Post date: Apr 21, 2011 4:45:3 PM
In Misrata it can be a daily struggle for residents to survive -- not only the pounding of rockets from Gaddafi forces and street fighting, but also serious food and fuel shortages.
MISRATA, LIBYA (APRIL 21, 2011) REUTERS - Residents of Misrata are struggling to survive not only the daily pounding of rockets from Gaddafi forces and street fighting but also severe shortages of food and fuel.
Libya's third largest city is the only rebel stronghold in the west of the country.
It has been under a punishing siege by Gaddafi's forces for seven weeks Residents are exhausted and living among the ruins of what was once a bustling port city.At one bakery people exchange bread for other necessities such as water and basic medicine.
Life is grim here. Evacuees have spoken of snipers picking people off the street as they scour the city looking for water. Others have spoken of walking around corpses that are left out in the streets.
One man remains stoical. He says Libyans have always lived amidst hardship and that they have learned to get used to the misery.
"People are coping and they got used to things, thank God. We have been living in difficult circumstances for years and the situation has always been bad. This is not new for us" he says.
The baker says its not easy to cook the bread or fetch ingredients because he is short on fuel and so he exhanges his loaves for a bit of car diesel.
But the worst thing, he says, is the shooting and the sound of planes overhead.
"Regarding the bakery, we have fuel missing. But what is only disturbing us is the airstrikes. We feel exposed as we are very close to that. We are always exposed to this and shooting" says the baker
Rebel fighters are frustrated with an international military operation they see as too cautious. They say NATO has been inefficient in Misrata and failed to change things on the ground.
France said it would send up to 10 military advisers to Libya. Britain plans to dispatch up to a dozen officers to help rebels improve organisation and communications, and Italy is considering sending a small military training team.