Residents of this battle-scarred city in west Libya searched for food from poorly stocked shops on Sunday and rebels stripped weapons from the carcasses of Muammar Gaddafi’s armour. Distant blasts rumbled through the eerily quiet roads of Misrata, Libya’s third biggest city and the scene of some of the fiercest fighting since an uprising began in mid-February. Rebels say they have pushed Gaddafi’s forces 25 km (15.5 miles) from the centre of the besieged city after weeks of street fighting and bombardments.
The main shopping district lies ravaged by the fighting, its streets strewn with abandoned tanks, their turrets blown off. The ruined contents of damaged shops spill onto the streets and bullet-pocked manikins litter the floor of a once-bustling shopping centre. Gutted restaurants were heaped with tables and chairs amid shattered glass. A clock atop a tower in a central square had stopped at 7.45. The turret of one dismembered tank was leaning upright against the entrance to a watch shop. The sound of battle rumbled far in the distance.
