11:41pm UK, Saturday May 07, 2011
Libyan government forces have used aircraft to drop bombs on oil storage tanks in Misratah, according to a spokesman for the rebel movement.
Photo appearing to show Misratah being bombed, given to Sky News by a source
Ahmed Hassan claims that forces loyal to the Libyan leader Colonel Gaddafi have used planes designed for crop spraying to deploy the weapons, defying the no-fly zone and destroying a series of fuel tanks.
Sky News is unable to verify the claim independently but has received photographs said to show the bombardment close to Misratah's port.
Under United Nations resolution 1973, no planes are allowed to fly in Libyan airspace except Nato planes tasked with enforcing the resolution to provide protection for civilians.
Amnesty International urge for more help against Colonel GaddafiThe international community must give all possible support - financial, legal and practical - to those bodies trying to bring to justice those responsible.
Misratah is Libya's third city and has been a centre of heavy fighting for more than two months.
Yesterday Amnesty International said that the siege in the city amounted to a possible war crime.
"The scale of the relentless attacks that we have seen by Gaddafi forces to intimidate the residents of Misrata for more than two months is truly horrifying," Amnesty senior adviser Donatella Rovera said.
"It shows a total disregard for the lives of ordinary people and is in clear breach of international humanitarian law," she said.
Colonal Gaddafi is safe and well, according to the Libyan Prime Minister
"The international community must give all possible support - financial, legal and practical - to those bodies trying to bring to justice those responsible."
Colonel Gaddafi has not been seen in public for over a week.
Last Saturday Nato jets bombed a house in Tripoli which is said to have killed his son Saif-al-Arab and narrowly missed the leader himself.
Despite rumours that he might have been injured or even killed in the attack, the Libyan prime minister told Sky News that he was well.
"He is in good health, good shape and strongly leads this country," Baghdadi Mahmoudi said.
"We should not forget that he is a father. When you lose a son and grandsons, you feel it," he said.
David Cameron and Nicolas Sarkozy have been in contact about Colonel Gaddafi
In London, Downing Street officials said that Prime Minister David Cameron had discussed the situation with French President Nicolas Sarkozy on the telephone.
"The Prime Minister spoke to President Sarkozy this evening to take stock of the international community's efforts to protect civilians in Libya," a spokesman said.
"They agreed on the priority of continuing to increase the pressure militarily, politically and economically, to isolate the discredited Gaddafi regime.
"The leaders also reiterated that Gaddafi's departure is essential to ensure a stable and peaceful Libya, and to allow the Libyan people to determine their future.
"The International Criminal Court report on the regime's crimes has reinforced this."
Libyan Deputy Foreign Minister, Khalid KaimWe will not allow those ships to bring arms to the city and then to evacuate some criminals.
Last night a two-day tribal conference ended in Tripoli. Two thousand people had gathered in a conference centre in the capital.
It was claimed that the delegates were tribal leaders representing 850 tribes from across Libya.
A closing statement from the meeting called for a "general amnesty law which will include all those who were involved in the crisis and took up arms".
It continued: "The conference also calls all Libyan tribes neighbouring the towns and cities hijacked by armed groups to move peacefully in popular marches to liberate those hijacked towns, disarming the armed rebels."
Tribal leaders gathered to discuss the Libya situation in Tripoli
As the conference ended there were defiant cries from the crowd in support for Colonel Gaddafi.
A well-known TV presenter from government controlled State Television spoke briefly in English accusing western journalists of being liars and not reporting the conflict fairly.
Speaking to Sky News via email and twitter, a number of opposition activists dismissed the tribal meeting.
They claimed that Libyan citizens took little interest in tribes and said that those at the conference did not represent the views of the wider population.
Some 850 tribes were represented at the meeting in Tripoli
"It's an orchestrated show," one said while another added: "They represent nobody since there is only one tribe in Libya: it is Libya."
Sky News has requested a list of all the tribal leaders and tribes present at the meeting. This document was provided to us.
It is impossible to know how the citizens of Tripoli feel about the meeting or how much real support there is for Colonel Gaddafi in Western Libya.
Journalists covering the conflict from the capital are unable to leave their hotel without government officials.
Organised trips with government minders are limited and private conversations are prevented.
The Libyan government says international journalists are restricted in their movement for "their own safety".
In his latest late-night news conference, the Libyan Deputy Foreign Minister, Khalid Kaim suggested, somewhat confusingly, that he had no information about Government forces bombing Misratah despite video footage and eyewitness reports over several weeks showing the bombing taking place.
He added that if government forces were bombing the city, it was justified.
"We will not allow those ships to bring arms to the city and then to evacuate some criminals," he said.
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