[Becky Anderson:] Gadhafi's supporters in Tripoli, brought to you by Libyan state TV. But our eyewitness tonight tells a very different story. Gadhafi may have control of the capital, but a growing number of cities in the east are joining the uprising. Later, CNN reveals a Kenyan hospital you wouldn't imagine in your worst nightmares. And time is running out for trapped survivors in New Zealand. We're going to head there live for you this hour. All that and more tonight, as we connect the world. First up, town by town, Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi is losing his grip on power, despite an all-out war on the opposition. But the popular uprising that succeeded in parts of the east has so far been extinguished in the capital. State TV broadcast these pictures of pro-government demonstrations today, trying to give the appearance that Gadhafi remains popular in Tripoli. The regime isn't allowing any other news coverage, but we are getting reports from residents that tell a very different story. They say protests have left the streets simply because it's too dangerous for them to be there, saying mercenaries are around every corner. have a listen to this. You won't hear it anywhere else.
[Anderson:] Well, the phones are still down in Tripoli, but we've been able to get through to our unnamed source. We've spoken to her a number of times now by Skype. Let's see what she's got to say today. Hello, there. What can you tell us, at this point?
[Unidentified Female:] All today, all Central Tripoli has been empty. There is no police cars. There is no protesters, no anti-protester anti- Gadhafi protesters. There is no one. It's it's it's empty.
[Anderson:] Why is that?
[Unidentified Female:] I don't know. What I do know is that the system is preparing something massive for its public. And Gadhafi's speech had proven that yesterday on his speech.
[Anderson:] So explain to me what life is like in Tripoli at present. I mean have you been out of your house recently?
[Unidentified Female:] I haven't been out anywhere. But what's been happening today, since three hours ago, the mobile companies have been texting its customers to encourage them to go out. And I have a reliable source that's been saying that there is an operation room ran by one of the closest people of the Gadhafi and they're trying to make people feel safe enough to go to the streets so they can start shooting again.
[Anderson:] Is anybody you know prepared to go out into the streets at this point?
[Unidentified Female:] Everybody is scared. And some of them are losing hope, especially that there are rumors that Gadhafi is cleaning the street for CNN to come in and he's trying to prove especially your channel, he's trying to prove that there is nothing happening in Tripoli right now.
[Anderson:] How how are you coping as far as food, money, drinking water, is concerned?
[Unidentified Female:] Actually, we are relying for what we saved. We're trying to use as less as possible, because nobody knows when they're going to get out. Everybody is having a hard time getting any kind of medication. A lot of people, and I myself, have been sick for the last couple of days and we couldn't get access to any medication.
[Anderson:] Our unnamed source speaking to me by Skype earlier on today. The phone lines are very, very, very difficult to access in Libya. So that's the story on the ground in Tripoli. We've had next to no access to the capital, apart from eyewitness accounts like the one that you just heard. We do, though, have views from key players to bring you this hour. Israel has not been saying very much on the unrest in the Middle East, but their defense minister spoke to CNN earlier today. Ehud Barak, coming up. And the view from Malaysia Prime Minister Najib Razak runs a modern, secular state. He is in Turkey to promote the view that Islam and democracy are absolutely compatible, despite anything that you may hear to the contrary. My interview the him in just a few minutes. For now, though, let's get more on the situation on the ground in Libya. You saw what's happening in Tripoli. Let's show you the eastern part of the country now, where people in many towns are celebrating their liberation from the Gadhafi regime. Our Ben Wedeman reports many soldiers in this region have switched sides to join the revolution, while others appear to be hedging their bets.
[Ben Wedeman, Cnn Sr. International Correspondent:] "Are you with the regime or with the people's revolution?" Saif, a Libyan Army officer who defected to the anti-Gadhafi forces, is addressing a group of prisoners. They respond in unison, "With the people's revolution." All but one of these men are soldiers captured in the uprising in eastern Libya, now held in a nondescript house. Many were severely beaten by angry crowds after their surrender, saved from a far worse fate by community leaders. The men insist they didn't want to fire upon the anti-Gadhafi protesters and tried to avoid carrying out their officers' orders. "We were shooting randomly in the air," said this soldier. "All the guys there were firing up." But the officer, Saif, isn't convinced. "Innocent people died. Innocent people," he says, "your Libyan brothers." Local activist Shukri al-Hasi suspects they may still be loyal to the regime. "Some units of the army gave themselves up," he says, "but you didn't." We had come here looking for the much talked about foreign mercenaries used by the regime to suppress anti-government protests. But the only person who might fit that description was Issa Adam, originally from Chad, but a Libyan citizen since the age of five. He tells an unlikely story of being compelled to board a military plane to the east and suddenly finding himself in the middle of a demonstration. He insists no one paid him to fight the protesters. And as I finish the interview with Issa, Saif, the army officer, turned to the camera, addressing his fellow officers still siding with the regime. "I appeal to you to join the people's revolt. Join the people's revolt" an appeal that might be heeded in an army divided. Ben Wedeman, CNN, eastern Libya.
[Anderson:] Well, many heads of state are criticizing Gadhafi's brutal crackdown on dissent. But one leader that we haven't heard from yet, on camera, anyway, is U.S. President Barack Obama. He's expected to make his first public remarks on Libya within hours. Now, the U.S. State Department says that Washington will hold the Libyan government accountable for the bloodshed.
[P.j. Crowley, State Department Spokesman:] We're looking at a full range of tools and options that are available to us to achieve our goals of seeing an end to the violence in Libya and respect for the rights of the Libyan people. That certainly includes looking at sanctions that could be op imposed, either bilaterally or multilaterally. We believe it's important to coordinate our efforts with the national community, our European allies, the United Nations and organizations like the Arab League. We will be consulting broadly about these issues in the coming days.
[Anderson:] OK. So that's the view from Washington ahead of Barack Obama making a statement in the next coming hours. Israel also watching the developments in Libya closely. According to the Israeli media, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has warned his parliament today that instability in the Middle East could last for years and that Israel must prepare for, quote, "every possible outcome." Well, CNN's Hala Gorani got more reaction on the regional unrest from the Israeli defense minister, Ehud Barak.
[Ehud Barak, Israeli Defense Minister:] I think it's something totally new. It's an earthquake in the Arab world, probably all around the street from Marrakesh, too, Bangladesh. And Egypt is a cornerstone of the Middle East stability for a generation now. The period of Mubarak is over. We are entering into a new era. I hope and believe that the armed forces, which are extremely popular in Egypt, can deliver a coherent and determined delivery of a more open society and that it will not fall as a prey into the hands of the Muslim Brotherhood.
[Hala Gorani, Cnn Correspondent:] And if elections are held and the Muslim Brotherhood registers big gains, then will Israel say that democracy shouldn't have come to Egypt, that Egyptians should have waited for their resol
[Barak:] No, no, no.
[Gorani:] revolution because they're not happy with the outcome?
[Barak:] You know, I do not hide. I believe that many of us wouldn't be happy if the Muslim Brotherhood would take over in Egypt. But it's up to the Egyptian people. It's not up to us. It's their constitution. It's their future. I believe the Egyptian people is a mature people. They they I hope they will they are of course, they are a traditional society. Many people feel religion. But it doesn't mean, necessarily, that many will vote for the Muslim Brotherhood. And probably they will get the share which reflects their relative powers in the society. I don't think that it's our role. But, of course we should be open-eyed and be be watching what what will follow. I hope that the the civil society in Egypt, the two generations of exposure to the free world, that the role of the armed forces will suffice to balance it according to a mod a line of moderation.
[Anderson:] OK. Well, we've heard very little from Israel, but you've heard it here on CNN, Ehud Barak, the defense minister, addressing the regional unrest. Well, our next guest says the world shouldn't fear Muslim nations gaining their freedom, saying Islam can work hand in hand with a democratic system of government. Advocates of Islamic pluralism often point to Malaysia. Well, that government or that country's prime minister, Najib Razak, is in Turkey to promote that very idea. He sees those two countries as being role models for political and economic reform in the Muslim world. Well, I spoke with him a short time ago, asking him first for his assessment of the situation in Libya, as he sees it today. This is what he said.
[Najib Razak, Malaysian Prime Minister:] There's a lot of concern, especially after Moammar Gadhafi's speech last night, that it appears that the two sides are heading toward a major confrontation. This is obviously of great concern to the world. And what we need to do is now to ensure that there is going to be a peaceful transition and reforms that will be based on what the people want for Libya. And I think that should be through the ballot box, that should be through a system that allows them to decide their own destiny.
[Anderson:] What is your perspective about what is happening across the Middle East region as a whole?
[Razak:] I think the key element is that people want change, people want reform. So it is incumbent upon the governments to ensure that there is a system in place that can lead toward good and effective governance. At the same time, it is also crucial to be able to feel the pulse of the people, especially the young people. And this is why it's so important that a system that will be put into place as part of the constitutional and political reform in those countries will ensure that the people will participate as stakeholders stakeholders in a in a very meaningful way.
[Anderson:] The fear for many in the West is that Islam and democracy are incompatible or not compatible. I know that you are making a call for a movement for moderacy. What do you mean by that?
[Razak:] Being moderate is fundamental to Islam, because in Islam, the Koran talks about being choosing the middle path, the concept of wasatiyyah, which is being a moderate and taking the middle road. What is important about that is to realize that it is not a conflict between Islam and Christian, Islam and the Jews or the Jews and the Christians or Hindus. It is about the moderates and the extremists. If the moderates speak up, the moderates are willing to reassert themselves and I'm more confident that this will lead to a more harmonious and peaceful world.
[Anderson:] How do you reassure those, then, in the West, who are worried?
[Razak:] Well, I think they have to allow this, you know, process of change to take place. I think the West must insist that it is a peaceful transition. We must try to educate in a way that it is important for the people to accept the good values and and for us to try to promote those ideal values and to make the system work, because, clearly, what is in place today, the system and the governance are totally rejected by the people in those countries.
[Anderson:] How has Barack Obama handled this situation, to your mind?
[Razak:] Well, he has, in a sense, given the right signal in the case of Egypt. He has said that there must be the will of the people must take precedence, that there must be a peaceful transition and and people should not use violence. I think it's it's a kind of messaging that must apply to the other countries, as well. I think there's a lot of concern what's happening in Libya. And I think Obama, President Obama and the other leaders around the world must send the same message, perhaps in a more assertive manner.
[Anderson:] And stand by. We expect to hear from Barack Obama in the coming hours, a couple of hours from now. That, the Malaysian prime minister, well versed in running a democracy hand in hand with Islam. Well, stay with CONNECT THE WORLD for more on the unrest that we are seeing across an entire region, including the scramble to evacuate people from Libya. That coming up. Plus, pulled out alive after being trapped for 24 hours one story of survival as New Zealand mourns its dead. And
[Unidentified Male:] Some of you guys stay at night, somebody died here.
[Anderson:] Uncovering a horrifying reality which is hard to believe actually is happening today Kenya's mentally ill, a powerful report, just ahead here on CNN. Don't go away.