Fighting continues in rebel city
Heavy fighting raged anew in Misrata and killed 24 people as Muammar Gaddafi’s forces gave up more ground inside Libya’s third-largest city.
The US said its first Predator drone attack in the country destroyed a government rocket launcher that had menaced civilians in the western city.
Libya’s deputy foreign minister, Khaled Kaim, said troops have halted operations in Misrata to enable tribal elders to negotiate with the rebels.
If the rebels do not surrender in the next two days, armed tribesmen will fight them in place of the army, he said.
Hundreds of people have been killed in rebel-held Misrata in a two-month government siege backed by tanks, mortars and snipers.
The opposition was sceptical of claims that the army would step aside.
“Gaddafi forces are moving back,” said Safi Eddin al-Montaser, a rebel spokesman in Misrata.
But he added: “People are still nervous because we don’t know the next step of Gaddafi’s forces.”
Jalal el-Gallal, a spokesman for the rebels’ leadership council in their stronghold of Benghazi, said he doubted the regime will fully withdraw from Misrata. He claimed the rebels firmly control the city.
Misrata, the only major rebel stronghold in western Libya, has become the most dramatic battleground in the Libyan uprising, which began in February after similar revolts in Tunisia and Egypt ousted long-time leaders.
Fighting elsewhere in the country is at a stalemate, even with Nato airstrikes that began last month.
Residents reported heavy fighting, shelling and explosions in the east and south of Misrata and doctors said the day was one of the bloodiest in weeks.
At least 24 people were killed and 75 were wounded, many of them critically, said a doctor at a Misrata hospital who asked to be identified only by his first name because he was afraid of government retribution.
He said that hospital officials who feared a strong attack had moved out some patients a day earlier to make way for more casualties.
Pro-Gaddafi troops in central Misrata – including snipers who had terrorised residents for days atop an eight-story building – were either flushed out or withdrew in the last two days in what the rebels considered a victory.
That enabled some people to venture out into the battle-scarred streets and allowed fighters to set up new checkpoints at the entrance to the city and along some blocks.
“The people began breathing freely,” one resident said during the day, although he added that rebels were still wary of pro-Gaddafi brigades who may have melted into the population.
There was no sign of celebrations in the streets. Traffic had returned and there were long queues for bread and petrol, signs of the distress that the prolonged siege has caused in the city.
