Libyan Pro-Gaddafi Forces Continue Attacks in Key Rebel Cities

Libyan rebels keep watch atop a vehicle for any signs of pro-Gaddafi fighters, on the road between Ajdabiya and Benghazi, Eastern Libya, 24 March 2011. Photo by EPA/BGNES

Forces supporting Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi have continued their attacks in key rebel cities after a fifth consecutive night of air strikes by international forces.

Several loud explosions shook Tripoli overnight, a day after pounding from allied warplanes in the rebel-held city of Misrata forced pro-Gaddafi troops to pull back, the BBC reported on Thursday.

However, according to witnesses, on Thursday government tanks rolled back into the city and renewed their attacks, shelling the area near the hospital in Misrata.

According to one resident, pro-government forces have seized control of the city's port, where there are thousands of stranded foreign workers seeking to leave. However, it was later reported that the rebels retained control of the area, but loyalist snipers remained on rooftops near the town's central artery and had killed one resident on Thursday.

At a news conference, Libyan officials in Tripoli acknowledged for the first time that the residents of Misrata had been living for days without water, electricity and telecommunications. However, they said the cuts were due to technical problems and blamed the rebels for blocking government forces from entering the town to make repairs, The New York Times reported.

Misrata has been besieged for several weeks, with reports that more than a dozen people were killed in the latest clashes.

There have also been reports on fighting between rebels and forces loyal to Gaddafi in another strategic city – Ajbadiya. Residents who have been fleeing the town stated that there were shelling, gunfire and houses on fire.

An explosion was also reported at a military base in the Tajura region east of Tripoli.

Meanwhile, on Thursday the French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said that the operation is "a matter of days or weeks".

"The destruction of Gaddafi's military capacity is a matter of days or weeks, certainly not months. You can't expect us to achieve our objective in just five days," he said.

US Admiral Gerard Hueber, the chief of staff for the American-led operational command, said that the allies are striking at Gaddafi's ground forces in both Misrata and Ajbadiya.

In his words, air attacks in such urban areas, which have the potential for many civilian casualties, meant the military was operating in "extremely complex and difficult environment".

Hueber pointed out that there had been no reports at civilian casualties caused by allied actions, despite claims to the contrary by Gaddafi's government.