Gaddafi rockets dent sense of security in Misrata

MISRATA, Libya, Jun 22 – Rockets have landed in rebel-held Misrata for the first time in several weeks, signaling that the coastal city remains within range of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi's artillery fire.

Although no one was hurt in the attack, it dampened the relative sense of security among Misrata's residents, who had believed the siege on their city was broken after rebels drove out loyalist forces in mid-May.

"Everyone is worried. We don't know where to go anymore. Only when I die will I be safe," said Mohammed Mabrouk, who lives near one of two houses hit by the rockets. Two more landed in open areas.Fighting has been largely on Misrata's far western and eastern edges, where the rebel rag-tag army is sustaining heavier casualties by the day from the better equipped and better trained government forces.Rebels have been trying to advance west toward the town of Zlitan, where Gaddafi's soldiers are imposing a tight siege. Libyan television said on Wednesday that "dozens" of people were killed in Zlitan after NATO naval ships shelled the town.The report could not be independently verified because foreign reporters have been prevented from entering Zlitan.

NATO only comments on its Libya operations the day after.

If the Libyan television report is confirmed, it could further complicate the mission of the NATO-led military alliance, whose credibility has been questioned after it admitted on Sunday killing civilians in a Tripoli air strike.A rebel spokesman called Mohammed told Reuters from Zlitan that NATO had been hitting loyalist military targets in the town on an almost daily basis. He said Gaddafi's soldiers used their artillery positions in Zlitan to fire salvoes toward Misrata.

"We hear the sound of artillery fire every night," he said.

Four rebel fighters were killed and 60 others were wounded in fighting with loyalist forces on Tuesday in Dafniya, which lies between Zlitan and Misrata. Eleven rebel fighters were killed there a day earlier.Rebels have made slow progress since NATO countries joined their fight to overthrow Gaddafi in March but are now trying to inch toward Tripoli from Misrata, east of the capital, and from the Western Mountains region to its southwest.

The going is especially tough in Misrata.

"Gaddafi's forces have moved forward about a kilometer," Dr Mohammed Grigda said at the field hospital in Dafniya just outside Misrata. It was impossible to verify the information but a Reuters reporter in Dafniya saw that rebel mortar positions had edged back slightly.