On the run
October 3, 2011
Thousands of people were reported to be fleeing the Libyan city of Sirte on Monday, with rebels poised to launch a major offensive to take control of the city which has become a stronghold of the troops loyal to deposed leader Moammar Gadhafi.
"We are taking advantage of the short lull and leaving the city as the humanitarian situation is worsening," a local resident told the Dubai-based broadcaster Al Arabiya.
Earlier, Libya's interim government, the National Transitional Council (NTC), had announced a two-day ceasefire to allow residents to leave Sirte, but people emerging from the city said they had not heard about a truce and that the shooting had continued. Some chose to flee just after dawn, saying that this was the time of day when there was the least chance of being hit by rocket or sniper fire.
Gadhafi's hometown is one of two cities still holding out against rebel fighters. The siege of Sirte is now into its third week.
Medical crisis
The International Committtee of the Red Cross (ICRC) warned on Sunday of a medical emergency in the coastal town, with an estimated population of 70,000.
The fighting continued as a Red Cross team delivered supplies to medical facilities in Sirte on Saturday, with the city's hospital coming under fire as the new regime's forces intensified their push to take ther town.
"It's a dire situation," ICRC team leader Hichem Khadhraoui said.
Staff at the Ibn Sina hospital told the team that "because of lack of oxygen and fuel for the generator, people are dying."
"Several rockets landed within the hospital buildings while we were there," Khadhraoui added. "We saw a lot of indiscriminate fire."
During the ICRC's visit, NTC fighters launched a rocket and cannon attack from a position less than a kilometer away from the hospital.
Fighters killed
The ICRC had been trying to enter Sirte for weeks. At a field hospital near the eastern front line, ICRC spokeswoman Dibeh Fakhr said there was "no medical equipment, medicines or oxygen" available at the hospital.
"A lot of citizens have fled the city. We have no information how many exactly ... but hundreds of families, which means thousands of people, are still in there," Fakhr said.
Doctors at a field hospital east of Sirte said four NTC fighters were killed on Sunday in "friendly fire" incidents.
Loyalists fight on
Moussa Ibrahim, the fugitive spokesman for Moammar Gadhafi and a Sirte native, telephoned a Syria-based television channel late on Saturday.
"Tomorrow we expect a strong attack from several points of Sirte but we are ready," Ibrahim said.
Gadhafi, whose whereabouts remain unknown, is the subject of an international arrest warrant. He has been abandoned by nearly all of his allies abroad, with one exception being Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, who said Saturday that Gadhafi was in his prayers.
"The Libyans are resisting the invasion and aggression," Chavez said. "I ask God to protect the life of our brother Muammar Gaddafi. They're hunting him down to kill him."
"No one knows where Gaddafi is, I think he went off to the desert ... to lead the resistance," he added. "What else can he do?"
Libyan rebels ended Gadhafi's 42-year rule in August when they stormed the capital Tripoli. In late September, the United Nations recognized the NTC as Libya's official government.
Author: David Levitz, Chuck Penfold (AFP, Reuters, dpa)
Editor: Michael Lawton