Kadhafi forces sweep through Misrata ("Rebels" beg for more help from Obama)
Google ^ | 3/29/2011 | AFP
Tanks and troops loyal to Moamer Kadhafi swept through rebel-held Misrata on Tuesday, a rebel spokesman said as a doctor in Libya's third city put the death toll at 142 since March 18.
Kadhafi troops indiscriminately shelled Misrata, 214 kilometres (132 miles) east of Tripoli, and are preparing for a "massacre," the rebel spokesman told AFP by telephone.
"Misrata is in danger. The criminal forces are advancing on the city and the tanks are firing shells indiscriminately," he said, asking that his name be withheld.
"The massacre that was avoided in Benghazi thanks to the intervention of coalition forces will be carried out in the Misrata," the spokesman said.
The rebel stronghold of Benghazi is located 810 kilometers (503 miles) east of Misrata along the Mediterranean coast.
Western coalition forces launched a campaign on March 19 to enforce a UN no-fly zone in Libya and to protect civilians under attack and pounded Kadhafi forces in and around the rebel stronghold.
"Unlike what happened in Benghazi, coalition warplanes did not hit (Kadhafi) tanks that are already inside Misrata to avoid civilian casualties," the spokesman said.
He also spoke of a "humanitarian catastrophe" while a city doctor speaking separately to AFP said that at least 142 people were killed and more than 1,400 others injured since Kadhafi loyalists began hammering the city on March 18.
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