Libya conflict: Sirte medical need dire, says Red Cross

A team from the ICRC brought kits for war wounded and other supplies to a hospital in the besieged city. Forces of Libya's transitional authorities called a two-day truce on Friday to allow civilians to leave but the ICRC team reported heavy fighting.

Troops loyal to ousted Libyan leader Col Muammar Gaddafi are being slowly pushed back in the city. Sirte, Col Gaddafi's hometown, and Bani Walid are the two main centres of resistance against the forces of the National Transitional Council (NTC).

'Rocket fire'

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Geneva said the team had security clearance from both sides to cross checkpoints and visit Ibn Sima hospital.

"The hospital is facing a huge influx of patients, medical supplies are running out and there is a desperate need for oxygen. On top of that, the water reservoir has been damaged," the ICRC said in a statement.

But the team was unable to visit wounded people on the wards as the hospital came under fire.

"Several rockets landed within the hospital buildings while we were there," the leader of the ICRC team, Hichem Khadhraoui, told AFP news agency.

"We saw a lot of indiscriminate fire. I don't know where it was coming from," Mr Khadhraoui said.

Staff at the hospital told the Red Cross that people were dying because of a lack of oxygen and fuel for the generator, he said.

Gaddafi loyalists have been putting up stiff resistance in Sirte since the troops supporting the National Transitional Council (NTC) began their assault several weeks ago.

On Friday, the NTC troops captured the airport. Forces from the east and west of the country are moving against the city and are trying to launch co-ordinated attacks against the Gaddafi loyalists in the city centre.



bbc.co.uk