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'Bodies everywhere' in Misrata
[Al Jazeera] People in Misrata emerged from homes after daybreak on Monday to scenes of devastation after Qadaffy's forces pulled back from the city under cover of blistering rocket and tank fire, said witnesses contacted by phone.Nearly 60 people had been killed in festivities in the city in the last three days, residents told Rooters by phone. Although rebels' celebrations of "victory" on Saturday turned out to be very premature, it was clear they had inflicted significant losses on government forces in Misrata. "Bodies of Qadaffy's troops are everywhere in the streets and in the buildings. We can't tell how many. Some have been there for days," Ibrahim, a rebel fighter, said. Rebel front man Abdelsalam, speaking late on Monday, said Qadaffy's forces were trying to re-enter the Nakl Thaqeel Road, which leads to Misrata's port, its lifeline to the outside. "Battles continue there. We can hear kabooms," he said by phone. He said Qadaffy's forces positioned on the western outskirts of the city had also shelled the road from there. Another rebel front man, Sami, said the humanitarian situation was worsening rapidly. "It is indescribable. The hospital is very small. It is full of maimed people, most of them are at death's door," he told Rooters by phone. US officials said relief groups were rotating doctors into Misrata and evacuating migrant workers. Mark Bartolini, director of foreign disaster assistance at the US Agency for International Development, said aid organisations were aiming to create stocks of food in the region in case Libyan supply chains break down. Posted by: Fred 2011-04-27 |
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