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Africa North
Gaddafi loyalists pound Misrata, Brega
2011-04-05
Gaddafi loyalists continue to pound the city of Misrata, 214 kilometres (132 miles) east of Tripoli. Rebels in Misrata have again asked for support from the international coalition to counter the heavy artillery of Gaddafi's forces who have bombarded the city for a month.

"Gaddafi's forces will not stop bombing the city. The planes of NATO, whose mission is to protect civilians, do not even fly over the region," a spokesman for the rebels said on condition of anonymity.

"Twelve thousand families have been forced to evacuate their homes, causing an alarming humanitarian situation," and dozens of people have been "kidnapped" by Gaddafi loyalists, the rebel spokesman said.

For more than 40 days the insurgents have defended Misrata, Libya's third largest city, as it is besieged and pounded by Gaddafi's troops. The rebels say that more than 200 people have been killed in the fighting there.

Gaddafi's forces besieging Misrata have been targeted by air strikes since March 19 under a UN mandate to use "all necessary measures" to protect civilians, but the siege has not been broken.

A Turkish aid ship which arrived in Benghazi on Sunday carrying more than 250 patients it had picked up in Misrata left early on Monday for the Turkish port of Cesme.

Those on board, many torn apart by shrapnel and bullets, told of a city under lockdown that has gone for weeks without electricity or running water, where snipers have emptied the centre, and mortar rounds and rockets rain down on residents huddled inside their homes.
Brega:
Rebel fighters also made a new attempt to recapture Brega, advancing to the outskirts of the oil refinery town only to be forced back under artillery fire, as Gaddafi's envoy arrived in Turkey for talks on a possible "roadmap."

Rebel fighters came under heavy shelling from Gaddafi's forces as they pushed towards Brega in a new bid to take the refinery town, forcing them to beat a hasty but measured retreat, an AFP correspondent reported. The battle for the town is fast reaching stalemate.

Gaddafi's men will not risk advancing farther into rebel-held territory through the open desert, where they are easy targets for NATO air strikes. But the rebels do not have the weaponry to counter the artillery the loyalists have inside the town.
Elsewhere:
Loyalist forces were also attacking oilfields in the remote south that the insurgents were hoping to use to fund their month-old revolt. Rebels said on Monday that Gaddafi's troops had attacked an oilfield in the remote south that the insurgents hope to use to fund their month-old revolt against his regime.

A TNC spokeswoman said the attack had damaged a diesel storage tank at the Mislah oil facility, without providing further details.
Posted by:Steve White

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