Libyan army retreating from Misrata

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]



MISRATA: Libyan troops captured by rebels in Misrata said on Saturday the army had been ordered to retreat from the besieged port, marking a possible shift in a two-month revolt against leader Muammar Gaddafi.

The Libyan government said NATO air strikes might force Gaddafi's army to stop fighting in Misrata, Libya's third largest city, and let local tribes take over the battle.

"We have been told to withdraw. We were told to withdraw yesterday," one army soldier, Khaled Dorman, said.

Lying in the back of a pickup truck, he was among 12 wounded soldiers brought to a hospital for treatment in Misrata. Blasts and machine gun fire were heard in the distance.

Another serviceman, when asked if the government had lost control over Misrata, said "yes".

The last large city held by rebels in western Libya, Misrata has been under siege for nearly two months. Hundreds of civilians have died in the fighting.

"The situation in Misrata will be eased, will be dealt with by the tribes around Misrata and the rest of Misrata's people and not by the Libyan army," Deputy Foreign Minister Khaled Kaim told reporters in Tripoli.

"You will see how they will be swift and quick and fast and the Libyan army will be out of this situation in Misrata, because the Libyan people around Misrata cannot sustain it like this," he said.

"The tactic of the Libyan army is to have a surgical solution, but it doesn't work, with the air strikes it doesn't work."

Hours after the announcement of a shift in tactics in Misrata by Gaddafi forces, NATO bombs struck what appeared to be a bunker near his compound in central Tripoli. The government said the target was a car park and three people were killed.

Western countries have vowed not to stop bombing Libya until Gaddafi leaves power, but their air war now in its second month has failed to tip the balance.

In Misrata, captured government soldiers said the army had come under attack from rebels during its retreat.

"The rebels attacked us while we were withdrawing from Misrata near a bridge this morning," said Ayad Muhammad, a young soldier. As he spoke, other uniformed soldiers in the hospital moaned in pain, some saying "My god, my god".

Earlier, rebels in Misrata seized control of a downtown office building that had been a base for Gaddafi's snipers and other troops after a furious two-week battle.

Shattered masonry, wrecked tanks and the incinerated corpse of a government soldier lay near the former insurance offices on Friday. "They shot anything that moved," one fighter said of the Gaddafi men driven out. (Reuters)