nanala

Speaking from the Misurata hospital, a rebel spokesman said that one resident was killed and four were wounded on Friday, seven were killed

Thursday and 20 the day before. “Please, scream for Misurata!” said the spokesman, Mohamed, whose last name was withheld for the protection

of his family. “We are going under!”

A reporter for CNN entered the city by boat and described the main remaining hospital as “short of everything” and “overwhelmed.” The

reporter said doctors were performing surgery in the hallways, against the constant sound of gunfire from government tanks, artillery and

mortars.

Apparently responding to the reports of high-level defections and Mr. Ismail’s London talks, the leaders of the rebels trying to oust

Colonel Qaddafi issued a set of demands for a cease-fire. At a news conference in the rebel stronghold of Benghazi, Mustapha Abdul Jalil, the

leader of the rebel National Council, demanded that Colonel Qaddafi’s forces lift their sieges of rebel-held cities like Misurata and

Zintan, remove gunmen placed on rooftops and guarantee the right of Libyans to hold peaceful protests in the western half of the country.

“At that point, we’ll see how all the Libyan people want freedom,” Mr. Abdul Jalil said.

Asked about the possibility that a cease-fire could lead to a divided country, with Colonel Qaddafi controlling the west and the rebels the

east, Mr. Abdul Jalil said, “It’s not possible.”

“Qaddafi and his family need to leave,” he said. “It’s nonnegotiable.”

The Qaddafi government dismissed the statement as a ploy. “The rebels never offered any peace,” said the government’s spokesman, Musa

Ibrahim. “You are not offering peace if you are making impossible demands. It is a trick.”

“I could come to the rebels and say: ‘I offer you peace. Get out of Benghazi on a ship!’ ” he added. “You can’t do that.”

Par nanala le samedi 02 avril 2011