Defiant Gaddafi shells town as UN warns of war crimes probe

France and Italy, meanwhile, promised more support for the opposition, saying they would join Britain in sending military advisers to help the rebels break a battlefield stalemate. France said it would also intensify airstrikes against Libyan military targets after a month of Nato airstrikes failed to rout Gaddafi’s forces.

In Geneva, the UN’s top human rights official Navi Pillay said Gaddafi’s forces may be committing war crimes by using heavy weapons against civilians in Misrata and could be investigated by the International Criminal Court.

Fighting in Libya erupted two months ago, when protests against Gaddafi’s four decades in power turned into an armed uprising. Rebels now control most of the east, while Gaddafi holds most of the west. Since the weekend, the town of Yifran, with a population of about 25,000, has come under daily attack from rockets, tanks and anti-aircraft guns. Thousands have fled into nearby Tunisia.

In Yifran, doctors had to abandon the town’s hospital because of the shelling. Qalaa has also come under attack.

International aid officials said more than 10,000 people from the Nafusa mountain area have fled to Tunisia, avoiding border crossings manned by Gaddafi loyalists.

New clashes also erupted in the city of Misrata. Exchanges of fire were heard between troops and armed residents in the city centre as Nato planes flew overhead.

The rebels control the port area, while Gaddafi’s forces have deployed in the main street.

Misrata has been under siege for nearly two months. In recent days, Gadhafi’s forces have intensified their assault, firing tank shells and rockets into residential areas.

Ms Pillay, the UN human rights commissioner, urged Libyan authorities to halt their siege of the city and allow medical care in. Pillay says it is “clear that the numbers (of casualties) are now substantial, and that the dead include women and children”.

Hundreds of migrant workers and wounded people have been evacuated by boats, which have also delivered food and medicine.

“Under international law, the deliberate targeting of medical facilities is a war crime,” Ms Pillay said in statement. “The deliberate targeting or reckless endangerment of civilians may also amount to serious violations of international human rights law or international humanitarian law.”

Ms Pillay said it was inevitable that weapons such as cluster munitions, multiple rocket launchers and other heavy weaponry would lead to civilian casualties if used in crowded urban areas.

“I urge the Libyan authorities to face the reality that they are digging themselves and the Libyan population deeper and deeper into the quagmire,” she said. “They must halt the siege of Misrata and allow aid and medical care to reach the victims of the conflict.”

The UN children’s fund said at least 20 children have been killed by fighting in Misrata, but broader casualty figures have been difficult to obtain as the city is virtually cut off.

In her statement, Ms Pillay also urged Nato to take special care not to kill civilians in its effort to enforce the UN-mandated no-fly zone over Libya.