Residents of the rebel-held Libyan city of Misrata said government snipers were shooting people from rooftops today and hospitals could not operate on the wounded because it had no anaesthetic.
Misrata, about 200km east of Tripoli, is the last big rebel stronghold in the west of the country and people living there say forces loyal to Libyan leader Muammar Gadafy are still trying to retake the city despite a ceasefire.
People in Misrata joined in a revolt against Col Gadafy's rule over a month ago. But the city is cut off from the main opposition stronghold in the east of Libya and government forces have encircled the city. In the past few days they have been using artillery and tanks to try to retake it.
Local people said there was some shelling in the city this morning - though not as heavy as the previous day - and that the city was facing a humanitarian crisis because water supplies were cut for a third day.
Libyan government officials deny attacking rebels and say they are observing a ceasefire.
"They (Gadafy's forces) bombed the town with four or five artillery shells in the early hours today. The situation is relatively calm now. But they are still on the outskirts of the town," a resident called Mohammed said.
One man, who spoke to Reuters via Skype because telephone lines were not working properly, said seven people killed in today’s shelling had been brought to Misrata's hospital.
"We cannot tolerate (it) any more. Our hospital is in severe shortage: no medicine, no anaesthetic drugs, the hospital is over-crowded, we cannot operate any more," he said in English.
Reports from Misrata, Libya's third-biggest city, could not be verified independently because authorities in Tripoli have prevented journalists from reaching the city.
Reuters