A humanitarian crisis is gripping western Libya, where 300,000 civilians in the besieged town of Misrata face a regular onslaught from Colonel Gaddafi's forces.

Kim Sengupta of The Independent, who has just arrived in Benghazi from Misrata, describes the situation.

And the international development secretary Andrew Mitchell, who is meeting with the UN in New York to discuss the crisis, explains what can be done to help the people of Libya.

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