Tripoli, March 11: Libyan regime forces have showered rockets and tank shells on the strategic oil port of Ras Lanuf in preparation for a full-scale offensive.
“All we are seeing there is bombardment with heavy artillery from the sea and the air,” spokesman for the opposition National Libyan Council, Hafiz Ghoga, said on state television on Thursday.
The state television announced that the army had driven opposition forces out of Ras Lanuf, which the opposition denies.
Medics confirmed that the city’s main hospital was hit by artillery and airstrikes, killing several people. Dozens were also wounded while scores of others are missing.
Staff and patients were evacuated to the cities of Brega and Ajdabiyah, AFP reported.
Warplanes have also bombed Brega — another opposition-held oil hub.
Meanwhile, in the western town of Zawiyah, regime forces have been locked in street fighting with opposition fighters. Witnesses have described scenes of carnage with women and children among the dead.
Libyan ruler Muammar Gaddafi’s son, Saif al-Islam, says regime forces are preparing full-scale military action against the opposition — even if the West intervenes.
Also on Thursday, Tripoli announced that it may sever diplomatic ties with France and other Western countries if they back the opposition.
——–Agencies