Libyan city of Misrata reported to be secure after Gaddafi forces retreat

Thursday, March 24, 2011

Airstrikes in the Libyan city of Misrata are reported to have forced pro-government forces to retreat after a multi-day assault on the city.

Early on Wednesday, aircraft from allied countries began flying sorties over the city and dropping bombs. The strikes destroyed much of the equipment of government forces, including tanks and artillery, and after about twelve hours pro-Gaddafi troops retreated from the area.

All troops save individual snipers are reported to have left Misrata, marking the end of five days of attacks by government forces seeking to retake control of the city. The assault has reportedly killed close to a hundred people.

According to a witness, Mohammed Ali, who works at the main hospital, aircraft "bombed a lot of sites of the Gaddafi army. There is a former hospital where his tanks were based. All the tanks and the hospital were destroyed. A column of tanks was destroyed on the edge of the city. [...] All that is left is [sic] the snipers and our fighters can take care of them."

He went on to say that 94 people have died since government forces began their attack on the city, with more than 1,300 having been injured.

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Battle of Misrata

Sources

"Libya: Allied air strikes secure Misrata for rebels" — The Guardian, March 23, 2011
"Western aircraft launch strikes on Gaddafi's forces in Misrata" — Xinhua, March 23, 2011

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This page is archived, and is no longer publicly editable.

Articles presented on Wikinews reflect the specific time at which they were written and published, and do not attempt to encompass events or knowledge which occur or become known after their publication.

Got a correction? Add the template {{editprotected}} to the talk page along with your corrections, and it will be brought to the attention of the administrators.

Please note that due to our archival policy, we will not alter or update the content of articles that are archived, but will only accept requests to make grammatical and formatting corrections.

Note that some listed sources or external links may no longer be available online due to age.