the beginning, all of these rebels pushed forward. They took town after town, they pushed toward Tripoli.

Then, when Gadhafi seemed like he was going to fall, he started pushing back in a big way. He took back the very towns they had taken and moved back over here. The simple part of the equation is this. When the rebels have the air cover and support in a big way from NATO and/or the United States, they're able to take and hold ground. When they do not, he takes and holds ground.

And I want to show you precisely why that is the case. If you look on these detailed photographs from the battle of Misrata, you can see that when the airstrikes come in, they can shutdown some of his prime assets.

For example, here's an airfield. He has more than a dozen of these. Some planes have been hit over here. Is that important? Maybe not.

These planes -- this is important. Big fighter jets are wiped out. And their ability to move has been compromised. But that can be taken off the field.

Here is a closer picture of those fighter jets after the hit. Look at those. A lot of damage here. That's important. But if you take that out of the equation and you say the airstrikes are no longer just about getting rid of his airfield and his air power, and then you start looking about what's happening on the roads and that's a lot more complex. As long as there is heavy pressure -- you see this gathering of rebels along the road, as long as there is heavy pressure from NATO forces or U.S. forces, they can do this. They can mobilize and they can try to fight back.

If there's not heavy pressure, the simple truth is: even where they cut some roads to slow down the heavy armament, Gadhafi and his forces can position, particularly with heavy artillery, and they can put enormous pressure on the rebels. That's really what this is all about: pressure coming from the west, Gadhafi's forces, or east, from the rebels, and whether or not NATO is going to tip the scales -- Don.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: All right, Tom, thank you very much.

Joining me now is a man with personal experience in the deployment of U.S. air power. William Cohen is a former Republican senator who served as the defense secretary during the Clinton administration. And he now leads the Cohen Group, an international consulting firm that represents defense contractors and others.

Hello to you, Secretary Cohen. Thanks for being with us.

WILLIAM COHEN, FMR. U.S. DEFENSE SECRETARY: Good evening.

LEMON: How would you assess the effectiveness of this mission so far?

COHEN: Well, the mission is still rather unclear because I think we have a mismatch between the stated military objective -- namely, to prevent Gadhafi from slaughtering innocent civilians -- to the stated political objective, and that is to get rid of Moammar Gadhafi. So, we have to reconcile the two of those if there's going to be any measure of success here.

But I would say that unless NATO really goes after Gadhafi's forces and go after his lines of communication, go after his supply lines, take out the ability to reinforce the tanks and other heavy equipment that he has, I think the rebels are going to be on the losing end of this particular battle.

LEMON: Secretary Cohen, let's listen to President Obama earlier in the week.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It's true that America cannot use our military wherever oppression occurs. And given the cost and risks of intervention, we must always measure our interests against the need for action. But that cannot be an argument for never acting on behalf of what's right.

(END VIDEO CLIP) LEMON: And in that speech, the president went on to say that U.S. involvement now -- the U.S. would be moving out of this mission and other members of the coalition would be taking over. Is that so?

COHEN: Well, we have the two top generals in NATO, our U.S. generals -- Stavridis, who is the European commander of forces there, supreme allied commander and his deputy. So, when turning it over to NATO, it may be that we're not using our fighters at this particular point, but, surely, the French have fighters, the Brits do. And so, we have NATO countries who can, in fact, take much more aggressive action than currently is being taken.

The decision has to be made in terms of whether or not they're going to go after Gadhafi's forces in a way to really minimize his ability to go after the rebels.

We have taken sides. Here's the problem we have, the real dilemma. The president has taken sides by saying Gadhafi has to go.

When the president of the United States takes a public position that a leader of another country has to go, then you can't allow the situation to fail. And that's where we're caught in this mismatch now. We can't reconcile our stated military goals with the stated political goals. That has to be reconciled if we're going to have any credibility in the future.

LEMON: So, we're still in it, the U.S.?

COHEN: We're still in it. I think we can't afford to lose it at this point by allowing Gadhafi to stay in power. And the longer this goes on, I think the worse it's going to be for the rebels, Gadhafi's forces will gain more and more strength -- and I think that we'll see an impairment of our credibility as well as that of NATO and the U.N.

LEMON: So, let's talk more about the president's speech. He talked about the reason the U.S. got involved and as well as other allies. Do you think that this mission was well-planned from the beginning?

COHEN: I think it was put together very quickly without a great deal of time to have the planning that obviously is necessary in any kind of a military action.

We're now putting shoes on the ground, as they've been saying, by putting CIA officials to try to determine who the rebels are. Are they affiliated with al Qaeda? Are they somebody we really should be associating with? What are their capabilities? What sort of strategies can we help put together so they can become a fighting force.

Usually, you put them on the ground in the beginning, not in the middle. But we took action when we had to take action, as a result of the Arab League really passing that resolution for a no-fly zone. I think without that, it would have been difficult to get a Security Council resolution. I think the United States probably would not have been able to take action under those circumstances. So, now, the Arab League seeing that a no-fly zone really is quite different than what they anticipated -- it's no-fly, it's also a no- drive. It means going after targets on the ground and killing people.

Now, that's the deal that they signed up for. They are having buyer's remorse on this. And the longer it goes, the greater the remorse is going to be.

What we have to be careful of is we don't have seller's remorse, namely, we sold this as an objective -- political objective to remove Gadhafi, drive him from office, cut off his base of support, have him leave peacefully, if possible, but to go militarily as necessary. I think that's the stated objective politically and I think that we're going to have trouble holding the coalition together if we're not able to resolve in a reasonably foreseeable timeframe.

LEMON: All right. Secretary Cohen, thank you.

COHEN: My pleasure.

LEMON: Remember scenes like this in Cairo's famous Liberation Square.

(VIDEO CLIP PLAYS)

LEMON: Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood is not forgetting. Find out how it's trying to make sure it doesn't left out of the new Egypt, when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood is trying to seize momentum in the wake of a revolution that toppled President Hosni Mubarak. Although the Islamist movement largely stayed on the sidelines during the uprisings earlier this year, it's looking to change its public perception and counter accusation it's seeking to hijack the revolution.

CNN's Ivan Watson takes a closer look from Cairo.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

IVAN WATSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Egypt's Islamist politicians have an image problem. For years, this is how they have been depicted in the Egyptian media, as fanatics, armed with bomb belts and guns, waging war against the government.

But now that Hosni Mubarak is gone, some activists are trying to fix this. They invited journalists to the conference organized by the youth of the Muslim Brotherhood, Egypt's oldest and best organized Islamist political movement.

SARA MOHAMED, UNIVERSITY STUDENT: I'm excited because it's the first time for us to have an announced conference for the Muslim Brotherhood at all.

WATSON (on camera): Ever? MOHAMED: Yes, ever.

WATSON (voice-over): Members who once met in secret now openly debating the future of their movement.

MOHAMED: It must be presenting the youth's thoughts, the women's thoughts, their own thoughts and their own goals to reach in a -- via the parliament or something.

WATSON: And there are disagreements. Activists Walid El Hadad says younger members want a bigger say in the leadership of the movement, which he says was conspicuously absent during the revolution in Cairo's Tahrir Square.

WALID EL HADAD, ACTIVIST: We are leading in Tahrir Square, but actually, our leaders aren't, and the officers only hear what's happened in the square, without coming with us to lead in Tahrir Square.

WATSON: Despite some divisions, Egyptian analysts say the Muslim Brotherhood won big when 18 million Egyptians voted in a historic referendum on constitutional reform on March 19th. By a large margin, voters approved a fast-track revision of the constitution that favors established groups like the Brotherhood over a more secular group that are struggling to get organized.

Some more radical clerics called it a victory for Islam.

The people said yes to religion said this Salahid priest. Those who don't like it can leave Egypt with their American and Canadian visas, a thousand goodbyes.

Senior Brotherhood leaders have denounced those statements.

DR. IBRAHIM ZAFARANI, MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD (through translator): Radical groups that may use violence have surfaced in this atmosphere of freedom after the revolution. This distorts the image of Islam.

WATSON: But the referendum taught Egypt's young secular revolutionaries a valuable lesson.

(on camera): Could you win an election tomorrow?

MOHAMAD TAMAN, ACTIVIST: For us? No. For the next parliament elections, we are sure that we are not be able to be ready.

WATSON (voice-over): The Muslim Brotherhood has been part of Egyptian life since 1928 and is battle hardened by decades of repression. Pro- democracy activists are struggling to maintain the momentum of Tahrir Square. They can barely get 1,000 demonstrators to this recent protest. With just six months before parliamentary elections, Egypt's secular groups has a lot of catching up to do.

Ivan Watson, CNN, Cairo.

(END VIDEOTAPE) DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: When we come right back here on CNN, a look at some other stories making headlines, including a dramatic rescue of a dog stranded on the rooftop in Japan more than three weeks after the tsunami struck.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Stories making headlines right now. Libya. NATO air strikes may have accidentally killed 13 rebels with friendly fire. That's according to a Libyan opposition spokesman. Seven others were reportedly wounded by the attack in the eastern oil town of Brega. NATO is still sorting out the details of exactly what happened.

In Japan, officials say radioactive water leaking into the ocean from the damaged nuclear plant appears to be coming from an eight-inch crack in the concrete pipe outside of a reactor. Efforts to seal the crack today with concrete were not successful. They will try again tomorrow to plug the leak using synthetic material but they still don't know where the contaminated water is coming from.

An incredible story of survival to tell you about in Japan three weeks after the tsunami swept entire villages out to sea. Rescuers today pulled a pet dog from one of those floating islands of debris. Despite being cold and hungry, the dog looked to be in remarkable good shape after being adrift for so long.

A bizarre mishap in the skies over Arizona here in the U.S.. It ahs federal investigators now pouring over a Boeing 737 belonging to Southwest Airlines. The plane was at 36,000 feet on Friday, heading from Phoenix, Arizona to Sacramento, California when a large four foot hole popped up in the top of the plane. The pilot quickly brought the plane down to safety at a military airstrip in Yuma, Arizona. No one was hurt by the sudden decompression. But passengers said it was a terrifying experience.

Returning now to the special coverage. "Uprisings, Region in Revolt." Defiance seems to be spreading from country to country in the Middle East. And it is all happening so rapidly that the outcome is very hard to predict. So I want to bring in Mohammed Jamjoom standing by in Abu Dhabi. Mohammed, earlier in this broadcast, we saw the report from you, it was on Syria. Why is the protest movement there so significant and why is the U.S. worried about what is going on there?

MOHAMMED JAMJOOM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Don, I can't stress enough how extraordinary it is that people are out demonstrating in the streets in Syria. This is a country where it's known as a police state. It is not just that it is illegal to demonstrate there. The country has been in a state of emergency - there's been an emergency law there for almost 50 years that bans people from demonstrating, from gathering. So the fact that they are coming out into the street suggests that a barrier or fear has been broken. That people aren't afraid to express themselves.

What started out as a localized protest movement has blossomed into something of a movement asking for regime changes spreading throughout the country. As to why it is so significant there, Syria is a key regional player. Syria has its hands in a lot of pies here in the Middle East, not just in Lebanon where they back Hezbollah. Very close allies with Iran. At the same time even though they're seen as a state backed sponsor of terror by the U.S. State Department, there has been a warming of relations between the U.S. and Syria over the past four years. Simply put there cannot be any comprehensive peace in the Middle East without Syria being a key player in that. Don.

LEMON: And Mohammed, what about Yemen. We've seen protest movement there gain so much momentum, what happens in the fight against Al Qaeda if there is a power vacuum there?

JAMJOOM: Don, this is the thing that the U.S. and other allies of Yemen are so concerned about. The president has ruled there for 32 years. Now, he is seen as a key ally in the fight against Al Qaeda. Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, their hub, their base is in Yemen. From within Yemen, they have been able to try to launch spectacular attacks against the west, not just the U.S., Arab regional neighbors, other parts of the west as well. So people are very concerned

If his shoes are going to be filled, who would do it? Would it be somebody who would try to mobilize the military, try to help the U.S. and other allies in their fight against Al Qaeda? Nobody just knows that at this point. Don.

LEMON: And Mohammed, can we go back to Syria? Because you mentioned how it is connected with Iran. What about its proximity to Iraq? Does that play a role in the concern as well?

JAMJOOM: Oh, absolutely. People have speculated for years that attacks against the U.S. in Iraq were happening from within Syria. That refugees have gone there. That there have been terrorists plots from within Syria. It is a real concern. Syria plays a real key role in the Middle East, so many countries, its proximity to so many countries, its links with so many groups. That is just one of the things that compounds the concern about what's going to happen in Syria and if there is more unrest, there are more political instability. Don.

LEMON: Mohammed Jamjoom in Abu Dhabi. Thank you.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If you panic, you die.

LYNSEY ADDARIO, "NEW YORK TIMES": It helped that we were together. I mean, you know, there were moments when I couldn't stop crying and I felt -

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Four American journalists held captive for nearly a week. They share their ordeal. It is a powerful interview that you don't want to miss.

And CNN takes you as close as our cameras can get to the frontlines to the war in Libya. That's next. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Under siege in Libya. The western city of Misrata has faced weeks of shelling and gunfire from soldiers loyal to Moammar Gadhafi. But rebels there are still holding out.

CNN's Frederik Pleitgen made it inside the bombed (INAUDIBLE) city and shows us that danger lurks in every corner and every rooftop.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Weeks of urban combat have taken their toll on Misrata. Badly damaged buildings, street littered with wreck. Libya's third largest city, the final opposition stronghold in the west is under siege by pro-Gadhafi forces.

(on camera): All right. So we're extremely close to the front line right now. We are with a couple of the fighters from the opposition forces and this is in downtown Misrata. There is a lot of destruction everywhere. Most of the buildings here have some sort of damage to them. Pockmarks. A lot of destroyed cars in the streets as well. We can also see that the people that we are with, the fighters that we are with, are very, very tense at this moment.

(voice-over): A celebration on a destroyed armored vehicle. A step too far for pro-Gadhafi forces nearby and the scene turns ugly.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: As you see, that all is destroyed by Gadhafi forces. Buildings, gas stations, schools and restaurants and police station. Even fire station, they destroyed it.

PLEITGEN: Most residents have fled downtown Misrata as pro-Gadhafi forces have positioned snipers are tall buildings and use tanks and artillery in the city center.

The anti-Gadhafi fighters badly outgunned fight back with the few weapons they have. They provided us with this video saying it shows a man disabling a battle tank with a rocket-propelled grenade.

Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Misrata, Libya.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: And in the U.S., in a small city in Tennessee. Residents are divided over a Muslim mosque being built in their backyard. It's part of a CNN special report airing next hour.

And many of you have been sending and asking for information on social media. You can reach out to us on Twitter, on Facebook at CNN.com/don and on Foursquare. We want to hear from you.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If you panic you die.

ADDARIO: I think it helped that we were together. I mean, you know, there were moments when I couldn't stop crying. And I felt so weak and I tried to sort of muffle it. And I was trying not to cry and you know, inevitably, one of them was sitting next to me and would say like "There were people who love you. We're going to make it out of this. You just have to get through it." You know, and it's very helpful to have colleagues with you. I mean, we were so lucky that we were together.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Four journalists from "The New York Times" were held captive in Libya for nearly a week by Gadhafi troops. Ahead, you will hear their harrowing stories in their own words. It's an interview that you don't want to miss.

Also, listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Officially, we have filed the lawsuit to stop the building of the mosque.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Residents of a small U.S. southern city get into a territory fight after learning a mosque is being built in their backyard. It is part of a CNN special report called "Unwelcome The Muslims Next Door," at the top of hour for our U.S. audience.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: I want to recap our Middle East news.

Libya is receiving most of the attention at the moment, but it's only the latest tipping point in a region primed for revolt. In Syria, security forces are rounding up people who took part in massive demonstrations against the regime yesterday. In Yemen, at least five people were hurt today during both pro and anti-government demonstrations. Opposition leaders have unveiled a transition plan for the government, but so far, Yemen's president refuses to step down.

In Egypt, thousands gathered in Cairo's Tahrir Square Friday to rally against a law that would criminalize protests. In Jordan, police worked to separate pro and anti-government demonstrations at the capitol in Oman.

They're trying to avoid a repeat of last week when protesters and government loyalists fought with rocks and sticks. In Iraq, a peaceful protest turned violent when hundreds of Kurdish protesters clashed with police in the northern part of the country.

Also we want to tell you about what's happening in Japan. Officials say radioactive water leaking into the ocean from a damaged nuclear plant appears to be coming from an eight-inch crack in a concrete pipe outside a reactor. Efforts to seal the crack today with concrete were not successful. They will try again tomorrow to plug the leak using synthetic material, but they still don't nowhere the contaminated water is coming from.

An incredible story of survival in Japan. Three weeks after the tsunami swept entire villages out to sea, rescuers today pulled a pet dog from one of those floating islands of debris. Despite being cold and hungry, the dog looked to be in remarkably good shape after being adrift for so long.

A bizarre mishap in the skies over Arizona in the United States. It has federal investigators now poring over a Boeing 737 that belongs to Southwest Airlines. The plane was at 36,000 feet on Friday, heading from Phoenix, Arizona, to Sacramento, California, when a large four- foot hole popped open in the top of that plane. The pilot quickly brought the plane down safely at a military airstrip in Yuma, Arizona. No one was hurt by the sudden decompression, but passengers said it was terrifying, nonetheless.

Four "New York Times" staffers recently held captive for nearly a week in Libya are now telling their stories. The four first survived a vicious firefight, only to find themselves face to face with forces loyal to Moammar Gadhafi. They talked about their ordeal with our Anderson Cooper on CNN's "A.C. 360."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST: Let's start at the beginning. I mean, you guys were driving out of Ajdabiya (ph) because you knew Gadhafi forces were moving in, right?

TYLER HICKS, "THE NEW YORK TIMES": Yes. We had been treating this in the same way that we had with other cities that had fighting in them, like Brega, Ras Lanuf. So as Gadhafi forces were bombing from the west of the city inwards, we were kind of pulling back slowly as that advance was coming.

COOPER: And you're all in one vehicle, you have a driver, a guy named Mohammad, and you're driving what to the east gate of the city?

ANTHONY SHADID, "THE NEW YORK TIMES": That was the most haunting - one thing that played over in my head, that creeping realization of what we were actually up against. And Lynsey was the first to realize that it was a government checkpoint. And it must have been seconds, but it felt like minutes, as we got closer and closer, we saw the green military uniforms, the military vehicles, and almost, almost instantly you realize that you were actually at a government checkpoint and we had few - we had pretty much no options.

COOPER: That's got to be the worst feeling, see the green vehicles, and realize, "Wait a minute, there's a level of organization here, these guys aren't the opposition's forces, this is Gadhafi's people."

ADDARIO: And you can't turn around and go back, because they'll open fire. I mean, you would assume that they would open fire. You look more suspicious if you try and run away. So we just sort of - we made a decision to go forward, and at some point, you know, there's - it's so chaotic. You don't know what the best option was.

I mean, Tyler was saying, "don't stop, don't stop." Because we just kind of just wanted to coast through and hope that they wouldn't recognize that we were foreigners, but at the same time they knew that we weren't. I mean, they saw Tyler in the front seat.

COOPER: And the risk is if you don't stop, they'll just open fire.

ADDARIO: Right. It's kind of a no-win situation. And then our driver when he stopped the car and he jumped out, (INAUDIBLE) journalists and then it was chaos.

COOPER: All hell broke loose.

ANTHONY SHADID, "THE NEW YORK TIMES": One of the soldiers was yelling at me, "You're the translator, you're the spy." And then soon after that they forced us on our stomachs and I think we all had this very sinking feeling that this was it. I remember, on my stomach, looking up and I remember him being a tall soldier and him saying, "Shoot the them." And it felt like to me again, it felt like a lot of time elapsed, but I think it was probably just a matter of seconds, and another soldier said to him, "You can't, they're Americans."

COOPER: You really thought they were going to die?

HICKS: Yes. When they demanded that we lay on our stomachs, we all were begging, "No, we don't want to go - we're sorry." We're begging not to go on our stomachs. We all felt that once we were on our stomachs, they're just going to start shooting. And as soon as I went on my stomach, I was just waiting to hear gunfire. And it was really a sinking and empty feeling.

COOPER: Stephen, is that why you wanted to maintain eye contact?

STEPHEN FARRELL, "THE NEW YORK TIMES": Yes, it's never over until it's over. Unfortunately, I've been in this situation before, more than once.

COOPER: You were taken hostage in Afghanistan.

FARRELL: I was taken hostage in Afghanistan and in Iraq in 2004. And the -

COOPER: Are you lucky or incredibly unlucky?

FARRELL: Both. I mean, there was no real question of making a run for it at that point, because you're surrounded by guys with guns and if you present your back to these guys, they're just going to shoot you and enjoy doing it. You can only work them if you're looking at them, if you're looking in their eye -

COOPER: Because if you're showing your back, you're no longer a person? You're easier to kill? FARRELL: You can't be talking with them, you can't be negotiating with them if your back is turned to them. They're not going to have any compunction about shooting you. They're going to enjoy it. So we were just, Anthony was working, (INAUDIBLE) throwing the Arabic and I was throwing whatever Arabic I have with them. You just push every button you can, as quickly as you can, in the seconds you may or may not have.

Journalists, that wasn't working, Americans, that did seem to hit a chord. And they were forcing us on our - they were saying, get down, and we all went halfway. Like, it's crazy, you're like compromising with nothing to - no cards to play, but you're trying to play them. Get down, right, I'll go to my knees, I'm just not going all the way down, face down, because then you've kind of lost everything.

COOPER: And you think it's the fact that they viewed you as Americans, that's what made the difference?

SHADID: I think the idea of executing three American and a British journalist would have had implications and there was going to be, you know, repercussions of basically executing us there at a checkpoint, that we were somehow - I try to say this without reading value into it, but that we were somehow worth something.

COOPER: And Lynsey, you weren't spared any different treatment because you were a woman?

ADDARIO: I think I was spared - I was punched in the face twice -

COOPER: While you were bound?

ADDARIO: Yes. While I was bound.

COOPER: Obviously, as a woman, as you mentioned early on, you were afraid about being raped. They would come and sort of grope you, right?

ADDARIO: They came and groped me, every - from the minute we were taken, from when we were put on the ground, face down, and then they started searching our pockets. A guy flipped me over and immediately, he started touching me. And I think, for me, I've never been touched like that in the Muslim world and I've been working 11 years in the Muslim world, so I said - that's when I said, "Oh, god, I just don't want to be raped."

So for me, the entire time this went on, my one fear was that I was going to get separated from the group, because I kept thinking, they might drag me off. And so every time I was blindfolded or moved somewhere, I kept saying, "Are you there, are you with me?" We all were very scared about being separated. But I wasn't. I mean, there was one time in the prison where someone came in and picked up my leg and tried to drag me out of the cell and I squirmed up and literally like spooned Anthony, and I think you were like, you weren't even conscious, you were like asleep or something. And the guy put my leg down and then he picked it back up and started pulling me out again and I just squirmed back up and I basically just lied next to Anthony and he left. He just sort of gave up and said OK.

COOPER: There was another moment where somebody was stroking your hair?

ADDARIO: Yes, this was twisted. I was sitting next to Anthony and we were all put in the back of a Land Cruiser. And I was on the end and, again, blindfolded and hands tied behind my back at this point and I was sitting like this and a guy reached over from the front seat and started caressing my hair, like, either like a mother would a son or a daughter, and then he started touching my face, very sort of gently and saying this phrase over and over, and I sort of tried to put my head down and he picked it up and just kept caressing me in this weird sort of tender way. And he was saying this phrase over and over and I said to Anthony, I said, "What's mort, right - I said, what is he saying," and Anthony said, he's telling you you're going to die tonight.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: That was from CNN's "A.C. 360."

I'm Don Lemon at the CNN World headquarters in Atlanta. Thank you so much for watching. For our U.S. viewers, CNN presents "Unwelcome: The Muslims Next Door" is next, and for our international viewers, "World Report" with Ralitsa Vassileva.

Good night.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WATSON: This is in downtown Misrata. There's a lot of destruction everywhere. Most of the buildings here have some sort of damage to them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)