West denounces ‘medieval siege’ as Misrata pounded

A FRESH hail of government rockets crashed into Misrata after Western allies denounced a “medieval siege” of the city and vowed to keep bombing Muammar Gaddafi’s forces until he stepped down.

A local doctor told Al Jazeera at least eight people died and seven others were wounded in the second day of intense bombardment of Misrata, a lone rebel bastion in western Libya.

Residents told the television network at least 120 rockets hit the city, where hundreds of civilians are reported to have died in a six-week siege.

The suffering of Misrata is heaping pressure on Western allies to step up air attacks to stop the bombardment, but NATO is split over providing more planes for the task.

British Foreign Secretary William Hague said at a NATO ministerial meeting in Berlin that London was making progress in persuading other members to provide more strike aircraft, but Italy immediately ruled out joining attacks.

Britain, France and the United States said in a joint article: “It is unthinkable that someone who has tried to massacre his own people can play a part in their future government.”

But their clear intention to achieve regime change in Libya goes well beyond the terms of a United Nations resolution authorising air strikes to protect civilians and other allies have misgivings.

Gaddafi’s daughter Aisha told a rally in Tripoli that demanding his departure was an insult.

In a strongly worded article published on both sides of the Atlantic, British Prime Minister David Cameron, French President Nicolas Sarkozy and US President Barack Obama said leaving Gaddafi in power would be an “unconscionable betrayal.”

“So long as Gaddafi is in power, NATO and its coalition partners must maintain their operations so that civilians remain protected and the pressure on the regime builds,” they said.

The United States has taken a back seat in the air campaign after handing command to NATO on March 31 and France has suggested it needs to return to the campaign.