MISRATA, Libya – A NATO airstrike has killed 12 rebels in the besieged city
of Misrata in the latest friendly fire incident in Libya's chaotic battlefield,
a doctor in the city said Thursday.
The airstrike was on Wednesday, the second day of intense fighting around
Misrata's Mediterranean port, the city's only lifeline to the outside world. A
steady stream of boats have been bringing in humanitarian aid through the port
and ferrying out hundreds of wounded civilians and foreign migrant workers who
were trapped when the fighting broke out two months ago.
Dr. Hassan Malitan said he believed the attack was a mistake but insisted it
was caused by NATO aircraft. He said the attack came moments after he and
another doctor visited a site where rebels were holed up in a building about
three miles (five kilometers) east of the port.
"We drove about 200 meters (yards) and we heard a huge explosion that shook
the earth," Malitan said. He said he looked back and saw smoke rising from where
they had just sat with the men. As he and the other doctor began slowly driving
back toward the building, a second missile crashed into it, Malitan said.
"We started crying and screaming out their names," he said. "It was clear
that the missiles came from the sky and we heard the airplane," he said.
Malitan said he was surprised to see rebels so far east, and said they
assured him that they had been in contact with NATO forces about their
location.
There was no immediate comment from NATO.
Forces loyal to Moammar Gadhafi had been crowding around that area, a coastal
road that leads from the capital, Tripoli, to the port.
NATO forces targeted them in pummeling airstrikes on Tuesday and Wednesday in
an attempt to halt an advance on the port.
Gadhafi's forces hit different parts of Misrata throughout the day Tuesday
with a near-constant barrage of heavy shelling and rocket fire. By Wednesday,
residents said the bombardment had eased some, though fighting went on.
Misrata is the only city in government-controlled western Libya where rebels
have been able to hold out against a two-month siege by some of Gadhafi's best
trained forces.
Aid agencies and human rights groups have sounded alarm bells about a growing
humanitarian crisis inside the city and NATO has publicly acknowledged it needs
to do more to protect civilians in Misrata.
But the coalition has also talked about the difficulties of targeting
Gadhafi's forces around the city, saying they are mixing in with civilians to
make it more difficult to identify them.
Also Thursday, a senior U.N. official warned that massive food shortages will
also hit Libya within two months unless stocks are replenished and distribution
networks are supported.
The World Food Program's regional director for the Middle East and North
Africa, Daly Belgasmi, said current stocks might last only 45 to 60 days, after
which many people will be forced to cut back on meals.
He said rising fuel prices and lack of hard currency are making it hard for
Libya to import food. Adding to Libya's woes, the private economy was hit by the
exodus of foreigners who worked in food production such as bakeries. AP
