Sources: Gadhafi forces strike Misrata clinic; shelling heard in city
By the CNN Wire Staff
April 3, 2011 -- Updated 1121 GMT (1921 HKT)
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
* NEW: Rebel fighters, retreating east of al-Brega, report an ambush and
mines
* One person died and 15 were injured in two mortar blasts Sunday, a
hospital doctor says
* NATO says it is investigating a report that rebel fighters were killed in
an airstrike
* Rebel spokesman: Rebel forces went to assess airstrike damage when they
were hit
Tripoli, Libya (CNN) -- The deadly battles in Libya forged ahead Sunday as
pro-government forces shelled a medical clinic in the city of Misrata, killing
one person and wounding 15 others, a hospital source said.
The source, a doctor who was not identified for security reasons, told CNN two
people were injured by an initial mortar blast. The rest of the injured were
wounded by a second mortar blast when they went to the scene of the first
attack to help victims.
One of the injured is a 14-year-old child who suffered a fractured skull and is
in a coma, the doctor said Sunday.
The clinic that was attacked had evacuated patients because of recent attacks,
said another doctor at a Misrata hospital that received the patients. But it
was being guarded by opposition "fighters and young people" who were injured.
Elsewhere in the city, the sound of heavy shelling was heard coming from the
port area, a resident said.
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RELATED TOPICS
* Libya
* Moammar Gadhafi
He said troops supporting Libyan ruler Moammar Gadhafi surrounded the city,
with snipers perched on rooftops of buildings.
Misrata's port is under the control of the rebels and is considered the main
site of aid for the people in the embattled city. A bombing in the port area
could prevent aid ships from reaching Misrata.
Sunday's events the latest in the struggle between forces loyal to Gadhafi and
opposition members seeking an end to his nearly 42-year rule.
Rebel fighters made a retreat east of the oil town of al-Brega on Sunday.
Fighters said there was some sort of ambush, they saw roadside mines and they
needed to get more ammunition. They regrouped about 30 to 35 kilometers east of
al-Brega.
NATO is leading international military operations in the country following a
U.N. Security Council resolution authorizing force and the enforcement of a
no-fly zone to protect civilians.
NATO airstrikes hit several rebel vehicles and killed at least 13 rebel
fighters, spokesmen for the Libyan opposition said Saturday. Seven others were
wounded.
"Based on the information we have, they (the opposition forces who were hit)
heard the airstrikes and went ahead to see what the damage was, and that's when
they got hit," rebel spokesman Shamsiddin Abdulmolah said. "They were told to
stay back, but they jumped the gun."
NATO was investigating the incident, a spokeswoman said Saturday.
"NATO takes any reports of civilian casualties very seriously, but exact
details are hard to verify as we have no reliable sources on the ground,"
NATO's Oana Lungescu said.
On Saturday, notions of a cease-fire in the country quickly faded as a battle
for control continued in al-Brega. It was not immediately clear who had control
of the coastal city that has changed hands six times in as many weeks under the
dramatically shifting circumstances of the Libyan war.
Last week, Libyan opposition leader Mustafa Abdul Jalil laid out cease-fire
conditions that included freedom of expression for the Libyan people and the
removal of snipers, mercenaries and militias from western cities. Ultimately,
he said, the opposition's goal remains regime change in Libya.
But government officials spurned the opposition cease-fire proposal.
Government spokesman Musa Ibrahim told reporters in Tripoli on Friday the offer
included "silly conditions."
"They are asking us to withdraw from our own cities and open our cities to
people, who are holding up arms, who are tribal, violent, no unified
leadership, al Qaeda links, and no one knows who they are," he said. "If this
is not mad, then I don't know what it is."
Ghoga sought to clarify the opposition's position Saturday.
"There is no, and was no, negotiation on a cease-fire with Colonel Gadhafi's
dictatorship," he said at a news conference.
He repeated the opposition demands that Gadhafi halt all military action, end
the sieges laid on cities like Misrata and allow free speech and assembly.
Sources close to Gadhafi have told CNN that political solutions are still
possible but that the Libyan leader would relinquish power only to others
within his inner circle.
The rebels have been hampered by a lack of organization and training on heavy
weaponry when confronting the better-trained, better-armed forces of Gadhafi,
who is under investigation for alleged crimes against humanity by the
International Criminal Court.
CNN's Ben Wedeman, Nic Robertson, Reza Sayah, Eve Bower and Yousuf Basil
contributed to this report
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