Libya rebels accuse NATO of inaction on Gaddafi

LIBYAN rebels have regained ground in a new advance but accused NATO of inaction hindering their quest to oust Muammar Gaddafi.

NATO responded by stating that Gaddafi was making it increasingly difficult for its pilots to carry out air strikes by placing his forces in heavily populated areas and using civilians as human shields.

In the east, ill-trained insurgents thrust westwards towards the oil port of Brega, recovering mostly desert terrain to Gaddafi’s superior firepower the day before.

Rebels returning to the tiny outpost of Al-Arbaeen, midway between Brega and their frontline town of Ajdabiyah, spoke of rocket duels close to Brega’s port as both sides strived to end a ragged stalemate in the civil war.

There were reports of mortar and rocket battles near the town on Libya’s desolate Mediterranean highway 80km west of Ajdabiyah. Fighting had resumed at daybreak after government forces were resupplied with ammunition and swung east from Brega, said rebel officer Mohamed el-Masrafy.

“God willing, we are going to try to enter Brega today,” said rebel Idriss Abdel Karim, but he and various comrades complained of a lack of support from NATO.

“(Government forces) are scared of NATO air strikes but NATO doesn’t bomb anything in the first place,” he said.

“What is NATO waiting for? We have cities that are being destroyed. Ras Lanuf, Bin Jawad, Brega, and Gaddafi is destroying Misrata completely,” added Said Emburak, an Ajdabiyah resident.

NATO’s air strikes are targeting Gaddafi’s military infrastructure but only to protect civilians, not to provide close air support for rebels, as part of a no-fly zone mandated by the UN Security Council.

However, NATO spokeswoman Carmen Romero maintained that “the pace of our operations continues unabated.

“The ambition and the position of our strikes has not changed.”

Migrants drowned

SCORES are missing after a small boat carrying more than 200 African migrants fleeing Libya capsized in rough seas, with Italian coast guards lifting 48 survivors from the water.

Coast guard spokesman Vittorio Alessandro said a helicopter crew aiding the rescue operation had spotted some 20 bodies near the boat.

“Our boats and helicopters have thrown all sorts of life-jackets and lifeboats to allow people hold on.”

Around 130 people who were on the boat are believed to be missing.

Helicopter pilots are reported to have seen “dozens” of corpses.

The accident happened 74 kilometres south of Lampedusa in waters under Malta’s jurisdiction.