Libyan woman claims rape by soldiers, is dragged away

The woman, Iman al-Obeidi, said forces loyal to Muammar Qadhafi detained her at a checkpoint in the Libyan capital and raped he

A Ministry of Information official, removes Iman Al-Obeidi, centre, who said she spent two days in detention after being arrested at a checkpoint in Tripoli, and was said to have been sexually assaulted by up to 15 men while in custody, from the Rixos hotel in Tripoli on Saturday, where she stormed into the hotel's breakfast room to show her wounds to foreign media. Photo: AP.

A distraught Libyan woman has stormed into a hotel to tell foreign reporters that government troops raped , setting off a brawl with government minders.

The woman, Iman al—Obeidi, said forces loyal to Muammar Qadhafi detained her at a checkpoint in the Libyan capital and raped her.

A waitress brandished a knife, calling her a traitor, and government minders shoved back reporters who tried to intervene while the woman was dragged outside screaming.

The woman’s thigh was bloodied and her face physically scratched, but her story could not be independently verified. The Associated Press only identifies rape victims who volunteer their names.

Col. Qadhafi’s crackdown on opponents has been the most violent in the uprisings across the Arab world.