Libya News:

Raids on Libyan weapons depots reported

Accounts of Nato strike in Zintan and explosions in Tripoli follow "government attacks on fuel depots" in Misurata. Last Modified: 08 May 2011 15:05 Email Print Share Send Feedback

Tunisia has told Libya that it considers shelling near the Wazen-Dhehiba border post as 'extremely dangerous' [EPA] NATO air attacks have hit Libyan government weapons depots near Zintan, southwest of Tripoli, the capital, according to a rebel spokesman in the town. Separately, two loud explosions rocked a western sector of Tripoli on Sunday as jets flew overhead, witnesses told the AFP news agency. An international coalition began carrying out attacks on forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi, Libya's long-time ruler, on March 19, under a UN mandate to protect civilians in the country. NATO took command of operations over Libya on March 31. "NATO struck weapons depots five minutes ago in an area which lies about 30km southeast of Zintan," Abdulrahman, the rebel spokesman,  told the Reuters news agency by telephone on Sunday. "We heard a loud explosion ... I think the strike hit some of them [the depots]. "We are now at a cemetery burying 11 people martyred during yesterday's fighting, in which 35 other fighters were also wounded." The reported air raids came a week after the Libyan goverment said that Gaddafi's son, Seif al-Arab Gaddafi, and three of his grandchildren were killed in a NATO air strike on a compound in Tripoli. The Tripoli-based government said that the attack was a bid to assassinate the Libyan leader, a claim NATO denies. Tunisian complaint In another development on Sunday, Tunisia warned that the repeated shelling from Libya of one of its border towns may force it to take measures to protect its sovereignty. The country's official TAP news agency said that about 80 shells from Libya  have fallen on Tunisian territory. There were no reported injuries after the shells fell as Libyan troops fought with rebels to regain control of the Wazen-Dhehiba border post. TAP quoted the Tunisian foreign ministry as warning that the country would take "all measures needed" within the law to ensure protection of its citizens, refugees and its territory. Click here for more of Al Jazeera's special coverage Tunisia summoned Libya's ambassador on April 29 to complain after shells fell in inhabited areas. It now says Libya is not keeping to its commitments. On Saturday, a rebel spokesman in the contested city of Misurata said that Gaddafi's forces dropped bombs on four large oil-storage tanks, destroying them and sparking a fire that spread to four more. Government forces used small, pesticide-spraying planes for the overnight attack in Qasr Ahmed close to the port, Ahmed Hassan, the spokesman, said. Misurata is the last remaining city in the west under rebel control. It has been under siege for more than two months and has been the scene of some of the war's fiercest fighting between the rebels and Gaddafi loyalists. Hassan said the rebels notified NATO about the aircraft before the attack but there was no response. "Four tanks were totally destroyed and huge fire erupted which spread now to the other four. We cannot extinguish it because we do not have the right tools," he said. "Now the city will face a major problem. Those were the only source of fuel for the city. These tanks could have kept the city for three months with enough fuel."

Source: Al Jazeera and agencies

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