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The north-western coastal city of Misurata, Libya is at risk of a siege by government forces. The rebel held city has been under heavy attack by Muammar Qaddafi for weeks, spurring fears of an impending blood-bath. Seventeen people were reportedly killed and scores more wounded by heavy shelling on Sunday. Civilians are desperate to flee, especially foreign laborers, who have been isolated to make-shift encampments. Aid groups have warned that a humanitarian crisis is eminent as medical centers are reportedly filled to capacity. Doctors Without Borders transported 100 mostly wounded people to Tunisia on Sunday, but many more await rescue. On Friday, reports emerged that government forces were using cluster bombs, an allegation Qaddafi has denied. The controversial deployment of NATO air strikes to protect Libyan civilians has so far been unsuccessful in quelling the violence. On Friday a joint statement made by the heads of state of the US, Britain and France fueled concern of protracted NATO involvement. The three nations asserted that they did not aim to “remove Qaddafi by force. But [that it] is impossible to imagine a future with Qaddafi in power.” UN Secretary General Ban-Ki Moon today called for an immediate cease-fire in the wake of significant numbers of civilian deaths over the weekend.

GUESTS: Motasem Benothman, member of the Southern California Libyan Task Force. He has family in Benghazi and Tripoli; Mark Le Vine, a professor of history at UC Irvine and senior visiting researcher at the Center for Middle Eastern studies at Lund University in Sweden

Read Mark Le Vine’s article here: http://english.aljazeera.net/indepth/opinion/2011/04/20114118540870935.html