Eight to ten civilians, including two children, were allegedly killed and several others injured by Gaddafi forces shelling the Rouissat neighbourhood of Misurata.

Ahrar Libya said: “An hour ago: Gaddafi forces bombed the Ruwaisat and Nisour al-Jaw villages in Misurata, destroying 5 homes and killing 8 people, including two children.”

According to Only4Libya, “the bombing killed two other people, bringing the number to 10 martyrs, including two children, and 20 wounded, 5 of whom were in critical condition.”

Media Center 17 posted: “In the middle of the day, before the Friday prayer prayer, Muammar terrorist mercenaries bombed the Ruwaisat area with a number of Grad rockets, resulting in the death of two children and their sister, as the missile fell in their bedroom and also wounding a number of civilians, including a child and her mother from another house.”

An Amnesty International investigation later found: “Just after midday on 13 May a barrage of Grad rockets smashed into several homes in the Ruissat neighbourhood, south-east of the Misratah city centre, killing and maiming several residents. Rudaina and Mohamed, two of Safia ‘Abdallah Shahit’s three young children, were killed.”

Their mother told Amnesty: “I had bathed the children – Malak, aged five, Mohamed, aged three, and baby Rudaina, aged one. I left them in the bedroom and went to prepare lunch for them. Minutes later, I heard an explosion and ran back to the children’s bedroom when a second rocket smashed into the house. I fell to the ground; there was shattered glass everywhere and more explosions. After hearing the fifth explosion further away, I gathered the courage to enter the children’s bedroom and found them buried under the rubble. I was lifting the rubble, when I saw Rudaina lying under her bed: the back of her head was just gone, pieces of her flesh scattered around. She was a baby, she wasn’t even walking yet. What has she done to deserve this?”

Additionally, “Safia’s daughter Malak survived, but her right leg was so severely wounded that it had to be amputated.”

Amnesty added: “Nearby, Hassan Mohamed al-Rouj, a 36-year-old father of three, was killed by shrapnel from a rocket as he was on his way to the local mosque for Friday prayers. Another rocket smashed into the courtyard of the Sassi family home at 12.45pm. Lotfiya Shikshaka-Sassi, a 55-year old mother of six, sustained a large, deep wound to the abdomen and multiple wounds to the legs, and her 30-year-old son Mohamed was injured in the legs and arms.”

The incident occured around midday.