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Gaddafi forces blockade Libyan village - sources

Thu, 10 Mar 2011 17:30 GMT

Source: reuters // Reuters

* Sources say blockade started this week

* Shortages of food and water

By Mohammed Abbas and Alex Dziadosz

BREGA, Libya, March 10 (Reuters) - People in the Libyan village of Nawfaliyah say they are being blockaded by forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi and face food and water shortages.

The blockade started on Sunday, when the village fell to Gaddafi forces after having been briefly held by rebel fighters. Villagers are now running out of food and water, the residents and relatives of people in the village told Reuters.

"Gaddafi's forces have blockaded Nawfaliyeh. Nothing gets in or out. We're running out of food and water," said Yusuf, a Nawfaliyeh resident contacted by telephone on Thursday, giving only his first name.

A rebel fighter gave a similar account on Wednesday.

"Gaddafi's people have blockaded Nawfaliyeh. No food, no water can come through. They're drinking filthy water," said rebel fighter Adel Yahya, whose nephew lives in Nawfaliyeh.

Two sources said men had been rounded up and told they would be shot. But they said the threat had not been carried out.

It was not possible independently to confirm the reports as journalists operating in the east of the country cannot enter the government-held village, 500 km (310 miles) east of Tripoli.

Nawfaliyeh is close to the front line of fighting between Gaddafi loyalists and anti-Gaddafi rebels.

For several days, fighting has moved to-and-fro between the towns of Bin Jawad and Ras Lanuf, divided by about 60 km (38 miles) of barren desert and scrub. Nawfaliyeh lies further west of Bin Jawad.

FOOD SUPPLIES

The village's population is reported to be no more than about 3,000 people, but those fleeing fighting in nearby Bin Jawad are also trapped there, sources said. Government and rebel forces have fought fierce battles over Bin Jawad in recent days.

Reuters contacted another two Nawfaliyeh residents by phone on Wednesday. One said the blockade made it "difficult" to enter or exit and that food was running out, although water was available. But the second one said the blockade had ended.

Yusuf said those that played down the blockade were either afraid to talk openly to the media, fearing their calls would be monitored, or they were Gaddafi loyalists themselves and were exempt from the blockade.

Yusuf and rebel sources said members of a particular tribe with some members in and around Nawfaliyeh had collaborated with Gaddafi forces to ambush rebels in Bin Jawad on Sunday.

Muftah Khalil, a civilian with family in Nawfaliyeh, told Reuters on Monday that people in the town were afraid to talk.

"Gaddafi's forces surrounded the area and called out all the men. Then they started to insult and threaten them, telling them they would be killed," Khalil said, adding that he had not heard reports of actual killings. Yusuf gave a similar account.

"Nawfaliyeh is a very basic place that can't support itself for more than a few days without supplies," Khalil added.

Much of the reporting in government-controlled areas of Libya outside the capital has been by telephone due to restricted access faced by journalists, including those invited to report on the country by the government in Tripoli.

(Reporting by Mohammed Abbas and Alex Dziadosz; editing by Michael Roddy)