Absolutely stunning depiction by New York Times reporter C.J. Chivers of rocket attacks on the Libyan town of Miseryata:

The Lives at the End of the Rockets’ Arc

MISURATA, Libya — The four fresh corpses, the remains of people recently killed in the shelling of Misurata, rested on the floor of an office in a small clinic. Each was wrapped in a dirty blanket. No one knew what to do with them, just as no one present had any idea of their names.

They were a man, a woman, a boy about 2 and a girl perhaps half that age. The top of the girl’s head was gone, as were both of the woman’s lower legs.

Each day this city presents its residents with ghastly sights and reminders that there has been no shortage of ill fortune here. But even within the confines of a city besieged by its own nation’s army, there can be little luck crueler than theirs. They were migrants from Nigeria trapped in another country’s war. When they died, they had been minutes from escape.

I’ve read a lot of Chivers’ reports over the years. This is one of the saddest.

Photo: Bryan Denton for The New York Times