Any hopes for a swift end to Libya’s bloody conflict ended Sunday: Once again, Col. Gaddafi escalated his attacks against opposition forces, this time crushing a westward rebel advancement on the coast that had hoped to put Gaddafi’s heavily guarded hometown in play. Loyalists also are launching a ground assault on Misrata, the nation’s third-largest city. “We got smashed. They are much armed,” said one opposition leader. A rebel spokesman in Misrata reported 21 deaths and 88 wounded.
