Fierce fighting raged in the western besieged town of Misurata even as the Libyan regime today said it had suspended operations against rebels in a bid to allow the local tribes to resolve the deepening conflict. Amid conflicting reports over the halt to operations, media reports said, explosions and gunfire were heard from Misurata, Libya's third largest city. Local residents and doctors described yesterday as one of the bloodiest in weeks. At least 25 people were killed and at least 71 critically injured in the rebels' main stronghold in the west of the country. A doctor in the city was quoted as saying that many of those who died were victims of booby-trapped bombs left by the Libyan army.Human rights groups have expressed fears that more than 1,000 people have been killed in the fighting there amid looming humanitarian crisis in the port city.