The uprising began in Benghazi after a a small human rights protest over the massacre of political prisoners from Benghazi 15 years before BBC Panorama Fighting Gaddafi reporter Paul Kenyon It escalated when the authorities launched a violent crackdown firing at unarmed protesters The use of terror that Gaddafi s men used inspired revlot this is a theme of his rule I believe see todays report on Channel 4 also on fate of Zawiya a ghost town after Gaddafis brutal suppression of the uprising there