At least 50 including rebels, government troops and civilians have been killed in fresh clashes in different cities.
The rebels moved heavier weapons and a top commander towards Brega, seeking to break a stalemate against Muammar Gaddafi’s better-equipped army.
Brega has been taken and retaken by insurgents and Gaddafi’s forces in recent weeks. Warplanes flew over Brega, followed by heavy bombardment.
In the western part of the country, Gaddafi’s forces stormed the rebel outpost of Misrata with tanks and artillery, a rebel spokesman said.
Rebels offered a ceasefire on condition Gaddafi left Libya and his forces withdrew from cities now under government control.
In Misrata rebels said Gaddafi’s forces had brought their superior firepower to bear on the insurgents’ last western enclave with an intense bombardment.
“They used tanks, rocket-propelled grenades, mortar rounds and other projectiles to hit the city today. It was random and intense bombardment,” the spokesman, called Sami said. “We no longer recognise the place. The destruction cannot be described.”
The account from Misrata, Libya's third biggest city 200km (130 miles) east of Tripoli, could not be verified. Authorities do not allow journalists to report freely from the city.
Heavily-armed rebels were also moving from Benghazi towards Ajdabiyah to the south late on Thursday.
“Today we have officers coming with us. Before we went alone,” one of the rebels said.
The rebels swore that their capital Benghazi was secure and there was no risk of Gaddafi’s forces retaking it.
In Tripoli heavy gunfire rang out near Gaddafi’s compound for about 20 minutes before dawn and residents said they saw snipers on rooftops and heard distant chanting or shouting.
Reporters are confined to hotels and unable to verify reports from the streets. The city is suffering from fuel shortages, queues outside bakeries and gas stations.
The bombing campaign by Western-led forces, co-ordinated by NATO since Thursday, was hampered by sandstorms and fears of civilian casualties. NATO took over air strikes as well as enforcement of the UN-mandated no-fly zone and arms embargo, replacing a coalition led by the United States, France and Britain.
NATO officials said sandstorms had an impact on initial operations, limiting the alliance's ability to identify air strike targets.
“Yesterday, we were restricted by bad weather,” one NATO official said.
However, the campaign had also entered a more “challenging” phase, he said, with forces loyal to Gaddafi operating increasingly in populated districts as they mounted an intense attack on rebel-held territory in Libya.
A senior Vatican official and a doctor in Tripoli confirmed separately that the air strikes had killed civilians, though the numbers could not be established. (Online)
No comments:
Post a Comment