Rocket salvo hits Misrata
A fresh hail of government rockets crashed into Misrata yesterday after Western allies denounced a "medieval siege" of the city and vowed to keep bombing Muammar Gaddafi's forces until he stepped down.
A local doctor told Al Jazeera at least eight people died and seven others were wounded in the second day of intense bombardment of Misrata, a lone rebel bastion in western Libya.
Meanwhile, Russia's foreign minister charged that Nato was exceeding its UN mandate in Libya and called for an urgent move towards a political settlement to the conflict.
"Today, we can see actions that in a number of cases go beyond the mandate of the UN Security Council," Sergei Lavrov said after talks with Nato foreign ministers in Berlin.
"We believe it is important to urgently transfer things into the political course and proceed with a political and diplomatic settlement," he told a news conference.
Residents told the television network at least 120 rockets hit the city, where hundreds of civilians are reported to have died in a six-week siege.
The suffering of Misrata is heaping pressure on Western allies to step up air attacks to stop the bombardment, but Nato is split over providing more planes for the task.
British Foreign Secretary William Hague said at a Nato ministerial meeting in Berlin that London was making progress in persuading other members to provide more strike aircraft, but Italy immediately ruled out joining attacks.
Britain, France and the United States said in a joint newspaper article yesterday: "It is unthinkable that someone who has tried to massacre his own people can play a part in their future government."
But their clear intention to achieve regime change in Libya goes well beyond the terms of a United Nations resolution authorising air strikes to protect civilians and other allies have misgivings.
Gaddafi's daughter Aisha told a rally in Tripoli that demanding his departure was an insult.
In a strongly worded article published on both sides of the Atlantic, British Prime Minister David Cameron, French President Nicolas Sarkozy and US President Barack Obama said leaving Gaddafi in power would be an "unconscionable betrayal."
"So long as Gaddafi is in power, Nato and its coalition partners must maintain their operations so that civilians remain protected and the pressure on the regime builds," they said.
The United States has taken a back seat in the air campaign after handing command to Nato on March 31 and France has suggested it needs to return to the campaign.
The allied leaders said in their article that Gaddafi could play no role in a transition to democracy. "For that transition to succeed, Colonel Gaddafi must go, and go for good."
Aisha Gaddafi told a rally in Tripoli marking the 25th anniversary of American bombing of Gaddafi's compound there:
"Talk about Gaddafi stepping down is an insult to all Libyans because Gaddafi is not in Libya, but in the hearts of all Libyans."
The article by the Western allies appeared at a time when diplomatic efforts have failed to paper over divisions between Nato allies about how intensively they should prosecute the three-week-old air war, amid increasing stalemate on the ground.
The rebels have begged for more air strikes to avert what they say is a potential massacre in Misrata.
Nato planes bombed targets in Tripoli on Thursday, where state television showed footage of a defiant Gaddafi cruising through the streets in a green safari jacket and sunglasses, pumping his fists and waving from an open-top vehicle.
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