China says rebels "dialogue partner" as Misrata hit (Reuters)

MISRATA, Libya (Reuters) – China said on Wednesday that the Libyan rebel council had become an "important dialogue partner" -- a shift that could complicate Muammar Gaddafi's efforts to hold on to power.

Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi made the comments as Gaddafi's forces succeeded in landing rockets in the rebel-held city of Misrata for the first time in several weeks, suggesting he remains far from giving up the fight.

Yang was speaking to Mahmoud Jibril, diplomatic chief of the National Transitional Council based in Benghazi in eastern Libya, during a visit to Beijing, according to a statement on the Chinese Foreign Ministry's website (www.mfa.gov.cn).

China's reticence to fully back Western efforts to bring down Gaddafi is seen by analysts as one factor sustaining the Tripoli government's defiance of a NATO military campaign.

At least eight European and Arab governments have said they recognize the LNC as the sole legitimate representative of the Libyan people. The Chinese shift could indicate it now sees Gaddafi's days as numbered.

Although no one was hurt in the Misrata attack, it dampened the relative sense of security among residents, who had believed the siege on their city was broken after rebels drove out loyalist forces in mid-May.

"Everyone is worried. We don't know where to go anymore. Only when I die will I be safe," said Mohammed Mabrouk, who lives near one of two houses hit by the rockets.

Two more landed in open areas.

Fighting has been largely on Misrata's far western and eastern edges, where the rebel army is sustaining heavier casualties by the day from the better equipped and better trained government forces.

Rebels have been trying to advance west toward the town of Zlitan, where Gaddafi's soldiers are imposing a tight siege. Libyan television said on Wednesday that "dozens" of people were killed in Zlitan after NATO naval ships shelled the town.

The report could not be independently verified because foreign reporters have been prevented from entering Zlitan.

NATO only comments on its Libya operations the day after.

If the Libyan television report is confirmed, it could further complicate the mission of the NATO-led military alliance, whose credibility has been questioned after it admitted on Sunday killing civilians in a Tripoli air strike.

A rebel spokesman called Mohammed told Reuters from Zlitan that NATO had been hitting government military targets in the town on an almost daily basis. He said Gaddafi's soldiers used their artillery positions in Zlitan to fire salvoes toward Misrata.

"We hear the sound of artillery fire every night," he said.

Four rebel fighters were killed and 60 others were wounded in fighting with government forces on Tuesday in Dafniya, which lies between Zlitan and Misrata. Eleven rebel fighters were killed there a day earlier.

Rebels have made slow progress since NATO countries joined their fight to overthrow Gaddafi in March but are now trying to inch toward Tripoli from Misrata, east of the capital, and from the Western Mountains region to its southwest.

The going is especially tough in Misrata.

"Gaddafi's forces have moved forward about a kilometer," Dr Mohammed Grigda said at the field hospital in Dafniya just outside Misrata.

It was impossible to verify the information but a Reuters reporter in Dafniya saw that rebel mortar positions had pulled back slightly.

U.S. SANCTIONS

Shelling by government forces positioned outside Misrata has been limited to neighborhoods on the edge of the city. A child was killed and two others were wounded on Monday when a rocket exploded in a house near the port in the east.

In the Western Mountains, where the rebels made significant gains in recent weeks, NATO launched four air strikes on Tuesday against government forces outside the town of Nalut near the border with Tunisia, a rebel spokesman there said. Gaddafi's soldiers fired 20 rockets into the town, but no one was hurt.

Gaddafi allies denounce the bombing campaign as a foreign attempt to force a change of government and seize the North African state's oil. NATO states defend the operation as a U.N.-mandated mission to protect Libyan civilians.

NATO said on Sunday its strike destroyed a house in Tripoli. Libyan officials said nine civilians died. The Libyan government said on Monday that 19 people were killed in another air strike, raising more questions about the military mission.

Libyan officials say NATO forces have killed more than 700 civilians, but have not presented evidence of such large numbers of civilian deaths and NATO denies them.

In a further blow to Libya's leaders, the United States on Tuesday blacklisted nine companies owned or controlled by Gaddafi's government. The sanctions prohibit U.S. transactions with the companies, including the Arab Turkish Bank, North Africa International Bank and North Africa Commercial Bank.

(Additional reporting by Ben Blanchard in Beijing, Hamid Ould Ahmed in Algiers, David Brunnstrom in Brussels, Joseph Nasr in Berlin and Ali Abdelatti in Cairo; Writing by Joseph Nasr and Andrew Hammond; Editing by Angus MacSwan)

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Gadhafi forces kill 22 rebels in Misrata shelling (AP)

By MAGGIE MICHAEL and DIAA HADID, Associated Press Maggie Michael And Diaa Hadid, Associated Press – 1 hr 6 mins ago

TRIPOLI, Libya – Libyan government forces pounded the outskirts of the rebel-held city of Misrata on Friday, killing at least 22 people, a hospital physician said.

The doctor at Hikma Hospital, who would only give his first name, Ayman, said Moammar Gadhafi's forces used tanks, artillery and incendiary rockets in the bombardment of Dafniya, about 18 miles (30 kilometers) west of Misrata. He said at least 61 people were wounded in the attacks which began about 10 a.m. local time.

Gadhafi forces had renewed their shelling near Misrata on Wednesday. The city is one of the few footholds rebels have in western Libya and controls the country's largest port.

The doctor said residents had reported no sign of NATO aircraft in the Misrata region. There also were no reports NATO strikes in Tripoli, the capital. NATO had been pounding Tripoli and environs in recent days, stepping up backing for the four-month-old rebel uprising that seeks to oust Gadhafi from power after four decades.

Rebels have taken control of swaths of eastern Libya, although fighting has since come to a stalemate even with NATO support. Misrata remained one of the most important rebel footholds in the Gadhafi controlled west.

Government forces are surrounding Misrata on all sides but the north, where the city has access to the Mediterranean Sea for supplies and food through Libya's major port. Rebels have beaten back several government attempts to retake the city.

The Gadhafi forces are pushing back on rebel forces trying to break out of Misrata to the west toward Tripoli, where Gadhafi is increasingly cornered under NATO bombardment in the capital.

A rebel fighter in Misrata who identifies himself only as Abdel-Salem said Gadhafi's sons, Khamis and al-Moatassem, and top aid Abdullah al-Senoussi are in command of the operation in Zlitan, about nine miles (15 kilometers) from Dafinya. They are dug in trying to stop the rebel advance out of Misrata.

"The situation is very bad there. Gadhafi sent huge forces to Zlitan to fortify the city because he knows that if Zlitan falls in the hands of the rebels, the way to Tripoli will be wide open," Abdel-Salam said. "Now the ball is in the court of NATO, but we have not seen any NATO planes flying over despite the fierce battle."

According to Abdel-Salam, a bulk of Zlitan residents are Ghadafi loyalists.

U.S. Sen. Carl Levin spoke of the degredation of Gadhafi's forces Friday after a classified briefing by senior Pentagon officials in Washington. The chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee said Gadhafi's military and political standing had been weakened by NATO air attacks.

Levin said administration officials offered no predictions on how long the war would last or when Gadhafi might go. He said NATO helicopters, likely British and French, have been taking out tanks without collateral damage.

Turkey's prime minister said in a TV interview broadcast Friday that his country has offered Gadhafi guarantees if he were to leave Libya but has recieved no response. He did not detail what sort of guarantees.

"He has no other option but to leave Libya, with the condition that he is given certain guarantees. That's the picture," Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in the interview with the NTV channel.

"We have given him these guarantees; we said we will help you leave for wherever you would like."

In Norway, meanwhile, military officials said on Friday the country would scale down its fighter jet contribution the NATO force flying above Libya from six to four planes and withdraw completely from the NATO-led operation by Aug. 1.

The Dutch government, however, has continue its forces' role in the NATO campaign through the end of the three month extension the alliance announced last week. It also plans to contribute a handful of new staff.

U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates has urged NATO allies, including the Netherlands, to do more in Libya to share the burden with France and Britain, which are carrying out most of the air strikes.

The Dutch government still will not allow its six F-16 fighter jets involved in the mission to carry out airstrikes. Instead they will continue to enforce the no-fly-zone above Libya.

In addition, the government announced it will send experts in psychological operations and legal affairs to join the mission.

___

Michael reported from Cairo.

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Gates questions NATO resolve as Misrata pounded (Reuters)

MISRATA (Reuters) – The United States accused some NATO allies on Friday of failing to pull their weight in the campaign against Muammar Gaddafi's forces, as the Libyan leader kept up shelling of the rebel-held town of Misrata.

"The mightiest military alliance in history is only 11 weeks into an operation against a poorly-armed regime in a sparsely-populated country -- yet many allies are beginning to run short of munitions, requiring the U.S., once more, to make up the difference," U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said in a valedictory speech at NATO headquarters in Brussels.

Gates said the alliance, prosecuting an air campaign against Libyan forces, risked "collective military irrelevance" unless European partners deepened their commitment and spending.

"The blunt reality is that there will be dwindling (U.S.) appetite and patience ... to expend increasingly precious funds on behalf of nations that are apparently unwilling to devote the necessary resources or make the necessary changes to be serious and capable partners in their own defense," Gates said.

World powers gave mixed signals on how the deadlocked civil war might play out, with Russia trying to mediate reconciliation after Western and Arab nations pledged more than $1.1 billion for the rebels and asked them to plan for post-Gaddafi rule.

When asked about fatigue among NATO partners, Dirk Brengelmann, the organization's assistant secretary general for political affairs, told Reuters in Rabat that despite difficult discussions in recent days, the alliance was still "sober and committed" to Libya.

Gates's exasperation has been echoed by rebels, who control the east of the country and some other areas but do not appear to pose an imminent threat to Gaddafi's rule.

Though NATO warplanes have stepped up their attacks on the capital Tripoli, rebels said the Libyan ruler was pressing offensive operations in several areas, apparently unhindered by the foreign military intervention.

In Misrata, doctors said at least 17 people were killed and 80 wounded in government shelling deep in the besieged port city. Al-Jazeera reported the death toll at 30.

Clashes also broke out in the town of Zlitan, some 40 km (25 miles) west of Misrata.

"Large numbers of troops are surrounding Zlitan from all directions and are threatening its residents with having their women raped by mercenaries if they do not surrender," Ahmed Bani, military spokesman, told Reuters by phone from Benghazi.

He added that 22 rebels had been killed on Thursday after fighting. Zlitan could act as a stepping stone to allow the anti-Gaddafi uprising to spread from Misrata, the biggest rebel outpost in western Libya, to Gaddafi's stronghold in Tripoli.

Accounts from Zlitan could not be independently verified because reporters have not been given access.

Juma Ibrahim, a rebel spokesman in the western mountain town of Zintan, said Gaddafi's forces had also resumed shelling in the region on Friday and criticized NATO for not doing more.

"We are unaware of any air strikes in the Western Mountains in the last four days," he said. "We don't know why they are ignoring our alerts. We told them of clear military targets that post a clear threat to civilians and they still haven't acted."

NO CLEAR WAY FORWARD

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, appearing at the Abu Dhabi meeting of the Libya contact group, said talks were under way with people close to Gaddafi who had raised the "potential" for a transition of power but added: "There is not any clear way forward yet."

Under pressure to come up with plans for a transitional government while still in disarray, the rebels have said the onus is on foreign powers to hasten assistance.

"Our people are dying," rebel Oil and Finance Minister Ali Tarhouni said. "So my message to our friends is that I hope they walk the walk."

Rebels hosted the first foreign leader in their Benghazi stronghold on Thursday, Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade.

Wade said of Gaddafi, his former African Union ally:

"It is in your own interest ... that you leave power in Libya and never dream of coming back."

World consensus on the need to see the long-time leader gone has been amplified by accounts of his regime's depredations.

The prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) this week cited evidence linking Gaddafi to a policy of raping opponents, and issuing Viagra-like drugs to troops to encourage such assaults.

Gaddafi describes the rebels as al Qaeda terrorists and says foreign intervention is a front for a grab at the country's oil.

Another visitor to Benghazi was Mikhail Margelov, Russia's Africa envoy, who on Friday said he would travel to Tripoli as soon as NATO provided a corridor through its Libyan no-fly zone.

Russia has voiced misgivings over the foreign intervention and has extensive commercial interests in Libya. It wants to mediate reconciliation between Tripoli and the rebels.

But Margelov said Gaddafi had "lost the moral right to play a role in Libya's political life in the future by bombing his own people."

A memo leaked to the Financial Times suggested U.S. operations in Libya had cost $664 million by mid-May, putting it on course to exceed the original $750 million projection.

Gates's remarks followed two days of NATO meetings at which he said too few nations were bearing the burden in Libya, and singled out five that he urged to do more.

Officials said he asked Spain, Turkey and the Netherlands to fly strike missions in addition to the air operations they currently undertake. He urged Germany and Poland, which are not contributing, to find ways to help, the officials said.

On Friday, Norway said it was cutting the number of its F-16 fighter jets involved in the NATO operation over Libya to four from six, and would end its military contribution from August 1.

(Additional reporting by Peter Graff in Tripoli, Ahmed Tolba and Omar Fahmy in Cairo; Sherine El Madany in Benghazi; Joseph Nasr and Zakia Abdennebi in Rabat, David Alexander in Brussels and Steve Gutterman in Moscow, Gwladys Fouche in Oslo; Writing by Tim Cocks and John Irish; Editing by Andrew Roche)

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Heavy fighting kills 17 in Misrata

Misrata, Libya (CNN) -- At least 31 people were killed Friday as fighting raged in the western Libyan city of Misrata, where forces loyal to Moammar Gadhafi were attempting to enter from the west and south.

More than 150 others were wounded, said medical sources at the city's Hekmah Hospital.

Friday's casualties were the heaviest in a month, Dr. Khaled Abu Falgha said. Medics chanted, "The martyrs are beloved to God" every time a patient died, he said.

The rebels said Gadhafi's forces also shelled nearby Zlitan, as well as rebel positions in Dafniya. Tanks were rolling in and witnesses on the frontline said pro-Gadhafi forces were firing rockets and missiles.

"It is horrible out there," one rebel fighter said. "The revolutionaries are taking tank power in their chests."

The city was under continuous bombardment Friday afternoon.

Misrata has borne the brunt of the fighting in Libya for the past two months. More than 1,000 people are believed to have been killed here since early February, including 686 civilian residents.

Gadhafi's forces laid siege to Misrata and cut off land access, leaving the port as the only escape route. They retreated to the perimeters but were trying to regain control of the city, about 130 miles (209 kilometers) east of Tripoli.

In Washington, Sen. Carl Levin emerged from a meeting of the Armed Services Committee and appeared pleased with NATO's progress.

"I am satisfied that Gadhafi's military has been severely degraded, that politically he has been significantly weakened, that the NATO operations are going well, they are coordinated and we have not lost one person yet," the Democrat from Michigan said.

The committee chairman rejected the term "stalemate" to describe the effort, which has lasted nearly three months.

But Sen. Jeff Sessions, also a member of the committee, expressed impatience over NATO's pace of progress in the northern African country.

"I'm not sure we are acting with decisive abilities that we have to impact the outcome," the Republican from Alabama said. "I felt like, had we moved aggressively, as Senator (John) Kerry (D-Massachusetts) and Senator (John) McCain (R-Arizona) suggested in the beginning, maybe the matter would be concluded by now."

In Brussels, Belgium, outgoing U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates blasted NATO as a "two-tiered" alliance poorly equipped to deal with challenges.

In his farewell speech Friday to the NATO Council, he contrasted those members "willing and able to pay the price and bear the burdens of alliance commitments, and those who enjoy the benefits of NATO membership ... but don't want to share the risks and the costs."

Gates had harsh words for the conduct of the air campaign against Gadhafi's regime. He said it had become "painfully clear" that shortcomings could "jeopardize the alliance's ability to conduct an integrated, effective and sustained air-sea campaign."

"While every alliance member voted for the Libya mission, less than half have participated at all, and fewer than a third have been willing to participate in the strike mission," he said.

Gates concluded with a warning about American willingness to continue bearing a growing part of the NATO burden.

"The blunt reality is that there will be dwindling appetite and patience in the U.S. Congress ... to expend increasingly precious funds on behalf of nations that are apparently unwilling to devote the necessary resources or make the necessary changes to be a serious and capable partners in their own defense," he said.

NATO members must better allocate their resources, follow through on commitments and protect defense budgets from being "further gutted" to avoid "a dismal future," Gates said.

His warning came a day after global powers charting out the course of a post-Gadhafi Libya met in the United Arab Emirates. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and others urged the international community to sustain pressure on the Libyan regime. An opposition spokesman predicted Gadhafi would fall within days.

But Friday's fighting was evidence that, despite 10,439 sorties carried out by NATO jets and a fierce opposition revolt, Gadhafi was holding strong.

NATO officials have said repeatedly that airstrikes were aimed solely at military targets, but a senior NATO military official with operational knowledge of the Libya mission has told CNN that attacking Gadhafi was justified under the United Nations mandate.

The resolution applies to the Libyan leader because, as head of the military, he is part of the command-and-control structure and therefore a legitimate target, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. The official was not authorized to talk to the media.

But the NATO official declined to give a direct answer when asked whether Gadhafi was being targeted.

NATO spokeswoman Oana Lungescu, however, said the alliance was not specifically targeting Gadhafi.

"We are targeting critical military capabilities that could be used to attack civilians, including command-and-control centers that could be used to plan and organize such attacks," Lungescu said.

CNN

Gadhafi loyalists launch new push against Misrata

(CNN) -- Forces loyal to embattled Libyan strongman Moammar Gadhafi launched a new attack on the rebel-held city of Misrata on Wednesday, with anti-government forces reporting intense shelling from three sides of the city.

Thousands of government troops attacked around 6 a.m. (11 p.m. Tuesday ET), with 13 rebels reported dead by evening. Mohamed Mokhtar, a rebel fighter wounded in Wednesday's fighting, accused government troops of infiltrating rebel lines in cars bearing rebel flags.

Dr. Khaled Abu Falgha, a spokesman for Misrata's Hekma hospital, said it was the bloodiest day in a week in the besieged city. More than 1,000 people are believed to have been killed since the fighting began there in February, including 686 registered residents of the city, he said.

Rebel fighters returning from the front lines reported that their defenses were holding up under the onslaught, however.

The assault followed a day of intense bombardment of Libya's capital by the NATO alliance, which intervened in the conflict in March under a U.N. mandate to protect civilians as Gadhafi tried to crush the revolt against him. Libya's government said 60 missiles struck the capital city, killing at least 31 people, including a number of civilians, and wounding dozens more.

NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen reiterated Wednesday that the alliance is doing all it can to avoid civilian casualties. But he told reporters from allied headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, that NATO could continue the airstrikes "for as long as it takes to bring this crisis to an early conclusion."

Rasmussen said NATO bombing has saved lives in Libya, and that the alliance has the resources to extend its military mission for another 90 days past the end of June.

It is time to start planning for what to do after Gadhafi's departure "because Gadhafi's reign of terror is coming to an end," he said.

Pressed by reporters on why airstrikes would be able to dislodge Gadhafi when "the history of the last 30 years" shows that air attacks alone do not win wars, Rasmussen offered no clear answer, saying only, "We have no intentions to put troops on the ground."

For his part, even as NATO airstrikes bombarded his Tripoli compound, Gadhafi vowed Tuesday that "we will not surrender."

"I am now speaking as planes and bombs fall around me," Gadhafi said in a live audio broadcast on state television. "But my soul is in God's hand. We will not think about death or life. We will think about the call of duty."

The Gadhafi compound was under "intensive continuous bombardment," according to state TV, which reported buildings and infrastructure were destroyed. But government spokesman Musa Ibrahim said the allied campaign "is failing miserably."

"No one has the right to shape Libya's future except for Libyans," he said.

Ibrahim said Tuesday's morning blasts hit the popular guard compound and the revolution compound, which are military barracks near Gadhafi's Bab al-Aziziya compound. The spokesman said attacks Tuesday and Wednesday hit state television buildings, killing two people and wounding 16.

NATO disputed the account.

"We did not target or hit the Libyan broadcast facilities. What we did target was the military intelligence headquarters in downtown Tripoli," the alliance said. "The story coming from Libyan officials that we targeted and hit the state broadcaster's building is bogus."

CNN's Amir Ahmed, Richard Allen Greene, Raja Razek, Dan Rivers and Jonathan Wald contributed to this report.

CNN

Battle for Misrata 'like a horror movie,' says survivor

(CNN) -- NATO's secretary-general told CNN Monday that Moammar Gadhafi and his regime "have no future," but refused to predict how long the Libyan leader could hold on.

Anders Fogh Rasmussen denied that Libya had devolved into a "stalemate," insisting that NATO was "making progress" and had "taken out" a substantial part of Gadhafi's military capability.

"I'm not going to guess about a timeline. I want a solution sooner rather than later," Rasmussen said.

"It's hard to imagine an end to the violence as long as Gadhafi remains in power," he said, stressing that a political solution was required.

Gadhafi's forces have been inflicting a heavy toll on rebels in the port city of Misrata, survivors there have told CNN.

Survivors in Misrata -- the only city in western Libya held by rebels -- described what the carnage inflicted by indiscriminate shelling has wrought: crushed bones, burns and amputations.

"They are shelling the port and civilian neighborhoods. It has become an operation of revenge, not just taking over the city of Misrata," said Ibrahim al-Neairy, a rebel who was injured in the fighting and evacuated to Benghazi.

The United Nations' humanitarian chief is expected to brief the Security Council Monday on fighting between Gadhafi's forces and the rebels.

The briefing to the U.N. Security Council comes after its 15 members approved a resolution in March that called for the protection of civilians from Gadhafi's regime by any means necessary. Since March 31, a NATO-led coalition has been pounding pro-government targets across the country.

There have been widespread assumptions among experts that the conflict between pro- and anti-Gadhafi forces will continue to be a stalemate for some time.

As time wears on, though, human rights groups have expressed growing concern for besieged Libyans in Misrata.

The wounded arriving in Benghazi, the rebel hub city, painted a gruesome picture of the fighting in Misrata.

Hanan Muhammad, who was evacuated along with about 800 others on an aid ship charted by the International Organization for Migration, was wounded when a missile struck near her home.

"I was in my house praying when the first missile landed. Shortly after, more missiles, one after another started hitting our neighborhood," said Muhammad, who suffered a broken arm and shrapnel wounds.

"Terror. Fear. People are scared every moment of the day no matter their age," she said. "Oh God, it's like a horror movie."

Al-Neairy, who suffered facial burns and shrapnel wounds, said he does not regret fighting.

"The price for freedom is high and it necessary to be liberated from this regime," he said.

Amnesty International has said Gadhafi's attacks in the port city may amount to war crimes.

A report issued last week by the monitoring group accused pro-Gadhafi forces of the "unlawful killing of civilians due to indiscriminate attacks, including use of heavy artillery, rockets and cluster bombs in civilian areas and sniper fire against residents."

CNN's Sara Sidner contributed to this report.

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NATO: Gadhafi forces caught mining Misrata port

BRUSSELS (AP) — NATO warships have intercepted several boats laying anti-shipping mines outside the harbor of the Libyan city of Misrata, a senior military officer said Friday.

var data = blocks.columnist;if (data != undefined){document.getElementById('columnistmug').innerHTML=data;} By Bernat Armangue, AP

A recent NATO airstrike has killed more than a dozen rebels in Misrata.

By Bernat Armangue, AP

A recent NATO airstrike has killed more than a dozen rebels in Misrata.

Misrata has been under siege by forces loyal to Moammar Gadhafi for several weeks, and though rebels have managed to expel regime forces from the city itself, the enclave is isolated and remains dependent for much of its food and other supplies on the sea link with the rebel capital of Benghazi. It appeared to be the first time sea mines have been used in the Libyan conflict.

"We have just seen Gadhafi forces floating anti-ship mines outside Misrata harbor today," said British Brig. Rob Weighill, director of NATO operations in Libya.

"It again shows his complete disregard for international law and his willingness to attack humanitarian delivery efforts," he said speaking via teleconference from the operation's headquarters in Naples.

Weighill said NATO crews were disposing of the mines.

It has been a month since NATO assumed control of the U.S.-led military operation in Libya, with the mandate to protect civilians from attack.

Since then, alliance warplanes have conducted a total of 4,242 sorties and 1,766 strike sorties. In addition, a total of 19 NATO ships are patrolling the central Mediterranean.

Meanwhile, a NATO spokeswoman said rebel chief of staff Abdel-Fatah Younes met Thursday with senior NATO officials in Brussels. Carmen Romero said there had been "an exchange of views on Libya," but declined to elaborate.

Younes, a former Libyan interior minister who defected to the opposition, called on the international community to supply heavy weapons to the rebels.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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Fighting rages in Misrata, Libya

Reporter in Misrata: 'We're under siege'var cnnWindowParams = window.location.toString().toQueryParams();if(typeof cnnWindowParams.video != "undefined") {if(cnnWindowParams.video) {cnnLoadStoryPlayer('world/2011/04/25/bpr.libya.misrata.colvin.cnn', 'cnnCVP1', '640x384_start_art', playerOverRide, T1);}} else {$('cnnCVP2').onclick = function() {if ($$('.box-opened').length) {$$('.box-opened').each(function(val){Element.fireEvent(val, 'click');});}cnnLoadStoryPlayer('world/2011/04/25/bpr.libya.misrata.colvin.cnn', 'cnnCVP1', '640x384_start_art', playerOverRide, T1);};$('cnnCVP2').onmouseover = function() {$('cnnCVP2').className = 'cnn_mtt1plybttn cnn_mtt1plybttnon';};$('cnnCVP2').onmouseout = function() {$('cnnCVP2').className = 'cnn_mtt1plybttn';};}NEW: Fierce fighting underscores the falsity of government officials' claims to have suspended operations in MisrataBan says Libyan regime has lost legitimacy and credibilityRefugees near the Misrata port have been targeted, official saidLibya asks Russia to call for U.N. Security Council meeting

(CNN) -- Fighting battered the besieged seaside city of Misrata Tuesday as bombs -- presumably from NATO warplanes -- shook the ground after pro-government forces launched what rebel officials said was their most aggressive attack so far on the port.

Shells detonated near a refugee camp in the port area, where thousands of migrants have been housed while they await ships to carry them to safety. Witnesses said three people were killed and several were wounded.

A Misrata port security officer told CNN shelling on the wider Misrata port means that "refugees located between the steel port and the main port have been targeted."

The attacks by forces loyal to Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi underscored the falsity of government officials' claims that they had suspended military operations in the city.

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A CNN crew saw plumes of smoke rising from beyond the Misrata port, and another TV crew said it had seen fire in the distance "earlier."

But Misrata residents told CNN that the smoke and fire were coming from the town of Tawargha, 21 miles from the port. The residents added that Gadhafi troops were positioned in the area of Tawargha.

Jean Michel Monod, who heads the International Committee of the Red Cross delegation in Tripoli, said a ship that was in Misrata to pick up foreigners departed earlier than anticipated in the morning because shelling was close to the port.

He said the ICRC would have liked to take on a few more than the approximately 630 people whom it did take.

Street fighting and confrontations between pro- and anti-government forces erupted in Misrata's suburbs and pro-Gadhafi forces struck the city from miles away, a witness said.

However, the witness said, the city center was calm. There was no street-to-street fighting in the urban cauldron and Tripoli Street, the city's main boulevard, was clear, the witness said.

Misrata has been the scene of deadly battles as rebels have sought to oust Gadhafi, who has been in power for more than four decades.

Hundreds of people have been killed in the battle for the city, which has been under siege by Gadhafi's forces for seven weeks. The city's population of about 450,000 makes it the country's third-largest.

"As fighting continues to rage in Misrata, the families recently evacuated by boats to Tobruk from the embattled city describe a catastrophic situation with many having lived in fear of indiscriminate shelling," the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees said Tuesday. "Many houses and buildings have been destroyed and some families had to move several times."

The U.N. refugee agency said parts of the city have lacked electricity and water and people have been hiding in their homes for two months "before seizing the opportunity of a lull in fighting to get to the harbor and board a boat."

"Sniper fire, street clashes and shelling have prevented people from venturing outside of their homes to get food and medicine," the agency said.

"In some neighborhoods in Misrata, pregnant women gave birth in their homes as it would have been too dangerous to make the trip to the hospital."

The agency also said that, in recent weeks, some 30,000 Libyan civilians have fled their homes in the western mountain region for Tunisia.

In New York, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon credited NATO's actions with having saved many lives. "It's also clear that the Libyan regime has lost both legitimacy and credibility, particularly in terms of protecting its people and addressing its legitimate aspirations for change," Ban told reporters. "The Libyan people want to determine their own political future; they must be given the chance to do so."

He said diplomatic efforts focused on securing a cease-fire and achieving a political solution, and said his special envoy will return Friday to Benghazi.

NATO is leading an international military operation in Libya that includes air-strikes targeting Gadhafi's military resources. It is operating under a U.N. Security Council resolution authorizing all means necessary to protect civilians.

State-run Libyan TV reported that "Libya officially calls on Russia to ask for an extraordinary session by the Security Council to discuss the continuation of the crusader colonial aggression in bombing Libyan civilian locations and its attempt to target the leader Moammar Gadhafi ... violating the two council's resolutions and the international conventions and laws."

In Copenhagen, Denmark, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin criticized the Western coalition.

He said that, at its inception, the coalition didn't want to kill Gadhafi, but some officials have since acknowledged that he is a target.

"At first, they spoke about the need to close the air space. All right, but how does that correspond with bombings of Gadhafi's palaces every night?" he asked. "They say they don't want to eliminate him. But why are they bombing his palaces then?"

He also said he dislikes the relentless pounding of a small country and the destruction of its infrastructure.

"Initially there was talk about imposing a no-fly zone. But now we're seeing the country's entire infrastructure being destroyed, and one of the warring sides is now advancing, protected from air. This can go on and on forever," said Putin.

"I think that we should act within the framework of international law, understanding our responsibility and with care towards the civilian population."

U.S. National Security Council spokesman Tommy Vietor reiterated Tuesday that NATO's mission is to enforce "the arms embargo, no-fly zone and conduct a civilian protection mission," but it's not regime change.

"As part of that mission, the coalition has targeted command-and-control sites that are being used by regime forces to wage attacks against Libyan civilians -- brutal attacks that this week alone have reportedly killed dozens of civilians in Misrata alone. In fact, the degradation of those sites is part of the reason the opposition has had increased success in pushing Gadhafi's forces out of Misrata in recent days. There is no change in U.S. policy regarding assassination."

British Foreign Secretary William Hague, briefing the House of Commons on NATO's operation in Libya, said "the case for action remains compelling" and that Gadhafi has shown "he has no regard for civilian lives."

"By his actions it is clear that Gadhafi has no intention of observing the conditions in Security Council Resolution 1973 that I described to the House earlier this month," Hague said. "He has repeatedly ignored the cease-fires that he himself has announced. Our military action is defined by the U.N. Security Council resolutions. We are also clear that Gadhafi should go and it is impossible to see a viable or peaceful way forward for Libya until he does so."

Hague said diplomatic, economic and military pressure against the Gadhafi regime has been successful. He said military action has "seriously degraded" Gadhafi forces and they remain unable to enter Benghazi, where the opposition is based.

CNN's Raja Razek, Reza Sayah, Saad Abedine and Joe Sterling contributed to this report.

CNN

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Deaths mount in Misrata, Libya

Libyan rebels rest close to a building where pro-Gadhafi forces are reportedly holed up in Misrata on Sunday.NEW: Loud explosions are heard in Tripoli on Monday A Misrata doctor says 16 people were killed and 71 wounded SundayA witness says pro-Gadhafi forces extensively shelled MisrataThe doctor says NATO jets started firing on Misrata early Monday

Tripoli, Libya (CNN) -- Amid reports that pro-government forces have withdrawn from the besieged Libyan port city of Misrata, at least 16 people were killed and 71 were wounded there Sunday, a doctor at a local hospital said early Monday.

An eyewitness said pro-Gadhafi forces randomly and extensively shelled the city Sunday. The witness asked that his name not be used because of fears for his security.

"There are explosions every five minutes," the witness said.

The doctor, who also asked that his name not be used because of fears for his safety, said NATO fighter jets had begun hitting targets in Misrata early Monday.

The witness said he feels safe every time he hears the NATO jets overhead, because whenever they're not present, pro-Gadhafi forces shell the city.

Also early Monday, loud explosions and jets were heard in the capital, Tripoli. Anti-aircraft fire was both seen and heard.

A banner on Libyan state television cited a military source saying that the "crusaders' airstrikes" were targeting both civilian and military targets, resulting in casualties and damage.

Earlier, a source in Misrata described clashes with remnants of pro-government forces. The source declined to be named because of fear of reprisal.

A Libyan government spokesman explained the army came under rebel attack as it withdrew from Misrata, and so the army simply fought back as it continued withdrawing.

"Our army will always attack back if it is attacked," said the spokesman, Musa Ibrahim. "We cannot just ask them to die and not fight back."

Ibrahim said the army's withdrawal was continuing.

Misrata, a rebel stronghold in western Libya, has been the scene of some of the most prolonged fighting in the current conflict.

Rebels "liberated" the main market in the city and the central hospital, the local resident said, but the city remained unsafe and not under complete rebel control.

Ibrahim said tribal chiefs are moving to Misrata's outskirts and negotiating peace with the rebels and city inhabitants, but an opposition leader denied those claims.

"There are no tribes and there are no negotiations. It's only Libyan people fighting against Gadhafi's forces," said Col. Ahmad Bani, a rebel military spokesman.

Ruler Moammar Gadhafi is "lying to say to the world that he's looking to find a solution," Bani said. "These are Gadhafi dreams and they will never happen."

The regime had earlier said it was calling on the tribes to deal with the rebels in Misrata, whether by negotiation or force.

Ibrahim said the tribes are armed and "prepared to defend their land."

He said, "The rebels have two options: either to escape the country and leave Misrata and go somewhere else, or to give up their arms. And as we have promised before, a general pardon will be issued for everyone."

The rebels, under the umbrella of the Transitional National Council, received a pledge Sunday from Kuwait for about $180 million. The announcement came during council chief Mustafa Abdel Jalil's visit to Kuwait, Kuwaiti state-run television reported.

Ibrahim responded to that report by questioning why Kuwait was seeking to help one side rather than seeking to resolve the conflict.

"We know that some countries are not interested in Libyan peace, democracy, and the future of this country," Ibrahim said. "Why is it that some governments jump on the opportunity to make the Libyan crisis even worse ... instead of helping all parties establish peace?"

Hundreds have been killed in the battle for Misrata, under a bloody siege from Gadhafi's forces for seven weeks.

It is the scene of some of the deadliest battles of the war as the rebels attempt to oust Gadhafi, who has been in power for 42 years.

Human Rights Watch has said Gadhafi was using internationally banned cluster bombs and other lethal munitions indiscriminately to kill civilians.

The United States conducted its first Predator drone airstrikes Saturday afternoon, Pentagon spokesman Navy Capt. Darryn James said.

Keeping with U.S. practice not to comment on drone strikes, the Pentagon offered no other information.

CNN's Kamal Ghattas, Kareem Khadder, Hamdi Alkshali, Reza Sayah, Saad Abedine, Frederik Pleitgen and Barbara Starr contributed to this report.

CNN

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