BENGHAZI: Troops loyal to Libyan strongman Moamer Qadhafi pressured rebels on several fronts on Saturday after helicopters violated a no-fly zone in the besieged city of Misrata, rebels said.
"It seems that the more desperate Qadhafi gets the more he unleashes his firepower on the people," said Abdul Hafiz Ghoga, vice-chairman of the opposition National Transitional Council.
He said intensified shelling Saturday struck the port city of Misrata and western towns near the Tunisian border, while loyalist fighters attacked the southern oasis towns of Ojla and Jalo, which neighbour oil facilities.
Ghoga said the escalation of violence reflected a knee-jerk reaction to increased political and economic pressure after France, Britain, and Germany expelled Libyan diplomats and a trust fund was set up for rebels.
"Qadhafi's natural reaction is to wreak havoc on the population, on the civilians and the cities," he said.
He said helicopters disguised as Red Cross vehicles overflew the besieged western city of Misrata on Friday, dropping anti ship mines into the port, which is the only entry of humanitarian supplies to the city.
NATO admitted its no-fly zone had been violated on Thursday when one of the ships involved in its operations spotted a number of helicopters flying over Misrata, which came under fire from rebel forces.
Shelling of the city continued on Saturday although complete details of the damage were yet to emerge, Ghoga said, without providing the number of casualties.
"They are destroying the infrastructure in particular the oil storage tanks," said Ghoga.
In the western mountains towards the border with Tunisia, Qadhafi forces unleashed a salvo of Grad rockets on Zintan and Wazin, forcing an estimated 20,000 people to flee for shelter across the border, he said.
"Wazin and Zintan are being heavily bombarded by Grad missiles," a rebel information officer told AFP adding that Qadhafi's troops were "firing randomly" and that overwhelmed rebels had pulled out of Wazin.
"The fighting was too heavy for them," he said.
A convoy of cars carrying Qadhafi fighters on Saturday attacked the southern oasis towns of Jalo and Ojla, Ghoga said.
"Qadhafi cannot keep his forces there so he keeps attacking them at different times but they remain in revolutionary hands," Ghoga said.
A member of the military council of Kufra said the southern oasis town Chad was "under rebel control" although Qadhafi forces were still in the area.
He said "six rebels were killed on Friday" when they clashed with loyalists at a checkpoint set up between Jalo and Kufra.
Ghoga once again appealed to the international community to provide arms for the "revolutionaries in order to enable them to defend themselves, their families and their cities."
"I think if we get the armaments we can make a difference in the ground."
He put the number of rebels fighting Qadhafi troops on their various frontlines at less than 3,000.
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