TRIPOLI, Libya — Heavy fighting raged anew in rebel-held Misrata killing 24 people Saturday as Moammar Gadhafi's forces gave up more ground in Libya's third-largest city. The U.S. said its first Predator drone attack in the country destroyed a government rocket launcher that had menaced civilians there.
Libya's deputy foreign minister, Khaled Kaim, said troops had halted operations in Misrata to enable tribal elders to negotiate with the rebels. If the rebels don't surrender in the next two days, armed tribesmen will fight them in place of the army, he said.
Hundreds of people have been killed in Misrata in a two-month government siege backed by tanks, mortars and snipers.
The opposition was skeptical of claims that the army would step aside.
Jalal el-Gallal, a spokesman for the rebels' leadership council in their stronghold of Benghazi, said he doubted the regime will fully withdraw from Misrata. He claimed the rebels firmly control the city, the only major rebel stronghold in western Libya.
Residents reported heavy fighting, shelling and explosions in the east and south of Misrata, and doctors said Saturday was one of the bloodiest days in weeks. At least 24 people were killed and 75 were wounded, many of them critically, said a doctor at a Misrata hospital who asked to be identified only by his first name.
NATO said a U.S. Predator drone destroyed a multiple rocket launcher Saturday in the Misrata area that was being used against civilians. The Pentagon said it was the first attack carried out in Libya by one of the drones, which began flying missions in the country on Thursday.
President Barack Obama approved the use of armed Predator drones to improve the precision of strikes on Libyan government forces. Predators had previously been used in Libya only for surveillance. The low-flying Predators have been used in Pakistan to kill militants and are suited for urban combat.
AP
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