At least six people have been killed and another 47 wounded in renewed shelling of the western Libyan city of Misrata by the forces loyal to Libya’s strongman Muammar Gaddafi, the Arab TV channel Al Jazeera reported on Sunday.
Human Rights Watch on Saturday accused Gaddafi’s forces of using cluster bombs in the besieged city.
Misrata has been besieged by Gaddafi’s government forces for about seven weeks now. Hundreds of the city’s residents are believed to have been killed in the shelling as the government forces are firing rockets and mortars at residential quarters.
The UN Security Council adopted a resolution imposing a no-fly zone over Libya on March 17, paving the way for a military operation against embattled Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi which began two days later. The command of the operation was shifted from a U.S.-led international coalition to NATO in late March.
Despite dozens of sorties carried out by NATO aircraft against Gaddafi’s forces, the government troops maintain their combat capability and continue to pound poorly-equipped rebels with heavy artillery and rocket fire.
MOSCOW, April 17 (RIA Novosti)