Hundreds flee as Gaddafi forces pound Ajdabiya

Libyan government forces pounded rebels with heavy artillery west of Ajdabiya yesterday, forcing hundreds of residents and some rebel fighters to flee the key crossroads town.
The intense shelling came a day after at least eight people were killed and 27 wounded as the forces loyal to Libyan strongman Muammar Gaddafi fired rockets at rebel positions, hospital officials said.
"Gaddafi's forces approached the city, they bombed the western gate. The sound of the guns are coming closer, that's why many are leaving," said Omar Salim Mufta, a 27-year-old resident rebel supporter who has not taken up arms.
Another civilian, 48-year-old Milud Ghait, appealed for Nato forces to carry out air strikes on the area as about a dozen pickup trucks carrying rebel fighters left the eastern town.
"Gaddafi's forces are on the western outskirts of Ajdabiya, but Nato is doing nothing. Where is Nato? What are the French, British and Americans doing?" he asked.
It was not immediately clear if there were casualties from yesterday's shelling whose range is about 20 kilometres, suggesting pro-Gaddafi forces were within that distance of Ajdabiya.
The ragtag rebel fighters had previously appeared set to move on Brega, 80 kilometres west of Ajdabiya, with some correspondents reporting they were on the outskirts of the strategic oil town.
In the besieged western bastion of Misrata, meanwhile, rebels said they mounted successful raids on Gaddafi's troops in the city.
Smoke billowed over the centre of Misrata, which a witness said was from a destroyed regime tank, as the rebels claimed to have taken out several pro-Gaddafi snipers along the port city's main avenue, Tripoli Street.
On the diplomatic front, the New York Times reported US President Barack Obama's administration has launched an intense search for a country, likely in Africa, that could provide refuge to Gaddafi.
On Saturday, France said a new UN resolution to push Gaddafi into quitting was unnecessary, and Germany suggested frozen Libyan funds be diverted to the United Nations to pay for aid to victims of the conflict.
"We think that given his behaviour, his savage repression of the population, Gaddafi has lost all legitimacy to stay in power," Juppe said.
US-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) accuse Gaddafi forces of using cluster bombs but a spokesman for the Libyan regime denied the accusations.
Tens of thousands of migrants have already fled Libya since the rebellion erupted in mid-February.
Meanwhile, the European Union and Nato deepened their coordination for a potential EU military mission to deliver urgent humanitarian aid to Misrata, diplomats said.
The International Organisation for Migration said about 1,200 migrants have been evacuated from Misrata to the eastern rebel stronghold of Benghazi. Most were Bangladeshis and Egyptians.