Rebels keeping Gaddafi troops at bay with just petrol bombs

The full horror of life in Misrata was revealed today by Colonel Gaddafi's former oil minister after he fled the besieged Libyan city in a fishing boat.

Speaking exclusively to the Standard from Malta, which he reached with his family after a perilous trip in the hold of the small trawler, Omar Fathi bin Shatwan told of brutal street fighting between Gaddafi's tanks and rebel fighters equipped with only Molotov cocktails.

Misrata is the furthest western city still under the control of the revolutionary army. It rose up against the Libyan tyrant on February 24 and has been under attack for almost 50 days, with Gaddafi's forces trying to secure control of its centre and using snipers to terrorise civilians. The regime cut its water supply three weeks ago.

"There is complete destruction of many parts of the city," said Mr Shatwan. "Anyone moving on the streets is killed by snipers.

"My house was bombed four times and my wife's cousin lost all her three children after their car was hit by a shell. All the children were burnt to death on the back seat." He warned that unless Nato acted soon even more will die as supermarkets are now out of food and the hospitals have almost run out of medicines.

"Gaddafi's forces have tanks and heavy artillery," he said. "Those opposing them have few guns. They have to use Molotov cocktails or the TNT normally used by fishermen. To stop the tanks they sometimes can only place tyres burning in the road or put oil in the street that is then set on fire."

Mr Shatwan, who left the government in 2007, estimated as many as 1,500 people are already dead or wounded. "Nato is saying it wants to protect the people," he said. "It must now act quickly to finish the job or there will be a lot more people dead."

France warned of the risk of getting "bogged down" in Libya today. French foreign minister Alain Juppé stressed that the regime's troops were hunkering down in populated areas. "The situation is unclear. There is a risk of getting bogged down," he said.

Military sources denied a claim by Libya that British planes bombed a major oil field, killing three civilian guards and injuring several others. They said it was hit by Gaddafi's forces firing mortars.