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>> and now, "bbc news night." >> the fighting in syria continues. the un says the rebellious district has been completel devastated, and the fate of the people remains unclear. >> he feel like no one is living in this city. many families were still living in there, just hiding in some apartments. >> what happens to you when you end up on the wrong side of the arab spring. >> to this was gaddafi's grandiose vision, and is now written to part. i will be talking to the people

of the dictator's home town. >> the district is completely destroyed, and the state of the resident is unclear. the united nations humanitarian chief after dealing in to the syrian city this week. they documented the siege. this is one of the pictures working alongside them. >> once the center of the syria uprising, and early quiet now. the forces crushed the rebellion

there. we don't know for sure what has happened, but we have reports of whole families being massacred. >> it is only half an hour, the situation right now. i have seen it for a family. including children. it is the most horrible shock. [unintelligible] >> hobby british photographer has heard similar reports about killings in another district. >> they sent me through very

detailed reports full of names, locations, and places of the families that were massacred. and also that the women and young girls were taken to a separate place. i have no reason to doubt the authenticity. >> the reports can be verified. the monitoring organization says there are also aware. they claim they may be sectarian in nature. the un humanitarian chief wasn't able to check its. there was a 45 minute talk, a scene of the worst violence. >> about part is completely destroyed, and i am concerned to know what has happed to the people that lived in that part of the city.

>> international aid workers while the violence continues. the regime is reporting further north. in the area, a stronghold of the rebel free syrian army is said to have had clashes already with government forces. meanwhile, the army opened fire. now for the first time, a member of the government has defected. >> i do not want to end my career serving the crimes of this regime and the jews to join the voice of justice knowing that they will burn my house, persecute my family, and fabricate lies against me. i advise my colleagues and those that have remained silent killer abandoned this sinking ship.

he is the most senior civilian to abandon the regime since the uprising began a year ago. >> it shows the beginning of defections by important people that have started to realize that the regime is no longer going. >> is also a reminder of how united the government has remained until now. his army, once 200,000 strong, maybe reported deserted. his regime may not be disappearing act. >> one person that has seen the bombardment of close is a time magazine photographer. he was with reporters when they were killed last month. he eventually escape the city with another injured and

journalists. at one point, they make use of the network of water pipes under the city. >> images like these are rare. professional photographs of the inside a conflict that has grown increasingly bloody and increasingly invisible. one of few foreign journalists in the work inside syria in recent months. working for time magazine, the bond and died two weeks ago. they took these pictures on the ill-fated trip. after a harrowing journey with a london journalist, he made it back to france for a president to welcome. the story he left behind is far from over.

>> can you tell us what happened at 8:00 on january 22? >> this apartment is actually just an apartment with -- just outside the apartment on the road, they live very close. one syrian guys ask us to go out, so we tried to escape very quickly. the guy is saying to go back inside to protect yourself.

they were very close to the impact. and the journalists that were inside the room with speople, s. we are very lucky, it is beyond a small piece of wall. >> what happened with the activists and the residence? the residents were being very kind. >> they carried us to the hospital, and we were treated. our apartment was targeted for sure. lots oflle who took dagner to -- danger to save us will go back to let the hon.

>> you have done in by the tunnel and you try to get out by the tunnel. what happened in the tunnel? >> in the tunnel, we went all together to try to escape. the syrian forces, the syrian army began the fire. i have been told that they could escape. we have to stay and we have to go back. we have to go to bed and slept two or three hours. what we have been seen for several days, they told us maybe

the guys here, it will be very dangerous. the one to try? we said ok, we are going to try. it was something very scary. it was very close to it. >> there was a concern that she might get a blood clot? >> she should not be transportable. she could have died. it was a lot of consideration for me, but it was fine. we'er fine -- we're fine now. and safe. we are safe, but these people are not safe. >> what is daily life like?

>> is unbelievable. you have bigger holes in each of buildings. they are everywhere. it is not so much good, you have seen nobody in the street. when you try to look for people, you can find many families were still living there just hiding in some apartments. every day, you have the shelling. it might be 700 or 300. this is just a destination. it could be 300 bonds a day. and this bomb kills women,

children, and then. -- and men. >> the only thing holding this country together is holder in the rigid the bolstering one dictator after another. in the city where the libyan uprising began, leaders declared their commitment to simi- economy. -- semiautonomy. they put an end to surprise attacks on former gaddafi loyalists. there are some disturbing images in his report. >> they asked me, they love me all. it is right for my people.

>> just outside is a billion pound monument to vanity and success. it was a summit venue and intended to be the free united africa. the glass has been shattered by revolutionary fighters. outside, some of the locals that join the revolutions of us and came to make their own gesture. >> of the dictator turned this complex and to a garden for himself and his guests. near it.'t even go

by the grace of god, anyone can enter the complex. >> locals say 53 people were killed by nato here with bonds and drop the moments after gaddafi entered the basement. >> there are many bitter ironies. first, the international effort to help the libyans was based on a un resolution that put protecting the civilian population from the armed forces front and center. when the conflict drew to a close, it was in this town where gaddafi was born and killed a that would prove to be the most bombarded in the country. we drove down to the sea front,

it is called area 2. >> hospitals are all in ruins. if we as the authorities for anything, they have the head office. nothing gets done. the skill of the damage was such that the majority of the 20,000 people left. most have still not returned. >> we often have to go to the type and carry water back in pots. >> the one and destruction of their fellow libyans, they don't know -- there were some pro-

khaddafi challenges. the locals are constantly looking out for trouble. they have just been a arrested for crimes against the people. >> they would have ducked and killed anyone. there is a woman that was pregnant and in labor whose son -- the husband was taken to hospital by car. it turned out they were the cause of previous troubles. >> and the anti gaddafi fighters were jubilant when the town fell. people in the city said they also indulged in an orgy of vandalism. even surveying the damage today, it is so extensive and in discriminant that it must have hit people who have long opposed to the dictatorship. >> what they did after

liberation is complete disaster. -hey do the same like pro gaddafi. you did this for liberation, not for revenge. our people died for it. so we have to start a new page. or moammar gaddafi is still here. >> it was fighters that captured the dictator and thought to have killed him. armed groups from that same place a couple of hours' drive up the coast have taken it upon themselves to throw their weight around, even now. shocking has appeared on the internet looking at charges of abuse against the

revolutionary brigades. >> there were mock executions, abuse, you can find most of this onolin -- online. to this day, not anyone i am aware of has been convicted. death, custody, torture, there have been no investigation or accountability for anybody. this is the crux of the problem. as people think they can get away with this sort of thing, we will see more of it. >> regarding this treatment in prison, it does not happen here. the prison is administered building and prisoners are provided with accommodation and food. if a fighter is captured, he will suffer bullying and rough

treatment. in prison, there are regulations and trusted staff. >> what of the future? agencies agree that it needs more help in rebuilding that any other town and libya. >> as you can see, the building is still under construction. >> thousands of homes remain uninhabitable. there are half-finished apartment blocks, afraid that their community is now stigmatized. >> people are concerned, we don't have time to support any politician. life is difficult. >> as we filmed, we are aware that the new authorities were keeping an eye on us. several people with allegations

against the revolution said that they were too frightened to be filmed. what are the options for the people in the harsh new reality in which they live? there have been some rumors about a resumption of armed struggle, insurgency. most people discount that as a viable strategy. instead, they are taking a leap out of the book of their former opponents using the internet to try to mobilize public support. >> this presentation is part of the campaign that has recently been launched on behalf -- in challenges fellow libyans to discard prejudices and help the city to start anew.

>> we started as a group of youth, we invited everybody, every embassy, the un, the eu, to show what happened. a don't care about gaddafi, care about the families there. they have to hear us. >> they have their own green square, another reminder of the gaddafi grand design and its failure. post revolution, the city stand as something different. >> the state now is very important. the way that the authorities treat places that are seen to be very loyal to gaddafi is going to be a litmus test for what the future is still hold. as i was interviewing people,

one of the gentleman said to me, right now, we don't have the power to fight back. but we are not going to forget. and when we do, we will. >> to have so much money lavished upon it in the past, some lesbians feel that it should go to the back of the ku -- some lybians feel that it should go to the back of the queue. as wells those across the legion -- region. and they wonder what might happen to them when their man has tumbled from the pedestal. >> my colleague has been speaking to a member of the libyan national transitional council. >> are they entitled to as much assistance as any other place in libya?

>> this revolution is for all libyans. libya is united. the whole country is united. realistic, it is clearly not united. let's look at the question of torture. the allegations made by organizations from human rights watch, amnesty international, this is a disgraceful state of affairs, isn't it? but haven't seen the video, i did not witness any. i have visited some many prisons many prisons.o m-- so it doesn't say that the whole country is like this. >> amnesty international visited

11 places, 10 of which people said they had been subjected to mistreatment. >> most of the prisoners receive their family visiting almost every second day. if there was something like that, it would be set by their families. the allegations are false. >> these are people that have been tortured on the internet, they are all faith -- fake? >> try to make sure it is being filmed in a prison. we don't know where this is coming from. amnesty international or any organization comes themselves. is comingnow where it from. >> let's talk about the politics for a second door to. this demand that the arrangement within the country be changed so

that there be some sort of federal system in which it left a much more to its own devices, doesn't that indicate a profound lack of faith in the current arrangements? >> it is not something for me or any member of libya and out to talk about. it is too early for the libyans to define, [unintelligible] we are waiting for the constitution and the 6 million libyans decide where to go. it is too early. it is only a few hundred, they are not representing eastern powers. that is where the uprising

starts, and the former administration -- [unintelligible] >> that is all we have time for this week, from all of us, goodbye. >> make sense of international moves -- news at bbc.com/news. >> funding for this presentation is made possible by the freeman foundation of new york, stowe, vermont, and honolulu, newman's own foundation, and union bank. >> at union bank, our relationship managers work hard to know your business, offering specialized solutions and capital to help you meet your growth objectives. we offer expertise and tailored solutions for small businesses and major corporations.

what can we do for you? >> "bbc newsnight" was presented by kcet, los angeles.