AFP - The forces pro-Gaddafi on Tuesday bombed Libyan port of Misrata, but the rebellion has ensured that the Libyan leader was entering a "lost battle" and French President Nicolas Sarkozy said he was "optimistic" about the after the conflict.
Around 13:30 local time (1130 GMT), a dozen bullets hit the port 12 km east of Misrata, only link with the outside world for this great coastal city 200 km east of Tripoli with the pro Gaddafi-cut all access roads, according to an AFP photographer.
A ship of the International Organization for Migration (IOM), came to continue the evacuation of thousands of Africans stranded in the harbor, had to move away for safety.
"Many refugees were injured by the bombing. There may be dead," said Dr. Khalid Abu Falra in the main city hospital. On Monday, Washington had estimated that 2,000 African migrants were still waiting on the port.
According to the rebels, "a score of vehicles" government forces approached the port around 15:30 local.
NATO planes flew over the city, where explosions were also heard apart after a lull of 24 hours. According to journalists in the port, they have conducted at least one hit.
Misrata has experienced in recent days of heavy fighting in which rebel soldiers have pushed the pro-Qaddafi on the outskirts of the city.Rockets and artillery shells rained down on the city, seemingly at random.
The explosions and fighting have left dozens dead and hundreds wounded since Friday. According to the Red Crescent Misrata, the conflict has claimed about 1,500 dead, residents and rebels since the uprising in the city on February 19.
"Misrata is the key to Tripoli. If (Gaddafi) abandons Misrata, he will leave Tripoli.He is not crazy enough to do that ", warned Monday the military spokesman Transitional National Council (TNC) in opposition to Benghazi (east), Colonel Ahmed Omar Bani.
But Colonel Gaddafi has embarked on a "lost battle" because the rebels are more numerous, "better equipped, trained and organized, and more determined than ever," said Tuesday another spokesman for the CNT, Jalal al -Gallali.
"Combined with the greater efficiency of NATO, this makes for (Gaddafi), it will be increasingly hard, if not impossible to win," he added.
"In Libya, we are optimistic because the Libyan opposition demonstrated great courage and great skill," saidSarkozy at a press conference in Rome with Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi.
While saying that "the struggle" of the insurgents was conducted "each day more efficiently," he refused to make any estimate on the duration of the conflict.
In the West, 30,000 Libyans fled the Mountain region, on the border with Tunisia, said the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), noting that according to the latest arrivals, the border towns of Nalout Wazin and were almost deserted.
In total, more than 600,000 people have fled violence in Libya since mid-February.
In Tripoli, the target of raids since Friday NATO's intensive, five explosions rocked Monday night east of the capital, according to witnesses who were not able to specify the sites covered.
On the night of Sunday to Monday, on President Muammar Gaddafi, in his huge residence located in Tripoli, had been totally destroyed by NATO airstrikes. The raid left three dead and 45 wounded, according to the spokesman of the regime, Ibrahim Moussa.
NATO said Tuesday he had not sought to target the Libyan leader, noting that his mission was to protect civilians, not to impose a regime change.
Libyan television showed footage of Mr Gaddafi, who seem to have been filmed on Monday.Seemingly relaxed, he receives dignitaries of the regime in his tent at his residence.
In Moscow, Russia warned that it would not support any new resolution to the Security Council of UN on Libya calling for an increase of "foreign interference".
In Addis Ababa, the African Union is still trying to find a solution to the conflict, receiving representatives from both sides for a cease-fire. The rebels, however, require the departure of Mr Gaddafi prior to any negotiated solution.
The Italian Foreign Ministry said Tuesday that the next meeting of the Contact Group to lead the political aspects of international intervention in Libya to be held May 5 in Rome.
