Aid ship docks in Libya's besieged Misrata: IOM

A ship docked in the besieged Libyan port city of Misrata on Wednesday to evacuate about 1,000 stranded migrants and wounded casualties, the International Organisation for Migration said.

"The ship, the Red Star, has just docked in Misrata," IOM spokesman Jean- Philippe Chauzy told AFP.

Chauzy said it was unloading 180 tonnes of relief aid supplies and would embark the migrants, mainly from Niger, who have been marooned in Misrata as well as about 40 Libyan civilians wounded in fighting for control of the city.

The rebel held city has come under relentless bombardment after being surrounded by Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi's forces for weeks, while NATO mine sweepers have been scouring the sea nearby.

The ship, a lifeline for the city with land access cut, had been blocked about 16 nautical miles (18.4 miles, 29.6 kilometres) offshore since Saturday, Chauzy said, after anti-ship mines were laid by Libyan government forces.

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