Gaddafi forces continue offensive as rebel hopes fade

Muammar Gaddafi continued bombarding rebels with rockets and artillery today as efforts to find a solution to the Libyan crisis rumbled on.

Hopes for a rebel military victory have faded and diplomatic efforts to find a solution were picking up momentum.

The rebels have proven too weak to effect any change themselves, so any realistic hopes of unseating Gaddafi now rest on international political pressure combined with sustained Nato airstrikes.

Nato planes destroyed four tanks near Zintan, 75 miles south-west of the capital, Tripoli today. A separate strike also destroyed an ammunition storage site south-west of Sirte, a Gaddafi stronghold and home to the Libyan leader’s tribe.

British jets patrolling near Misrata also fired missiles and destroyed a tank.

“We will continue to strike at the regime’s supplies and supply lines and reduce their ability to fight,” said the commander of the Nato operation, Canadian Lt Gen. Charles Bouchard.

In fighting today several rockets struck Ajdabiya, the main gateway town into the rebel-held east. Witnesses also reported shelling in Misrata.

Weeks of fierce government bombardment of Misrata have terrorised the residents, killing dozens of people and leaving food and medical supplies scarce.

Libyan opposition spokesman Ali al-Issawi said Gaddafi’s soldiers have killed about 10,000 people throughout the country and injured 30,000, with 7,000 of the injured facing life-threatening wounds.

He said another 20,000 people were missing and suspected of being in Gaddafi’s prisons.

On the eve of a meeting between diplomats and the rebels’ Libya contact group in Qatar, the Gulf country confirmed it was behind last week’s sale of more than 100 million dollars of crude oil from areas held by Libya’s rebels.

The announcement emphasises Qatar’s position as the most prominent Arab state supporting opposition forces seeking to topple Gaddafi.