LIBYA_ Libyan forces destroy key fuel supply in Misurata

Libyan forces destroy key fuel supply in Misurata

The loss of stored fuel in the rebel-held city in western Libya could lead to gasoline shortages and make an already dire humanitarian crisis worse.


A Libyan man gestures as the main fuel depot in Misurata burns after a bombing by pro-Kadafi forces early Saturday. The loss of the depot deepens the humanitarian crisis in the besieged city. (Associated Press / May 7, 2011)

By Patrick J. McDonnell, Los Angeles Times

May 7, 2011, 1:35 p.m.

Reporting from Benghazi, Libya— Forces loyal to Libyan leader Moammar Kadafi destroyed three huge fuel tanks in the besieged city of Misurata, aggravating an already dire humanitarian crisis there, the rebel leadership said Saturday.

The bombardment of the stored fuel could lead to critical shortages of gasoline for vehicles and fuel for electricity in the stricken city, said Jalal el Gallal, an opposition spokesman in Benghazi, the rebel stronghold in eastern Libya.

Misurata, the last major city in western Libya that remains in rebel hands, has been under siege from pro-regime forces for more than two months.

The city of 300,000 has become a worldwide symbol of resistance to Kadafi and the threat faced by civilians in Libya. Opposition leaders say scores have been killed in what they call indiscriminate, daily shelling by Kadafi's forces.

Misurata's lifeline has been its sprawling port, which has been a conduit for supplies coming in and the departure of the injured and refugees. But the port has also come under shelling from Kadafi forces positioned on the outskirts of town. Five refugees waiting for a humanitarian boatlift were killed by shelling earlier in the week, officials say.

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization, which is waging an aerial campaign against regime forces as part of its U.N.-authorized mandate to protect civilians in Libya, has accused Kadafi's government of laying mines in Misurata's harbor.

On Saturday, the rebel leadership alleged that a government helicopter bearing markings of the Red Cross had tried to lay mines in the harbor. The report remained unconfirmed. A NATO official said allies had heard about the purported incident and were investigating, but had not verified it. A ship did report seeing a helicopter in the Misurata area Thursday, the NATO official said, but it was unclear whose aircraft it was.

NATO is also enforcing a no-fly zone over Libya.

The opposition said Saturday that rebel-held towns in the western mountains had come under a renewed barrage of shelling, prompting more refugees to flee for neighboring Tunisia.

The rebel command has repeatedly urged its allies to provide insurgent forces with better armaments and equipment in their stalemate with Kadafi's better-armed and better-trained troops. Only NATO's warplanes prevented regime forces in March from taking back Benghazi, the de facto rebel capital.

"If we get the armaments, we can make a difference on the ground," the rebels' chief spokesman, Abdelhafed Ghoga, told reporters Saturday.

But the United States and other nations that have called for Kadafi to step down have been hesitant to arm the rebels, generally preferring to provide non-lethal, humanitarian aid. Several nations, including Britain, France and Italy, have also sent small contingents of military advisors to assist the rebels.

patrick.mcdonnell@latimes.com