
NATO's latest 90-day military mandate in Libya is set to run out on Friday. But the campaign to protect Libyan civilians has done little of that in Sirte, where thousands of innocent people are suffering as NATO forces besiege Gaddafi's hometown. National Transitional Council (NTC) fighters took full control of the airport in Sirte, Muammar Gaddafi's birthplace, on Thursday. NTC's forces first captured the city two weeks ago, but then lost control. Pro-Gaddafi forces have used sniper, rocket and artillery fire to fight NTC forces. The interim government's troops have warned they will mount pressure to push regime loyalists back toward the sea. NATO has not stayed out of the action. The town of Sirte is also under the alliance's aerial attack, and according to anti-war activist Sara Flounders, they actually play a key role there. "This is a NATO war where the so-called rebels are an auxiliary force that has been incapable of even taking any ground on their own," Flounders, from the anti-war group International Action Center, told RT. "This is overwhelmingly a war on civilians." And while another destructive fight is unfolding, both sides are blaming each other for endangering civilians, who are fleeing the city in large numbers. "Sirte is now without water, without food, without medical supplies, without operating hospitals," Flounders said. Libyan authorities have asked the United Nations for fuel for ambulances to evacuate the wounded. There have been reports that <b>...</b>
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