Shelling by forces loyal to Libyan strongman Muammar Gaddafi killed 11 people and wounded another 57, almost all civilians, in the western rebel enclave of Misurata, insurgents said.

Earlier, the sources said five rebels were killed in fighting at the western entrance to the city, the sources said.

“Eleven people were killed and 57 wounded, almost all of them civilians,” a rebel source told AFP by telephone from Misurata. 200 kilometres east of Tripoli.

The news came as Paris said the rebels, increasingly confident on the ground, no longer need weapons drops from France, and as a senior Russian official reported that Col Gaddafi is conditionally ready to step down.

Meanwhile, Nato chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen said the alliance would like to see the United Nations assume the leading role in Libya’s transition to democracy in the event Col Gaddafi leaves power.

“There is emerging a political order distinct from that of Tripoli,” French Defence Minister Gerard Longuet said. “The (rebel) territories are organising their autonomy... That is why the parachute drops are no longer necessary.”

Last week, France said it supplied light arms including rifles and rocket launchers to the rebels for “self-defence” in line with a UN resolution and that it informed NATO and the Security Council of its plan to do so.

Russia criticised the arms drops, and France’s Nato ally Britain expressed reservations.

UN Security Council Resolution 1970, passed in February, prohibited states from providing any kind of arms to Libya. Resolution 1973 in March authorised nations “to take all necessary measures” to help protect civilians.

Mr Longuet was cautious about the rebels’ chances of defeating Col Gaddafi in a major offensive they have said they are preparing on Tripoli.