NATO: No apology for hitting rebels in tanks

BRUSSELS (AP) — NATO acknowledged Friday that its airstrikes had hit rebels using tanks to fight government forces in eastern Libya, but said it would not apologize for the deaths because no one told them the rebels had tanks.

In this image made from television, a dust cloud is seen following the explosion of a missile, outside the strategic oil port of Brega, Libya, Thursday, April 7, 2011. An apparent NATO airstrike slammed into a rebel combat convoy Thursday, killing at least five fighters and sharply boosting anger among anti-government forces after the second bungled mission in a week blamed on the military alliance. (AP Photo/National Transitional Council in Libya via AP Television News)

British Rear Adm. Russell Harding, the deputy commander of the NATO operation, said in the past, only forces loyal to Libyan strongman Moammar Gadhafi had used heavy armored vehicles.

Harding says the military situation between Libya's eastern coastal towns of Brega and Ajdabiya remains fluid, with the two sides engaged in a series of advances and retreats, making it difficult for pilots to distinguish between them.

NATO jets attacked a rebel convoy between these two towns Thursday, killing at least five fighters and destroying or damaging a number of armored vehicles.

The strikes, including an attack earlier this week, provoked angry denunciations of NATO by the rebels. At the same time, NATO officials have expressed frustration with the Libyan insurgents, who now view the alliance, whose mandate is limited to protecting civilians in Libya, as their proxy air force.

NATO last week took control over the international airstrikes that began March 19 as a U.S.-led mission. The airstrikes thwarted Gadhafi's efforts to crush the rebellion in the North African nation he has ruled for more than four decades, but the rebels remain outnumbered and outgunned and have had difficulty pushing into government-held territory even with air support.

Harding said Friday that NATO jets had conducted 318 sorties and struck 23 targets across Libya in the past 48 hours. They have flown over 1,500 sorties in the eight days since the alliance assumed overall command from a U.S.-led force.

NATO's jets have destroyed Gadhafi's anti-aircraft missile defenses, T-72 tanks and ammunition dumps, Harding said. The attacks also targeted Gadhafi's loyalist forces in the besieged city of Misrata, where rebels continue to hold out.

But Gadhafi's forces still pose a danger for the warplanes. They retain radars and surface-to-air missiles, as well as automatic cannons and shoulder-launched missiles that can hit planes at altitudes up to 5,000 meters (15,000 feet).

"It would appear that two of our strikes yesterday may have resulted in (rebel) deaths," he told reporters in Naples, where the alliance's operational center is located.

"I am not apologizing," Harding said. "The situation on the ground was and remains extremely fluid, and until yesterday we did not have information that (rebel) forces are using tanks."

Over the past week, Gadhafi's forces had switched tactics by leaving their heavy armor behind and using only light trucks armed with heavy machine guns and fast-firing anti-aircraft cannons on the front lines between Brega and Ajdabiya. These have proven very effective in disrupting repeated rebel attempts to push west toward Tripoli, but Gadhafi's forces have not been able to drive the rebels back toward Benghazi or establish a solid front line in that sector.

"These trucks cannot hold ground," Harding said. "When you see their tanks coming up, those are the vehicles that can cause the greatest harm to civilians."

On Thursday, the situation in that sector "was very confusing, vehicles going back and forth," he said.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Previous Related Post: Libyan rebels say NATO airstrikes hit their forces

Read More

Libyan rebels say NATO airstrikes hit their forces

AJDABIYA, Libya (AP) — Rebel fighters claimed NATO airstrikes blasted their forces Thursday in another apparent mistake that sharply escalated anger about coordination with the military alliance in efforts to cripple Libyan forces. At least two rebels were killed and more than a dozen injured, a doctor said.

RETRANSMISSION FOR IMPROVED QUALITY A Libyan rebel, left, looks through his binoculars as his fellow rebel makes a signal as shells explode at a distance on the frontline near Brega, Libya, Wednesday, April 6, 2011. The French foreign minister defended NATO airstrikes in Libya against mounting rebel complaints Wednesday, saying it has become hard to distinguish Moammar Gadhafi's forces from civilians and friendly forces. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)

The attack — near the front lines outside the eastern oil port of Brega — would be the second accidental NATO strike against rebel forces in less than a week and brought cries of outrage from fighters struggling against Moammar Gadhafi's larger and more experienced military.

"Down, down with NATO," shouted one fighter as dozens of rebel vehicles raced eastward from the front toward the rebel-held city of Ajbadiya.

In Brussels, a NATO official said the alliance will look into the latest rebel claims but he had no immediate information. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity under standing regulations.

NATO last week took control over the international airstrikes that began March 19 as a U.S.-led mission. The airstrikes thwarted Gadhafi's efforts to crush the rebellion in the North African nation he has ruled for more than four decades, but the rebels remain outnumbered and outgunned and have had difficulty pushing into government-held territory even with air support.

A rebel commander, Ayman Abdul-Karim, said he saw airstrikes hit tanks and a rebel convoy, which included a passenger bus carrying fighters toward Brega. He and other rebels described dozens killed or wounded, but a precise casualty toll was not immediately known.

A doctor at Ajbadiya Hospital, Hakim al-Abeidi, said at least two people were killed and 16 injured, some with serious burns. Other rebel leaders said other casualties were left in the field in the chaos to flee the area.

On Saturday, a NATO airstrike killed 13 rebel fighters in eastern Libya. An opposition spokesman described it as an "unfortunate accident" in the shifting battles and pledged support for the international air campaign to weaken Gadhafi's military power.

But rebel discontent with NATO appears to be growing. Opposition commanders have complained in recent days that the airstrikes were coming too slowly and lacking the precision to give the rebels a clear edge. NATO officials say that the pro-Gadhafi troops have blended into civilian areas in efforts to frustrate the alliances bombing runs.

The rebel commander Adbul-Karim said the tops of rebel vehicles were marked with yellow under advice by NATO to identify the opposition forces. The attack occurred about 18 miles (30 kilometers) from Brega, where rebel forces have struggled to break through government lines.

In the Libyan capital, Tripoli, government officials have blamed Britain for attacks on the country's largest oil field, countering rebel claims that Gadhafi forces were behind the attacks that have shut down production.

Libya's deputy foreign minister Khaled Kaim said late Wednesday that British airstrikes damaged the Sarir oil field, killing three guards and other oil workers. He didn't say why he specified Britain, which is part of a NATO effort.

Two explosions were heard Thursday in Tripoli, but the cause of the blasts was not immediately known.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Read More