By Zach Waksman
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East
SIRTE, Libya – Forces of Libya’s National Transitional Council (NTC) launched an assault on former leader Muammar al-Gaddafi’s hometown of Sirte on Friday. The coastal city, home to about 100,000 people and one of the few places in Libya still loyal to the deposed despot, has been the site of fierce fighting for several weeks now. As the battles have raged, civilians caught in the crossfire have tried to leave the city for safer lodging.
NTC forces fire missiles at pro-Gaddafi fighters outside Sirte. Libya’s transitional government began a ground assault on the former leader’s hometown Friday. (Photo courtesy of Libya TV)
Thousands of people took advantage of a 48-hour ceasefire announced by the NTC earlier this week to pack up their belongings and leave. The rebel organization played a part in the exodus by providing fuel to outgoing cars from a pair of fuel tankers. Though many of those departing were Gaddafi supporters, but the NTC assisted them as well because they were also victims of the present conditions. Many of the fleeing families described life in Sirte as a “living hell.” Others feared for their lives.
“We didn’t know there was going to be an assault,” said Saeed Ramadan, whose vehicle had shrapnel holes and a broken window. “I couldn’t sleep last night, there was very heavy shelling. I was afraid for my kids and had to get them out.”
Medical facilities were also forced to relocate. A Sirte resident named Abdel Nasser told the Libya TV: “You can smell the rotting corpses at the hospital.”
Workers from Ibn Sina hospital reported that patients were dying in the operating rooms due to lack of oxygen and fuel for the hospital’s generators. When the International Committee for the Red Cross (ICRC) visited the city on Saturday, it found major supply shortages, while indiscriminate fire left residents at risk. The organization also brought fresh supplies for the first time since it first came under siege from NTC forces on September 15. By Monday, the situation had become so bad that the ICRC could not make a scheduled visit.
The NTC has been attempting to evacuate Ibn Sina to a field hospital on the outskirts of Sirte, but concerns remain.
“All those involved in the fighting have legal obligations to spare civilians by ending immediately the use of indiscriminate weapons like GRAD rockets, and not firing artillery and mortars into residential areas,” said Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui, Deputy Director of Amnesty International’s Middle East and North Africa Programme, on Monday.
Using weapons of this nature is prohibited by international humanitarian law. The United Nations seconded Amnesty International’s opinion.
“Libya’s revolution is based upon the demand for human rights and dignity,” Ian Martin, Special Representative to Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, said in a news release. “I appeal to all to respect the calls made by the National Transitional Council that there should be no revenge even against those responsible for war crimes and other grave violations.”
For the NTC, the concern is to take Sirte. The organization will have the continued support of NATO, which has said that it will remain involved for now. U.S. Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta said that NATO must first determine whether any remnants of Gaddafi supporters exist and if they pose a threat to civilians, as well as whether the NTC can protect civilians.
The NTC is confident that it will soon have control of Sirte. One commander told the BBC that it already had three quarters of the city. Jonathan Head, reporting on site for the BBC, compared Sirte to “a ghost city: there are very few people here now.” A recent bombing campaign has left many buildings damaged or on fire.
Field Commander Salah al-Jabo told Al Jazeera that he estimated about 400 and about 800 pro-Gaddafi fighters civilians remained in the city. Despite his belief, concerns exist that thousands of civilians remain because they have been unable to do so or that loyalists told them that the NTC would attack them if they surrendered.
For more information, please see:
Al Jazeera — Libya Fighters Launch Assault on Sirte — 07 October 2011
BBC — Libya NTC Forces Take Most of Gaddafi Hometown Sirte — 07 October 2011
Libya TV — NTC Forces Battle for Sirte while Civilians Pour Out — 07 October 2011
United Nations –In Libya, UN Calls on All Sides to Respect Human Rights as Battle for Sirte Nears End — 07 October 2011
New York Times — NATO Is Not Yet Willing to Halt Its Libya Operations — 06 October 2011
Amnesty International — Warring Libyan Forces Must Allow Humanitarian Aid to Reach Sirte — 03 October 2011
Tripoli Post — Thousands Flee Sirte to Face Another Crisis – 03 October 2011
