European aid chiefs warned today that a make-or-break battle for a strategic Libyan port threatens to "overwhelm" humanitarian helpers on the ground.

"The shelling of Misrata seaport and the fighting in areas of the town where civilians seek protection must stop as a matter of urgency," European Union aid commissioner Kristalina Georgieva said in a statement.

She said her officials were "receiving reports of hospitals being overwhelmed by a growing number of wounded" and expressed real fears that the "thin humanitarian lifeline" provided by the port "will break" amid ongoing fierce fighting.

"The delivery of food, medical supplies and other relief items has been interrupted, and it is close to impossible for our humanitarian partners to evacuate the wounded and civilians by sea," Georgieva said.

"I appeal to all sides in this conflict to protect civilians and to allow humanitarian operations in Misrata to resume."

Meanwhile, Libyan rebels that they had pushed Muammar Gaddafi's missiles out of range of Misrata port, even as hundreds of African refugees cowered from loud blasts which rocked the besieged city.

Under siege for more than seven weeks, almost continuous explosions were heard and NATO warplanes overflew the western city of half a million inhabitants, an AFP correspondent reported.

Around 1,300 refugees are stranded in Misrata, most of them Nigerians, but they also include Chadians, Ghanians and Sudanese.

A succession of humanitarian ships had evacuated thousands of foreigners from Misrata over the past few weeks.Small ships have also made the crossing from Malta, taking food and humanitarian supplies and bringing out a few people, mostly journalists.