Gaddafi forces hit by NATO air strike

NATO aircraft destroyed Libyan tanks on the outskirts of Ajdabiya yesterday, helping to break a major assault by forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi on the strategic rebel town.

NATO said it had hit 11 tanks outside Ajdabiya, which Gaddafi’s troops had earlier threatened to overrun, and 14 more on the outskirts of Misrata, a lone rebel bastion in western Libya which has been under siege for six weeks.

A Reuters reporter saw six burning hulks surrounded by 15 charred and dismembered bodies in two sites 300 metres apart on Ajdabiya’s western approaches.

“NATO has to do this to help us every single day. That is the only way we are going to win this war,” said rebel Tarek Obeidy, 25, standing over the bodies.

The rebels, who have long complained about what they see as an ineffective NATO response to government attacks, applauded a more muscular approach over the weekend. Earlier, they seemed to be losing control of Ajdabiya after the heaviest government assault for at least a week.

The attack, which began on Saturday, included a fierce artillery and rocket bombardment while some of Gaddafi’s forces, including snipers, penetrated Ajdabiya.

Rebels had for several hours cowered in alleyways in the town, gateway to their stronghold of Benghazi 150km up the Mediterranean coast to the north.

The corpses of four rebels were found dumped on a roadside.

“Their throats were slit. They were all shot a few times in the chest as well. I just could not stop crying when I saw them,” said rebel Muhammad Saad. “This is becoming tougher and tougher.”

But by the afternoon rebels looked back in control of Ajdabiya, commanding key intersections, and the artillery and small arms fire had died down.

Ajdabiya had been the launch point for insurgents during a week-long fight for the oil port of Brega 70km further west, and its fall would be a serious loss.

Gaddafi, making his first appearance in front of the foreign media in weeks, joined a visiting African Union delegation at his Bab al-Aziziyah compound in Tripoli yesterday.

Wearing a brown robe and turban, he emerged from a tent in the compound where he receives guests and stood for a few moments flanked by South African President Jacob Zuma and other African leaders who are trying to mediate in the conflict.

He then climbed into a sports utility vehicle and was driven about 50 metres where he waved through the sunroof and made the “V” for victory sign to a crowd of cheering supporters.

The delegation, which also includes the leaders of Mauritania, Congo, Mali and Uganda, will meet insurgent leaders in Benghazi after talks with Gaddafi yesterday.

It was Gaddafi’s second appearance in two days after he received an ecstatic welcome from children and adults at a Tripoli school on Saturday.

The appearances, and Gaddafi’s upbeat demeanour, confirmed the impression among analysts that his circle has emerged from a period of paralysis and is hunkering down for a long campaign.

Western officials have conceded their air power will not be enough to help the rag-tag rebels overthrow Gaddafi by force and they are now emphasising a political solution.

But a rebel spokesman rejected a negotiated outcome in the conflict.