Rebel forces are offering a truce:
Muammar Gaddafi’s forces stormed the western rebel outpost of Misrata with tanks and artillery on Friday, a rebel spokesman said, while insurgents marshaled defenses in their eastern heartland.
A rebel leader speaking after talks with a U.N. envoy in Benghazi offered a ceasefire on condition Gaddafi left Libya and his forces withdrew from cities now under government control. It was unclear if the offer was part of broader diplomatic moves to end a conflict that appears deadlocked on the military front.
Rebels speaking from Misrata said Gaddafi’s forces had brought their superior firepower to bear on the insurgents’ last western enclave with an intense bombardment.
“They used tanks, rocket-propelled grenades, mortar rounds and other projectiles to hit the city today. It was random and very intense bombardment,” the spokesman, called Sami, told Reuters by telephone. “We no longer recognize the place. The destruction cannot be described.”
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