Gaddafi forces bomb aid ship

Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi’s forces bombed a ship which was taking humanitarian aid to rebel city of Misrata.

01.05.2011 - Gaddafi forces bomb aid ship

The aid ship which was target of bombed attacks was bringing humanitarian relief to Misrata from Benghazi. The bombardment which began as the aid ship approached the port of Misrata continued incessantly. The ship had to leave the port after its ropes were hastily cut off. Although bombs failed to strike the ship, at least two people on the port were reported to be killed and tens of others were reported to be injured in the bombed attacks.

Releasing a statement, Gaddafi told the people in Misrata that they have four days to surrender; however, his forces have begun to pound the city. Following the killing of Gaddafi’s son Saif al-Arab in a NATO air strike on Sunday, Gaddafi troops made the blockade on Misrata harsher.

An aid team from the IHH Humanitarian Relief Foundation which was at the port to help the unloading of aid supplies from the ship barely escaped the bomb attacks. IHH official Serkan Öktem who coordinates the foundation’s relief efforts in Misrata said the bombs dropped just 10-meter distance close to the ship.

“The aid ship that would dock at Misrata Port was waiting off the coast of Misrata for several days because Gaddafi forces laid mines around the port. After NATO forces cleared the region from the mines, the ship approached the port. We were at the port to unload the relief supplies from the ship. Just as the ship approached the port, a violent bombardment began. We tried to escape the bombs by immediately leaving the area. The ship left the port after its ropes were cut off. Thanks Allah, the bombs hit neither us nor the ship. The ship went 25 miles away and began to wait there; however, I saw that two people at the port lost their lives in the attacks,” said Öktem. Noting that locals of Misrata gathered around the port before the bombardment, he said: “While Gaddafi tries to prevent the entry of aid supplies to Misrata by sea, he also prevents the people from fleeing the country by sea. Gaddafi wants to lock the people in the city.”

Öktem also said that Gaddafi forces continue to bomb the city violently.

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