Gaddafi forces destroy Misrata fuel tanks
Gaddafi forces bombed large fuel storage tanks in the contested western city of Misrata, destroying the tanks and sparking a huge fire, pro-democracy forces said today.
The bombardment came as artillery rounds fired by Gaddafi forces fell in Tunisia in an escalation of fighting near the border between Gaddafi forces and revolutionary fighters.
Misrata is the last remaining city in the west liberated and controlled by the pro-democracy forces. The port city has been under siege by Gaddafi forces for more than two months and has witnessed some of the war’s fiercest fighting between loyalists and revolutionaries.
Pro-democracy fighters gave varying accounts of the Misrata bombardment but said the overnight attack, which hit fuel used for export as well as domestic consumption, came as a blow to their ability to withstand the seige.
“Four (fuel) tanks were totally destroyed and huge fire erupted which spread now to the other four. We cannot extinguish it because we do not have the right tools,” spokesman for the revolutionaries Ahmed Hassan told Reuters.
“Now the city will face a major problem. Those were the only sources of fuel for the city. These tanks could have kept the city for three months with enough fuel,” he said by telephone.
Hassan said Gaddafi forces used small planes normally used to spray pesticides for the overnight attack in Qasr Ahmed. He later told Al-Jazeera television that three helicopters bearing Red Crescent insignia conducted the attack.
Another rebel spokesman, who gave his name as Abdelsalam, said a Gaddafi government helicopter conducted a reconnaissance mission over the port and two hours later at around midnight local time Gaddafi forces fired rockets that hit three fuel tanks belonging to the Brega Oil Company.
The revolutionary forces notified NATO about the planes before the attack but there was no response, Hassan said. Gaddafi government forces last month flew at least one helicopter reconnaissance mission over Misrata.
