Rocket Ruin’s A Family's Life In Libya's Misrata


Twelve-year-old Faraj Abu Shaiba is burned and in distress but somehow he manages a weak smile from his hospital bed.

Monday evening, a rocket fired by forces loyal to Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi slammed into his home in Misrata's Ruwaisat neighborhood.

Faraj's 14-year-old brother, Ibrahim, was killed instantaneously washing his hands at the sink before evening prayers.

"I found this place was on fire," said Ibrahim's uncle, Abdallah, who rushed to the house when he heard the blast. "I threw water on him, and then took him to the ambulance. But he was already dead."

Three rockets hit Misrata Monday evening in quick sequence all packed with metal balls.

"We were sitting at home, the whole family," said Ibrahim's father, Ali. "We didn't know what happened."

The father received burns to his arms and legs. Ibrahim's mother, Fatima, was also wounded in the attack.

"She has got second degree burns to both legs. Both limbs and the face," said Dr. Mohammed Froka. "She has first degree burns on the face. But her situation when she was brought here was a little bit critical."

The day before the attack, the mother gave birth to a son. The family has named him Ibrahim, after the brother who died in the attack.

The older Ibrahim was buried Monday night, just hours after he was killed -- the latest grave in this city's rapidly growing cemeteries.
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