Reply #104: UPDATE 4-Rebels repel Gaddafi assault on Misrata's east [View All]

[tabatha]

Fri Apr 8, 2011 7:50pm GMT (Reuters) - Rebels said they fought off an assault on the east of Misrata by forces loyal to Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi on Friday.

A rebel spokesman said government troops had advanced on the heavily populated Esqeer district in an effort to loosen the rebels' grip on Misrata, where families are crammed together in the few remaining safe districts.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said it expected a humanitarian vessel it had chartered to reach Misrata by midday on Saturday but gave no details of the relief cargo it was carrying.

"The attack from the east has been repelled now and the (pro-Gaddafi) forces have been pushed back," a rebel spokesman, who gave his name as Hassan al-Misrati, told Reuters by phone.

A second rebel said Gaddafi's troops had deployed a tank along Tripoli Street to try to assert control of the strategic highway, which leads into the city centre from the western outskirts, after rebels attacked government sniper positions.

http://af.reuters.com/article/libyaNews/idAFLDE7370TA20110408?sp=true