U.S. to stop using strike aircraft as fighting in Libya rages on

By the CNN Wire Staff

April 4, 2011 -- Updated 0758 GMT (1558 HKT)

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Injured Misrata resident: "There's so much death there"
• Greek foreign minister: "It is clear that the (Libyan) administration is looking for a solution"
• A Turkish hospital ship picks up 300 injured rebel fighters from Misrata
• An opposition fighter says the city is cut off from electricity, food and water

Tripoli, Libya (CNN) -- The use of U.S. strike aircraft in Libya is set to expire Monday as uncertainty lingers about whether Western allies will arm opposition members trying to oust Libyan ruler Moammar Gadhafi.

Over the weekend, fierce destruction permeated the city of Misrata, which has been choked off by pro-Gadhafi forces surrounding the city.

"We need a lot of help in Misrata. There's so much death there," said Mustafa Abdul Hamali, a 46-year-old taxi driver who lost half of a leg. "I was driving in my car with my wife, and my car just blew up. I don't know what happened."

Khalid Moteridi, a 32-year-old businessman-turned-rebel fighter, said the situation in Libya's third-largest city has turned dire.

"It¹s a tragedy by all means," he said. "No electricity, no food, no water. We¹re trapped from all sides by the Gadhafi forces."

A doctor in Misrata told CNN government forces shelled a clinic, leaving one dead and 15 injured on Sunday. Last week, a hospital official said 398 people have been killed since the Libyan conflict began last month. He feared there were more deaths that his hospital didn't know about.

Some rebels from Misrata got a bit of a reprieve Sunday, when a Turkish hospital ship picked up more than 300 of the wounded fighters. Their injuries included amputated limbs, broken bones and shrapnel wounds.

The ship is destined for the Turkish port of Cesme, where the patients will receive medical attention, opposition officials said. It made a stop in the rebel capital of Benghazi to pick up more patients and supplies, and was greeted by cheering supporters of the opposition.

Men wearing head bandages and eye patches waved back at the crowd.

West of Benghazi, the tug-of-war for control continued in the oil town of al-Brega, which has changed hands six times in six weeks between government and opposition forces.

Rebel fighters retreated east of al-Brega on Sunday, reporting an ambush, roadside mines and a need for more ammunition.

Libyan rebels have been hampered by a lack of organization and training on heavy weaponry when confronting the better-trained, better-armed forces of Gadhafi, who is under investigation for alleged crimes against humanity by the International Criminal Court.

"We were fighting with light weapons, but they had so much more," Moteridi said. "Artillery, mortars, rocket-propelled grenades, anti-tank rockets -- that's how they were fighting back."

U.S. and British officials have said they have not decided whether to arm rebel fighters. Both countries participated in airstrikes to weaken Gadhafi's military resources before NATO officially took command of the international operation.

Due to poor weather conditions in recent days, the United States approved a request by NATO to extend the use of some U.S. strike aircraft, NATO spokeswoman Oana Lungescu said Sunday.

"This is a short-term extension, which expires on Monday," Lungescu said.

Over the weekend, opposition spokesmen said 13 rebels were killed when NATO airstrikes hit several vehicles.

"Based on the information we have, they (the opposition forces who were hit) heard the airstrikes and went ahead to see what the damage was, and that's when they got hit," rebel spokesman Shamsiddin Abdulmolah said. "They were told to stay back, but they jumped the gun."

Lungescu said Saturday that NATO was investigating the incident.

"NATO takes any reports of civilian casualties very seriously, but exact details are hard to verify as we have no reliable sources on the ground," she said.

Meanwhile, a trip to Europe by Libyan Deputy Foreign Minister Abdelati Obeidi indicated Gadhafi's regime might be willing to take diplomatic steps.

Libya asked Greece to allow a special envoy to travel there to communicate a message from Gadhafi, Greek foreign ministry spokesman Grigoris Delavekouras said. The nature of that message was not immediately known.

"From what the Libyan envoy said, it is clear that the administration is looking for a solution," Greek Foreign Minister Dimitris Droutsas said after the meeting. He said Obeidi is expected to continue talks in Turkey and Malta

Despite the unyielding conflict, Moteridi, the rebel fighter who was shot twice in the legs by a sniper, said he won't give up.

"I'll go back to Misrata when I get better, God willing, and ... Gadhafi and his gangs will be defeated."

CNN's Reza Sayah, Ben Wedeman, Nic Robertson and Eve Bower and journalists Houda Zaghdoudi and Elinda Labropoulou contributed to this report