Residents report fierce fighting in besieged Libyan city
By the CNN Wire Staff
April 14, 2011 -- Updated 1424 GMT (2224 HKT)
Delegates from Arab and African nations and NATO offered support to Libyan
rebels at a summit in Qatar.
Delegates from Arab and African nations and NATO offered support to Libyan
rebels at a summit in Qatar.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
* NEW: A medical assistant says at least 20 people are killed; 20 others
are wounded
* NEW: NATO chief says sophisticated equipment is needed now
* The shelling targets the port where ships are bringing in aid and
evacuating people
* The situation is dire in Misrata, the U.N. chief says
Tripoli, Libya (CNN) -- Moammar Gadhafi's forces again pounded the besieged
Libyan city of Misrata on Thursday, targeting the port where a medical aid ship
was expected to dock and destroying a cement factory and cargo containers,
residents said.
At least 20 people were killed and more than 20 others were wounded in the dawn
attack at the port and a nearby residential area, said Mohammed, a medical
assistant who did not want his full name used for security reasons.
"If people do not die here from shelling, they will die from starving since
Gadhafi is preventing aid from arriving to the port," he said.
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Wednesday that Gadhafi's forces
reportedly destroyed crucial food supply warehouses in Misrata and cut off
water and power to the city "in an apparent attempt to starve (residents) into
submission."
Misrata resident Abdlsalam told CNN the road leading to the port had also been
attacked and that the shelling had prevented a ship intended to evacuate people
from docking.
"I couldn't hear any NATO planes today," said Abdlsalam, also not identified
fully for security reasons.
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RELATED TOPICS
* Libya
* Moammar Gadhafi
CNN could not independently verify the reports but the International
Organization for Migration said it chartered a 800-person capacity boat to
evacuate at least 6,000 stranded migrant workers in Misrata, many of whom have
been living in warehouses with little food and a lot of fear.
The organization said the boat was carrying hundreds of tons of medical aid to
Misrata and was en route to the port.
"From reports on the ground, this rescue mission cannot come soon enough," an
IOM worker on the boat said in a news release. "It is going to be heartbreaking
not being able to take everyone out at once."
Misrata has been under siege for weeks and its residents, especially
vulnerable. Reports of civilian casualties streamed in Tuesday and Wednesday.
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said the situation is particularly grave in
the cities of Misrata, Zintan and al-Brega in the east because of critical food
and water shortages.
"We are also deeply concerned with the fate of third-country nationals who are
trapped in the areas of fighting," Ban said at an Arab League meeting on Libya
in Cairo.
European Union High Representative Catherine Ashton said the first priority is
to work toward a cease-fire and clear the way for humanitarian assistance.
At a NATO meeting in Berlin, Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen endorsed
the message that came out of Wednesday's international summit in Qatar that
Gadhafi must step down immediately.
Rasmussen told reporters that NATO has the necessary assets to continue aerial
strikes but the tactical nature of the fight has changed.
"Now they hide their heavy arms in populated areas, where before many targets
were easier to get to," Rasmussen said. "To avoid civilian casualties, we need
very sophisticated equipment. So, we need a few more precision fighter
ground-attack aircraft for air-to-ground missions."
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