Carnage 'beyond imagination' in Misrata, says witness
By the CNN Wire Staff
March 29, 2011 -- Updated 1441 GMT (2241 HKT)
Who really controls Misrata?
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
* NEW: Libyan forces pound Misrata, a witness with the opposition says
* NEW: Some rebel fighters appear to be pushed out of Bin Jawad
* NEW: Opposition council issues statement on its vision for a democratic
government
* NEW: Secretary of State Clinton meets with an opposition figure in London
Tripoli, Libya (CNN) -- Libyan forces pounded parts of Misrata on Tuesday, with
tanks firing mortar shells and troops using heavy artillery in an effort to
retake control of the city, a witness told CNN.
Coalition planes circled overhead but did not strike the tanks, he said.
As representatives of numerous countries met in London to decide the next steps
in the Libya effort, Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi showed no sign of letting up
his effort to crush the rebellion that seeks an end to his nearly 42 years in
power.
The day after Gadhafi's regime tried to convince journalists that it was in
control of Misrata by taking them on a trip to part of the city but not
allowing them into the city center, his troops were killing and wounding
civilians and evicting thousands of people from their homes, the witness told
CNN.
"The carnage and the destruction and the human suffering from both the
evictions and... terrorizing the city -- it's beyond imagination," said the
witness, an opposition councilman in Misrata, in western Libya east of Tripoli.
"It's incredible."
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Gadhafi forces did not even allow people to take belongings with them from
their homes, he added. "They tell them, 'Run for your lives,' and fire bullets
just above them."
Troops are looting the homes, he said.
CNN could not independently verify the witness' descriptions.
Meanwhile, rebels in Bin Jawad battled Gadhafi forces and came under a hail of
artillery and rocket attacks, an opposition source said.
CNN saw rebel fighters streaming back out of the city. One said the barrage was
too much for the opposition to withstand, and that Gadhafi loyalists had
infiltrated the city.
A man in car that drove by a CNN crew in the area shouted, "Gadhafi will be
back."
The violence came the day after U.S. President Barack Obama delivered an
address explaining his decision to commit U.S. forces to the U.N.-authorized
military mission in Libya.
"To brush aside America's responsibility as a leader and -- more profoundly --
our responsibilities to our fellow human beings under such circumstances would
have been a betrayal of who we are," Obama said. "Some nations may be able to
turn a blind eye to atrocities in other countries. The United States of America
is different. And as president, I refused to wait for the images of slaughter
and mass graves before taking action."
The president cited what could have been a massacre in Benghazi, which has
become an opposition stronghold in Libya.
The witness in Misrata on Tuesday, in an interview with CNN, pleaded for
coalition forces to strike Gadhafi's forces in that city.
"We call on the international community, especially the American forces and the
American people, to please save Misrata from a massacre," he implored.
Gadhafi's forces were "advancing in all directions of the city," the witness
said.
Battles have been under way in Misrata for weeks.
Off the coast of Misrata, U.S. military planes fired at three Libyan boats,
destroying one and damaging the other two, military officials said in a
statement Tuesday. The Libyan ships were targeted because of reports that they
were firing indiscriminately at merchant vessels in the port of Misrata on
Monday, the statement said.
Libyan state TV had a banner Tuesday saying, "Civilian and military locations
in Misrata, Tripoli, Zaltin, Mazda and al-Watiya are being bombed by the
crusaders and colonial enemies."
The central group representing the opposition and working to plan a new
government if Gadhafi were to fall issued a statement Tuesday describing its
"vision of a democratic Libya."
"We have learned from the struggles of our past during the dark days of
dictatorship that there is no alternative to building a free and democratic
society and ensuring the supremacy of international humanitarian law and human
rights declarations," the statement from the Interim National Council said.
The group representing numerous areas throughout Libya has been meeting in
Benghazi
In the statement, the council vowed to draft a constitution, guarantee key
rights to every Libyan citizen, respect freedom of expression, and establish "a
state that draws strength from our strong religious beliefs in peace, truth,
justice, and equality."
Much of the statement focused on promises to build a better economy that would
eradicate poverty.
The CIA World Factbook says about a third of Libyans live at or below the
national poverty line.
The council issued its statement in coordination with the meeting in London.
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton met with a leader of the council
Tuesday at meeting, part of a U.S. effort to expand ties with rebel leaders
fighting to oust Gadhafi.
It was the second meeting in less than two weeks between Clinton and the Libyan
Interim National Council's Mahmoud Jabril, a former head of Libya's economic
planning council.
The United States will also send a liaison to the eastern Libyan city of
Benghazi to open up a more direct line of communication with members of the
opposition, a senior administration official told reporters Tuesday. The
official did not say when.
The U.S. government has spent about $550 million on the Libya effort, the
Pentagon said Tuesday, adding that about 60% of that went to munitions. Another
$40 million is expected to be spent over the next three weeks. Then, costs are
expected to be about $40 million per month, said Pentagon spokeswoman Cmdr.
Kathleen Kesler.
More than 40 foreign ministers and representatives from regional groups
attended the conference Tuesday in London, including U.N. Secretary-General Ban
Ki-moon and Chairman of the African Union Jean Ping.
"The purpose of this conference is to broaden and deepen the coalition effort,"
said British Foreign Secretary William Hague. "We all want to see that
cease-fire. We all want to see Gadhafi go. Those things are clear. But once we
have that cease-fire, we have something to work with."
Opposition fighters have credited coalition airstrikes with helping them
advance in their rebellion.
Organizers of the conference said it will look for ways to strengthen the U.N.
Security Council resolution approved on March 17 that created a no-fly zone
above Libya and mandated the protection of civilians. They will also search for
urgent ways to get humanitarian aid to war-torn cities like Misrata.
NATO plans to take full control of the Libya mission by the end of the week.
"Our mandate is very clear. We're there to protect civilians against attacks.
No more, no less," NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen told CNN.
CNN's Reza Sayah, Arwa Damon, Nic Robertson, Paula Newton, Maxim Tkachenko and
Yousuf Basil contributed to this report
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