TRIPOLI, Libya - Heavy fighting raged anew in Misrata and killed 24 people Saturday as Moammar Gadhafi's forces gave up more ground inside Libya's third-largest city. The U.S. said its first Predator drone attack in the country destroyed a government rocket launcher that had menaced civilians in the western city.
Hundreds of people have been killed in rebel-held Misrata in a two-month government siege backed by tanks, mortars and snipers. On Friday night, the regime said it was withdrawing its military forces and allowing armed tribesmen to take over the battle. But the opposition was skeptical about the claim, saying it doubted Gadhafi's troops would fully depart.
"Gadhafi forces are moving back," said Safi Eddin al-Montaser, a rebel spokesman in Misrata. But he added: "People are still nervous because we don't know the next step of Gadhafi's forces."
Jalal el-Gallal, a spokesman for the rebels' leadership council in their stronghold of Benghazi, said he doubted the regime will fully withdraw from Misrata. He claimed the rebels firmly control the city.
People are also reading…
Misrata, the only major rebel stronghold in western Libya, has become the most dramatic battleground in the Libyan uprising, which began in February after similar revolts in Tunisia and Egypt ousted longtime leaders. Fighting elsewhere in the country is at a stalemate, even with NATO airstrikes that began last month.
Residents reported heavy fighting, shelling and explosions in the east and south of Misrata and doctors said the day was one of the bloodiest in weeks. At least 24 people were killed and 75 were wounded, many of them critically, said a doctor at a Misrata hospital who was reluctant to speak for fear of government retribution.
He said that hospital officials who expected a strong attack Saturday had moved out some patients a day earlier to make way for more casualties.
Pro-Gadhafi troops in central Misrata - including snipers who had terrorized residents for days from atop an eight-story building - were either flushed out or withdrew in the last two days in what the rebels considered a victory. That enabled some people to venture out into the battle-scarred streets and allowed rebel fighters to set up new checkpoints at the entrance to the city and along some blocks.
There was no sign of celebrations in the streets. Traffic had returned and there were long lines for bread and gasoline, signs of the distress that the prolonged siege has caused in the city.
"People are very happy," said al-Montaser, the rebel spokesman. "It feels like a victory, but they will feel happier when all of Misrata and Libya is free."
In some vacated buildings, rebels found that Gadhafi forces had left behind booby-trapped bodies wired to explode if they were moved, al-Montaser said.
On Friday night, Libyan Deputy Foreign Minister Khaled Kaim said government troops would pull back from the city, saying armed tribesmen would take up the fight if rebel forces don't surrender.
"We will leave it for the tribes around Misrata and the Misrata people to deal with the situation in Misrata," Kaim told reporters.
However, Misrata is not known to have very large or dominant tribes, and rebels in Misrata questioned how much support Gadhafi had among them.
