NATO warplanes have carried out heavy airstrikes on the Libyan capital, Tripoli, early Tuesday.Witnesses heard at least five loud blasts in the capital and watched a plume of smoke drift over the city.
Government officials escorted journalists to the site of some of the damage. The airstrikes hit an office building used by a government agency, knocked over a communications tower, and shattered windows at a hospital.
Reports said it is possible that the compound where the family of Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi lives may have also been hit.
The unusually heavy bombardment followed separate NATO air attacks Monday against government weapons depots near the western town of Zintan.
In the besieged port city of Misrata, rebel fighters said they have pushed back government troops from positions ringing the town. A ship chartered by the International Committee of the Red Cross arrived in Misrata Monday, bringing 8,000 jars of baby food as well as urgently needed surgical instruments and medical dressings.
U.N. aid chief Valerie Amos told the U.N. Security Council Monday that the way international sanctions are implemented in Libya is delaying the delivery of supplies to the country's embattled population.
The U.N. humanitarian coordinator asked all parties in the fighting to agree to a temporary pause in hostilities to enable the delivery of food, water, medical supplies and other aid to needy populations.
