Libyans gather for funerals of alleged victims of airstrike

Mourners attending the funeral Thursday of 33 people that the Libyan authorities claim were killed by coalition airstrikes. STORY HIGHLIGHTSNEW: French jets fired on a Libyan aircraft for violating the no-fly zoneGadhafi's government claims airstrikes killed civiliansHis tanks shell the cities of Misrata and AjdabiyaResidents in battle zones are in a dire situation, aid agencies say Tripoli, Libya (CNN) -- After a fifth consecutive night of pounding by coalition jets, Libyans gathered at a seaside cemetery in Tripoli Thursday for the funerals of 33 people Moammar Gadhafi's government said were victims of an airstrike.

State television broadcast the funerals live, calling the dead victims of the "crusader colonial aggression." Earlier, a Libyan government official said coalition planes struck the suburb of Tajura and state TV showed images of fires, smoldering vehicles and the charred bodies of the dead.

CNN could not independently verify the circumstances of the deaths or who the victims were. Regardless, anger trumped grief at the cemetery and Gadhafi's message was loud and clear: innocent people were wrongly killed and the Libyan people will fight back.

Coalition leaders have reported no civilian casualties so far and said that Western jets have dropped precision bombs on military targets.

"It is not likely that civilians were a part of any airstrike today," said Joint Task Force Operation Odyssey Dawn Lt. Cmdr. Jim Hoeft.

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