Rebels: 16 Killed by Gaddafi’s Forces in Misrata

Libyan government snipers killed 16 in Misrata on Wednesday, only hours after Western airstrikes forced a temporary retreat by forces loyal to leader Col. Muammar Gaddafi. A doctor reported Gaddafi’s forces were closing in and firing at a local hospital that was trying to take care of the wounded. The official spokesman for the rebel national council Hafiz Ghoga said 16 people had been killed in Misrata and an additional six were killed by Gaddafi’s forces in Zintan, a town in western Libya. “We fear a massacre,” said Abdul Basset, another rebel spokesman. Journalists have been barred from entering Misrata by Libyan authorities, making the reports of heavy fighting impossible to verify.