LIBYA: A patient dies after being transferred to a field hospital near Sirte as heavy fighting grips Muammar Gaddafi's hometown

Record ID: 352970

  • Title: LIBYA: A patient dies after being transferred to a field hospital near Sirte as heavy fighting grips Muammar Gaddafi's hometown
  • Date: 1st October 2011
  • Summary: 2-3KM WEST OF SIRTE CENTRE, LIBYA (SEPTEMBER 30, 2011) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF PLUMES OF SMOKE RISING OVER SIRTE AFTER NATO AIR STRIKE VARIOUS FIGHTERS OF THE INTERIM LIBYAN GOVERNMENT ON TRUCKS WAITING OUTSIDE SIRTE FIGHTERS DRIVING / SHELL CASINGS ON THE GROUND VARIOUS OF PLUMES OF SMOKE RISING OVER SIRTE AFTER NATO AIR STRIKE 5KM WEST OF SIRTE, LIBYA (SEPTEMBER 30,
  • Embargoed: 16th October 2011 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Libya
  • Country: Libya
  • Topics: Conflict
  • Reuters ID: LVAAVZ5Q4SMHMMMWCIPEDITAJZW4
  • Story Text: NATO air strikes pounded Sirte on Friday (September 30) as fierce battles raged between Libyan fighters and forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi.
    Fifteen patients arrived at a field hospital 5km west of Sirte after being wounded in fighting.
    One of the patients later died, but a volunteer doctor said the rest were minor wounds caused by shrapnel.
    "Today in the morning everything is quiet, after, and afternoon we received about 15 cases, one is died, and 14 superficial injured," said doctor Hassan Mustafa.
    Volunteers and fighters of the interim government chanted "God is greatest" as the lifted the corpse into a hearse.
    The prolonged battle for Gaddafi's hometown, besieged from three fronts, has raised concern for civilians trapped inside the city of about 100,000 people, with each side accusing the other of endangering them.
    Cars streamed out of Sirte from the early hours and into the afternoon. Shelling and tank fire continued from both sides on the eastern and western fronts, black smoke rose from the centre of town and NATO planes flew overhead.
    A Reuters team on the edge of Sirte heard five huge explosions just before sundown. It was not immediately clear what had caused the explosions.
    Fighting was particularly heavy near a roundabout on the eastern outskirts of the city, where National Transitional Council forces have been pinned down by sniper and artillery fire for five days, Reuters journalists at the scene said.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2011. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
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