20110415
reuters

TRIPOLI (Reuters) - More than a hundred government rockets crashed into Misrata on Friday after Western allies denounced a "medieval siege" of the city and vowed to keep bombing Muammar Gaddafi's forces until he stepped down

A local doctor told Al Jazeera at least eight people died and seven others were wounded in the second day of intense bombardment of Misrata, a lone rebel bastion in western Libya.

An Amnesty International researcher in the city said several people were killed as they queued for bread on Thursday.

Residents told Al Jazeera at least 120 rockets had hit the city, where hundreds of civilians are reported to have died in a six-week siege.

The attack followed intense fire from Russian-made Grad rocket launchers into a residential district on Thursday when rebels said 23 people died, mostly women and children. They said more than 200 missiles fell in the port.

The leaders of Britain, France and the United States said in a joint newspaper article that they would press on with their three-week-old air campaign until Gaddafi left power.

"It is unthinkable that someone who has tried to massacre his own people can play a part in their future government."

The suffering of Misrata is heaping pressure on Western allies to step up air attacks to stop the bombardment, but NATO is split over providing more planes for the task.