Tripoli, April 15: The besieged Libyan city of Misratah has come under heavy fire after regime forces launched some 120 rockets into the city, residents and witnesses say.
Residents say at least 120 rockets hit the key positions in and around the western city on Friday.
Medical sources say the attacks have killed at least eight people and injured seven others.
Libyan opposition fighters say government forces deliberately target civilians as most of the fatalities are women and children.
Reports indicate hundreds of civilians are reported to have died in a six-week siege.
Revolutionary forces had earlier warned of an impending massacre by forces loyal to embattled ruler Muammar Gaddafi.
On Thursday, as many as 23 civilians were killed and many more were wounded in the attacks by Gaddafi forces on Misratah.
The city has been at war since the revolution began in mid-February.
Meanwhile, International aid agencies and rights groups have warned of a growing humanitarian disaster in Misratah — which is Libya’s third-largest city.
NATO warplanes also continued to bomb targets in and around the capital Tripoli on Thursday.
The US-led military alliance admits that its forces have killed dozens of civilians and opposition fighters in the ongoing aerial attacks on key Libyan cities.
A top NATO commander has recently said that the alliance has launched an investigation into the killings.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov says NATO’s military intervention in oil-rich Libya has gone far beyond the mandate authorized by the United Nations.
After talks with NATO counterparts in Berlin on Friday, Lavrov also called for an urgent shift towards a political and diplomatic settlement in Libya.
——Agencies