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Anti-Gaddafi forces say they desperately need helicopters to be sent in to help repel attacks from government forces Commanders in the besieged Libyan rebel enclave of Misrata have complained that Nato has ignored requests for air support during a week of heavy attacks by pro-Gaddafi forces. Government troops launched infantry and artillery attacks on Friday on the western end of the Misrata pocket, inflicting heavy rebel casualties. A Reuters journalist counted 10 bodies in a hospital after three rebel ambulances were destroyed on the road to the front. At Misrata’s Hikma hospital, a steady stream of ambulances brought wounded fighters in from the front. Radio Misrata reported that three Gaddafi tanks had joined infantry on an attack on the front line, but that the rebel positions had not been penetrated. After days of infantry assaults and bombardments in which dozens of rebel fighters have been killed and at least 45 wounded, the Misrata military council says pleas for Nato air support have gone unanswered. “We asked through the operations room in Benghazi for the Apaches [helicopters] to take part in the fight with Gaddafi troops but up to now we did not get any promise,” said Fathi Bashaga, who is responsible for Nato liaison. “What we expect from Nato is the introduction of their Apaches.” Four British Apaches went into action near Brega last weekend , 400 miles east of Misrata, along with French Gazelle attack helicopters. Late on Thursday, Apaches attacked a communications installation and a multiple rocket launcher near Misrata, a Nato spokesman said. French press said the Apaches hit 14 targets. Rebel commanders appeared unaware of the strikes, but officials involved in the Nato campaign say the frustration on the ground reflects tension between what the insurgents want to do and the mandate laid out by the UN. “Nato nations are in Libya to protect civilians. The rebels have proved themselves to be very courageous but we are not there to act as their air force,” said one. Officials say they are concerned about creating a situation where civilians are caught up in chaotic fighting between rebels and Gaddafi’s forces. This has been heightened by fears of a lack of co-ordination between rebels on the front line and Nato commanders, who are responsible for approving air strikes. “It’s getting better, but it’s not perfect,” said the source. Rebel calls for Nato air support have grown stronger as Misrata has come under the heaviest attacks since mid-April, when rebels secured the city from pro-Gaddafi forces. There have been heavy daily bombardments with mortars and Grad rockets, along with two major infantry attacks. Volleys of grad rockets were landing to the west of the city on Friday. “Gaddafi troops tried again to enter Misrata from three sides, the south, the west, the east,” said Misrata army spokesman Ibrahim Betalmal. “We ask Allah to be merciful to the martyrs who fell to the Gaddafi troops.” Privately, rebel commanders say they are baffled with the non-appearance of the Apaches, saying conditions are ideal for their use against Gaddafi’s infantry as troops attack in the open. Witnesses to a dawn attack on the eastern edge of the pocket told the Guardian that Gaddafi troops came across two miles of flat open grassland between the front lines in pickup trucks with their lights on, a seemingly obvious target for air power. That attack was beaten off by rebel units, as was an infantry assault on the western end of the pocket around Dafniya, but Betalmal said rebel forces were bracing for a third offensive. “We have information that several thousand Gaddafi troops are gathered, probably they will attack from seven sides,” he said, possibly referring to highways leading into the pocket. Rebel troops have begun building fortifications along their front line, constructing networks of trenches, bunkers and shipping containers filled with sand. Aggressive rebel patrolling has brought back a steady haul of prisoners, including three female soldiers, who Betalmal said were captured on the western front line. “As our fighters are good-natured, we released them,” he said. While the daily bombardments on the city are taking a steady toll, rebel fighters are outwardly confident they can hold their lines, saying Gaddafi’s infantry appear demoralised and unwilling to press home attacks. “Our fighters managed to inflict so many casualties among the Gaddafi soldiers,” said Betalmal. “We gained so many weapons and ammunition from them after they fled the battlefield.” A Nato spokesman said it was not clear whether Gaddafi’s forces west of Misrata were capable of mounting a major offensive against the city. The front lines west of the city, said Wing Commander Mike Bracken, spokesman in Naples for the Nato Libya mission, were “volatile and unstable,” but it was “unconfirmed” whether the regime troops could muster “the capability to launch a largescale attack”. Libya Arab and Middle East unrest Muammar Gaddafi Middle East Africa Nato guardian.co.uk