Six Libyan rebel fighters were killed on Sunday and dozens more wounded by government artillery barrages near the rebel-held city of Misrata, doctors told Reuters.
After the clashes, Reuters reporters in Misrata heard warplanes in the sky over the city and then the sound of an air strike hitting the area to the west of the city where the fighting had taken place.
Pickups and ambulances were arriving at a field hospital in Misrata's western Dafniya district carrying fighters who had been wounded in mortar attacks. Medical workers were using buckets of water to clean up blood from the floor of the field hospital, which had been converted from is previous use as a garage. Mohammed Elbira, a doctor, said 28 people were wounded.
Accounts from doctors and fighters at the field hospital suggested that forces loyal to Libyan leader Muammar Qadhafi have been using civilian homes and farms to provide them with cover from Nato air strikes.
Elbira said the six fighters who died were involved in operations beyond the rebel lines, in farmland between the western edge of Misrata and the neighbouring town of Zlitan.
Comments
Comments are closed for this article.