The situation in Misrata – the rebels’ last major stronghold in western Libya – is increasingly catastrophic as the latest amateur video footage shows.

Evacuees from the city said forces loyal to Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi are staging a “massacre” there.

A resident of the besieged city, a spokesman for the Libya Freedom Group, talked to euronews and described conditions: “The water has been cut off for about two weeks and the electricity is cut off for about three days and the food is running low for the people right now.

“No one has control out there because there’s sniper fire in the centre of the city. Anyone who walks in the streets is killed. We cannot call anyone outside the city except some people who have satellite phones, just a few. The city needs food. If anyone can send food for the city it would be good and God help Libya.”

According to the scant information available, Gaddafi regime forces have hidden tanks and artillery in the city, and the violence continues.

UN-mandated air strikes to protect civilians have so far failed to halt attacks in Misrata by the Libyan army.

Libyan officials deny attacking civilians in Misrata, saying they are fighting armed gangs linked to al Qaeda.

The identity of our contact in Misrata is being withheld for his own safety.