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| Libya crisis: Pro-Gaddafi forces attack Misrata | Libya crisis: Pro-Gaddafi forces attack Misrata |
| (40 minutes later) | |
| Pro-Gaddafi troops have launched a fresh attack on the rebel-held city of Misrata in western Libya. | Pro-Gaddafi troops have launched a fresh attack on the rebel-held city of Misrata in western Libya. |
| A BBC correspondent in the city said there had been rocket attacks. A spokesman for the rebels said 12 of their fighters had been killed. | A BBC correspondent in the city said there had been rocket attacks. A spokesman for the rebels said 12 of their fighters had been killed. |
| Misrata has suffered heavy shelling since the conflict began in February. | Misrata has suffered heavy shelling since the conflict began in February. |
| The latest attack came as Nato intensified its campaign in Libya, and called for the international community to prepare for a post-Gaddafi era. | |
| Rebel spokesman Hassan al-Misrati told Reuters news agency from inside the city: "Gaddafi forces are shelling Misrata from three sides. | |
| "He has sent thousands of troops from all sides and they are trying to enter the city." | "He has sent thousands of troops from all sides and they are trying to enter the city." |
| Misrata suffered intense bombardment until mid-May, when pro-Gaddafi forces were driven away from central parts of the port city. | Misrata suffered intense bombardment until mid-May, when pro-Gaddafi forces were driven away from central parts of the port city. |
| The government has so far not commented on the latest attack. | |
| Meanwhile, Nato ministers met in Brussels on Wednesday to discuss the alliance's nine-week campaign. Afterwards, Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen told reporters that "real progress" had been made. | |
| Nato action, he said, had "prevented a massacre" in Benghazi in the east - the rebels' stronghold - and in Misrata. | |
| He added that the UN and other international bodies should start preparing for a post-Gaddafi Libya. "The time to start planning is now," he said. |