Witnesses: Libya airstrike hits family in car - MSNBC.com
RAS LANUF, Libya — Forces loyal to Moammar Gadhafi pounded opposition fighters with airstrikes, artillery and rockets Monday in a battle for control of the key eastern oil port of Ras Lanuf — a bid to stop the rebels’ rapid advance toward the capital.
In Ras Lanuf, a warplane launched an airstrike on a car carrying a family and may have killed one or more of them, witnesses said.
Several witnesses said one man, possibly the father or grandfather, had died. Others said two children were badly wounded and one of those said two children died. It was not immediately possible to confirm any of the deaths.
Another airstrike, one of a series on the town on Monday, hit again shortly after the family car was struck. It sent a plume of smoke into the air and rebel fighters fired at a warplane overhead shouting, “Allahu Akbar” (God is greatest).
Fighting was also renewed in the western city of Zawiya with tanks and artillery, al-Jazeera reported.
The largely inexperienced rebels lack their enemy’s firepower and are in need of reinforcements from the east, Mohamad Samir, an army colonel fighting with the rebels, told The Associated Press. The rebels have no warplanes and rely mostly on heavy machineguns, anti-aircraft weapons and rocket propelled grenades. They travel by 4x4 pick-up trucks.
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The UK and France have drawn up elements of a UN resolution for a no-fly zone over Libya in case world leaders have decided one is needed, but there’s no plans right now to bring it up for negotiations or a vote.