Libya: Gaddafi forces renew pounding of Misrata rebels

Forces loyal to Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi have been pounding Misrata throughout the day.

The city is the main rebel stronghold in western Libya, and has the country's largest port.

Witnesses report no activity in the area by Nato aircraft.

Tanks, artillery and incendiary rockets bombarded rebel positions at Dafniya, about 18 miles (30km) west of the city, said a doctor at Hikma Hospital in Misrata, speaking to Associated Press news agency.

Misrata has been the scene of some of the heaviest fighting of the Libyan unrest. It endured 70 days of siege by pro-Gaddafi forces until Nato air raids broke the siege three weeks ago, enabling the rebels to break out.

Government forces have pushed back against those territorial gains.

They surround Misrata on all sides but the north, where the Mediterranean Sea provides a vital conduit for supplies from the rebel-held east.

Also on Friday, Col Gaddafi's forces shelled the town of Gadamis, 600km (370 miles) south-west of Tripoli, for the first time since the start of the uprising in February, a rebel spokesman told Reuters news agency.

Meanwhile Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said his government had offered to help send Col Gaddafi "wherever he wants to go", but had so far received to response from the Libyan authorities, AFP news agency reported; Kazinform cites BBC News.

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