Kadhafi forces shell Misrata fuel depots, drop mines

The latest fighting comes as Amnesty International lashed out at the Libyan regime, saying its more than two-month "horrifying" siege of Misrata could be a war crime.

"There are still attacks by Grad missiles and our fighters are still resisting," said Colonel Ahmed Omar Bani, military spokesman of the rebels\' Benghazi-based National Transitional Council.

"They tried again to destroy the Misrata port but our fighters didn\'t allow them to do that," he said, adding that Kadhafi loyalists had switched tactics and were now focusing their offensive on fuel depots.

"They want to leave the revolution without fuel," he said.

The rebels also accused Kadhafi forces of using helicopters bearing the Red Cross emblem and dropping mines into the harbour of Misrata, the major western hold-out of the insurgents.

Suleiman Fortiya, who represents rebels in Misrata, said small helicopters flew over the city Thursday and Friday to drop mines in the harbour.

He said the choppers had been disguised as humanitarian aircraft carrying the emblems of the International Committee of the Red Cross and Red Crescent.

"They had Red Crescent and Red Cross markers so that anyone who sees them thinks it is for humanitarian aid," Fortiya said.

An aid worker said he saw helicopters on Friday marked with the Red Crescent circling above the port and dropping mines into the sea.

A NATO official told AFP a ship involved in the the coalitions\' operations had observed a number of helicopters over Misrata on Thursday, which came under fire from rebel forces.

"We are aware of reports that the helicopters were marked with the Red Cross," said the NATO official, adding that no humanitarian flights had been notified for the Misrata area on that day.

"Any use of the Red Cross to disguise combat forces would be a breach of international law," he said.

A spokeswoman at the ICRC\'s Geneva headquarters said they had received similar reports but could not confirm them, as the organisation currently has no team on the ground.

Deputy Foreign Minister Khaled Kaim said Friday there will be no let-up in the government\'s attempts to block off the maritime lifeline to Misrata, which he said is allowing "ships to bring arms to the city and then to evacuate some criminals."

The rebels said they were bracing for a new ground assault on Misrata.

"I am sure there will be a lot of fighting on the ground in the future. That is what Misrata is worried about because he (Kadhafi) is doing a big preparation to march on Misrata," Fortiya said, adding troops were massing in Zliten, outside the city.

"This army will be coming from Zliten and most likely will come wearing civilian clothes."

A Misrata resident contacted by telephone said there had been clashes Friday on the outskirts of the city, including in Tumina suburb in the east, Tuya in the west and Giran, about 20 kilometres (12 miles) to the south.

Amnesty International said the siege of Misrata amounted to a possible war crime. Earlier this week the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court said that the Kadhafi regime was committing crimes against humanity.

"The scale of the relentless attacks that we have seen by Kadhafi forces to intimidate the residents of Misrata for more than two months is truly horrifying," said Amnesty senior adviser Donatella Rovera.

"The international community must give all possible support -- financial, legal and practical -- to those bodies trying to bring to justice those responsible for possible war crimes and crimes against humanity in Misrata and elsewhere in Libya."

The international community decided Thursday in Rome to provide emergency humanitarian aid of $250 million (175 million euros) to Libyan rebels and said that the $60 billion overseas blocked assets of Kadhafi\'s regime would used at a later date for aiding the rebels.

The immediate funds made available are far less than the $3 billion sought by the rebels, but their leader, Mahmud Jibril, described it as "a good start." He said $3 billion represents "a six-month budget."

Libya\'s tribal chiefs called in a meeting Friday for a "general amnesty law which will include all those who were involved in the crisis and took up arms."

But doubts were cast on the proposal of National Conference for Libyan Tribes, as its statement referred to rebels as "traitors" and pledged not to "abandon" or "forsake" Kadhafi, whose ouster the insurgents are demanding.

A resident in Zintan said a number of Grad rockets had also struck the rebel-held western town and that fighting was going on in Riayna, a few kilometres to the east.

The mountainous area around Zintan, southwest of Tripoli, was one of the first to rise up against Kadhafi.

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