Rebel Leader Appeals To NATO

The Guardian reports:

The leader of the besieged Libyan rebel city of Misrata has appealed to Nato to save the inhabitants of a neighbouring town facing annihilation from government forces.

Sheikh Khalifa Zuwawi, chairman of Misrata council, made the appeal through the Guardian on Wednesday after reports that Muammar Gaddafi had demanded that rebel-held areas of Zlitan, 30 miles west of Misrata, surrender or face destruction.

Zlitan's uprising began on Friday with battles around the town's hospital, but sources in Misrata say the rebels are now pinned into one district under heavy artillery fire.

Photographers who got to within four miles of Zlitan on Tuesday took pictures of government rockets exploding in the town.

Misrata's rebel forces say that without heavy weapons or Nato support they are powerless to break through a fortified ring around the town and save residents.

"As you know our forces could not get into Zlitan," said Zuwawi. "We need Nato help. We are very surprised because Nato has delayed to bomb the grad [rocket artillery] forces."

Zlitan lies along the coastal highway from Misrata, about 100 miles east of Tripoli, and rebel commanders say its capture would open the road to the capital.