Clashes between forces supporting longtime Libyan ruler Muammar Qaddafi and rebels who are struggling to hold significant territory in the country’s east have claimed the lives of at least 30 civilians, including women and children, in the city of Ajdabiyah, according to the Reuters news agency.
CBS news correspondent Mark Phillips reports that government forces allegedly have the city surrounded on three sides, with the only entrance still held by the rebels being the road heading north towards Benghazi — their stronghold.
As a safety precaution, the International Committee of the Red Cross has withdrawn its personnel from Benghazi to avoid the dangerous migration of Qaddafi’s troops.
The ICRC intends to move the majority of their humanitarian efforts to the city of Tobruk, further to the east, according to the Associated Press.
“[We are] extremely concerned about what will happen to civilians, the sick and wounded, detainees and others,” Simon Brooks, head of the ICRC, said about the move from Benghazi.
Brooks hopes the ICRC can return to Benghazi to provide aid once the security situation in the battle-scarred city improves.
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