By Donatella Rovera, Amnesty International crisis researcher.

Despite the ceasefire Benghazi is still under attack from al-Gaddafi loyalists © Al Jazeera English

The situation has significantly deteriorated in Benghazi and elsewhere in eastern Libya in the past few days. Since yesterday, while Colonel al-Gaddafi’s spokespeople reiterate that their forces are observing a ceasefire, armed al-Gaddafi loyalists – who people identify as members of the lijan thawriya (Revolutionary Committees), groups of loyalists who acted as informers and intelligence gatherers, among other tasks, and were omnipresent in towns and villages all over Libya – have sprung into action in the city, carrying out targeted and indiscriminate armed attacks.

These individuals are seemingly acting in small groups and appear to be composed of al-Gaddafi loyalists who have been keeping a low profile since last month’s takeover of the eastern towns by pro-reform demonstrators (some here refer to these as “sleeper cells”) and who have possibly been joined by other al-Gaddafi loyalists or members of armed forces loyal to al-Gaddafi who entered the towns pretending to be ordinary people.

Such ways of operating are extremely difficult to monitor. Among the victims of such attacks is a family of three – a child and his parents – who were shot in the town on Saturday (19 March). SEE THE REST OF THIS POST