Tripoli, Apr 15: Leaders of US, UK and France today vowed to intensify the military campaign in Libya to force Muammar Gaddafi to quit as NATO bombed the capital Tripoli amid massive pounding by government troops of besieged western town of Misurata and key eastern city of Ajdabiya For the second day in a row, pro-Gaddafi forces pounded Misurata, killing at least eight people.
A local doctor said seven other civilians, including children and older people, were wounded today in the attacks on Libya's third-biggest city that has been the scene of major fighting between rebels and Gaddafi's forces for several weeks.
Al Jazeera quoted residents as saying that around 120 rockets shelled Misurata. Pro-government troops also shelled the coastal city yesterday, with dozens of Grad-type rockets, killing at least 23 people, the Arab channel quoted a rebel spokesman as saying.
Gaddafi's forces also opened fire on rebels near the frontline of Ajdabiya, the gateway to the rebel stronghold of Benghazi, killing one, opposition fighters said. Even as the 28-member NATO alliance squabbled over intensifying the military operations, it launched three new air strikes in and around the Libyan capital, striking a missile battery and two other targets.
France and Britain want to extend air strikes to the logistics and decision centres of Gaddafi's army, rather than start arming Libyan rebels, French Defence Minister Gerard Longuet was quoted as saying by the pan-Arab channel today. Amid differences among world powers over the air strikes in Libya, US President Barack Obama, French President Nicolas Sarkozy and British Prime Minister David Cameron made it clear that there can be no peace in the country till Gaddafi stepped down.
In a jointly written article published in the International Herald Tribune, they said leaving Gaddafi in power would be an “unconscionable betrayal” of the Libyan people.
“It is unthinkable that someone who has tried to massacre his own people can play a part in their future government,” the leaders wrote in an opinion piece released yesterday.
“So long as Gaddafi is in power, NATO and its coalition partners must maintain their operations so that civilians remain protected and the pressure on the regime builds,” they said.
However, the Libyan leader's daughter Aisha dismissed “talk about Gaddafi stepping down”, saying it was “an insult to all Libyans because Gaddafi is not in Libya, but in the hearts of all Libyans”.
The alliance is struggling to overcome differences over the Libya mission, with Britain and France seeking more strikes by other NATO nations, particularly the U.S. Even as the 28-member NATO alliance squabbled over intensifying the military operations, it launched three new air strikes in and around the Libyan capital, striking a missile battery and two other targets, Al Jazeera said.
France and Britain want to extend air strikes to the logistics and decision centres of Gaddafi's army, rather than start arming Libyan rebels, French Defence Minister Gerard Longuet was quoted as saying by the pan-Arab channel today. PTI
