Libyan government forces have pounded the outskirts of the rebel-held city of Misrata, killing at 31 people. The doctor at Hikma Hospital, who would only give his first name, Ayman, said Muammar Gaddafi’s forces used tanks, artillery and incendiary rockets. Gaddafi forces had renewed their shelling near Misrata on Wednesday. The city is one of the few footholds rebels have in western Libya and controls the country’s largest port. Misrata remained one of the most important rebel footholds in the Gaddafi controlled west. Government forces are surrounding Misrata on all sides but the north, where the city has access to the Mediterranean Sea for supplies and food through Libya’s major port. Rebels have beaten back several government attempts to retake the city.

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