As they receive treatment for their injuries in Egypt, fighters loyal to Libya's National Transitional Council speak of dodging sniper fire during the battle for Misrata.
Amin Ali al-Gamal, 27, was shot in the face on Thursday 9 August when rebel forces took control of Misrata from pro-Qadhafi troops. He told Al-Masry Al-Youm that despite the heavy bleeding, he did not feel the injury at the time and kept fighting.
He cried as he remembered his four family members killed in the fighting against ousted Libyan leader Muammar Qadhafi’s army.
“The four of them got killed at different places. One in Misrata, one beside me, while we were holding our weapons and rushing to get into the city. I suddenly found him laying next to me. Shocked, I stopped and couldn’t scream until minutes later. I was shot by the snipers in my face,” Gamal said.
Laying in the same room at the Nasser Institute, his brother Yassin al-Gamal shouted, “We will win, we will win.”
Ali al-Gamal smiled and said “God is us with us, brother. God is with us. We will kill Qadhafi, who is hiding in Abu Hadi village in Sirte.”
Qadhafi's whereabouts are unknown and he has been in hiding since pro-democracy forces took control of the capital last month.
Sirte, his hometown, is one of a few remaining pockets of resistance where loyalists are battling the National Transitional Council forces.
Next to the brothers, Al-Mostafa Shaaban flashed a victory sign saying, “Long live the Libyans.” He echoed the others' sentiments that he is more concerned for the success of the revolution than for the gunshot wound in his left rib cage.
The men were transferred from Tripoli to Cairo by military aircraft where they are receiving medical treatment at Egypt's expense.
While they were recounting their stories, Egyptian Health Minister Amr Helmy visited them at the Nasser Institute and said the government will send medical aid to Libya in the next few days.
Translated from the Arabic Edition
