Tuesday: Coalition Trying to Expand Libyan No-Fly Zone, US fighter jet crashes in Libya; crew members safe
U.N.-backed forces are trying to expand a "no-fly" zone across much of northern Libya, after three days of airstrikes weakened Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi's defenses. So far, a U.S. jet taking part in the operation has crash-landed.
The international coalition plans to extend the zone from the rebel stronghold of Benghazi in the east to the capital, Tripoli, 1,000 kilometers to the west.
Loyalist forces in Tripoli sent up anti-aircraft fire in an attempt to ward off strikes by fighter jets sent by the U.S., France and Britain.
The U.S. confirmed Tuesday that one of its jets crash-landed in Libya the day before. The military said the likely cause was mechanical problems, not hostile fire. Both crewmembers are said to be safe.
Despite the expanding "no-fly" zone coverage - part of a U.N. resolution to protect civilians from Libyan government attacks - opposition sources in two western towns report continuing fighting.
Residents said pro-Gadhafi forces are on the offensive in both Misrata and Zintan, possibly in a bid to escape the aerial barrage. Strains in international backing for the mission increased Tuesday, with China joining the list of dissenters.
China Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu said Beijing wants an immediate cease-fire and seeks a peaceful resolution to the conflict.
China, like fellow critic Russia, abstained from backing the U.N. resolution authorizing the attacks, but did not veto the measure. The Arab League, which also initially supported the U.N. move, has also expressed reservations.
All say they are concerned about possible civilian casualties and a humanitarian crisis, exactly what the measure aims to prevent.
Pro-Gadhafi forces had retaken much of the territory claimed by rebels since a popular uprising turned into an armed rebellion last month. Government forces had entered Benghazi last Saturday, the day the international bombardment began.
The Libyan government says the air assaults have killed dozens of civilians, but those claims could not be independently confirmed.
Monday: Air attacks largely destroy Libyan defence forces
Two days of relentless allied air attacks have largely destroyed Libya's military capabilities and left troops scattered and confused, according to a statement from the U.S. on Monday.
The Pentagon said Libya's air defences have been crippled and Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi's ground forces have been stopped from approaching the rebel stronghold of Benghazi -- Libya's second largest city.
Navy Vice Admiral William E. Gortney said Monday the air strikes have been "very effective," and the Pentagon believes Gadhafi's military is "under significant stress."
The report came one day after a cruise missile smashed into an administrative building inside Gadhafi's compound in Tripoli, as international forces kept up their military bombardment.
It wasn't clear where Gadhafi was at the time the missile landed. Prior to the attack, the U.S. had said the Libyan leader wasn't the key target, but rather the goal was to protect civilians and stop Gadhafi's military advance against the rebels.
Meanwhile the U.S., which has so far spearheaded the allied mission, said it planned to hand the reins of the mission over to Britain, France or NATO in a few days.
On Sunday the Libyan government escorted journalists from at least two major news outlets to the scene of a rocket attack to view the damaged building said to be a Gadhafi command centre. The building stands near the Bedouin tent where Gadhafi has been known to entertain foreign guests.
Half of the multistory building was destroyed, and scraps of metal from the missile lay scattered across the area.
Explosions and anti-aircraft gunfire had erupted in the Libyan capital earlier in the night, signaling another round of coalition air assaults.
The military operation began overnight Saturday to enforce a UN Security Council resolution that called for an immediate ceasefire in the fighting between Gadhafi forces and members of the month-old opposition movement.
The resolution authorized a no-fly zone above the North African country and allowed UN members to use "all means necessary" to prevent attacks on civilians.
Despite the international pressure, Gadhafi pledged Sunday to continue fighting. In a phone call to Libyan state television, he said his weapon depots had been opened up to allow civilians to arm themselves against the outsiders.
"We promise you a long war," Gadhafi said.
During a press conference at the Pentagon on Sunday afternoon, U.S. Navy Vice Adm. Bill Gortney said naval ships had launched 124 cruise missiles at military installations along the Libyan coast, followed by air assaults from French, British and American fighter jets and bombers against Gadhafi ground forces and air defences.
Gortney said the initial assault had been "very effective in significantly degrading the (Libyan) regime's air defence capability," including its ability to launch some surface-to-air missiles.
"We now have the capability to patrol the airspace over Libya, and we are doing just that," he told reporters.
Military forces from Spain, Belgium, Denmark and Qatar are joining the military operation under U.S. command, Gortney said, but a coalition of countries would take over command in the coming days.
Rebel reaction
The coalition air strikes provided some relief to residents of Benghazi, the capital of the opposition movement that has been seeking to oust the Libyan leader.
On Saturday, at least 120 people were killed in the eastern city of 700,000 as Gadhafi troops staged ground raids and air assaults. But rebel forces said the attacks on Benghazi had since been stunted by international forces.
"Yesterday was a catastrophe," said Salwa el-Daghili, a member of the rebels' governing council. "Today, there is hope -- you can see it on the streets."
U.S. military officials said the international assault would take aim at any Gadhafi forces that were attacking the opposition. And one of their targets was a line of tanks that had been moving towards Benghazi when it was destroyed.
According to the opposition, the coalition attacks also struck an air force complex used by Gadhafi forces near Misrata, the last rebel-held city in the west, and a second air base outside Tripoli.
Meanwhile state television claimed that 48 people died in the U.S. and European strikes and that Gadhafi's supporters were converging on airports as human shields. Neither report could be independently verified.
The Arab League, whose support for a no-fly zone last week helped overcome reluctance in the West for action in Libya, criticized the military operation Sunday. Amr Moussa, the organization's secretary general, said that coalition assaults had gone beyond what his organization backed.
"What happened differs from the no-fly zone objectives," he said Sunday. "What we want is civilians' protection not shelling more civilians."
However, after holding an emergency meeting in Cairo late on Sunday, the Arab League reaffirmed its support for the no-fly zone. France also said Sunday that warplanes from the Arab nation of Qatar would take part in the international military strikes.
The U.S. military has maintained the goal of the mission is to establish peace and protect civilians, not to oust Gadhafi.
With files from The Associated Press
Live stream: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-12776418
Saturday, Official: U.S. fires missiles on Libyan air defenses
(CNN) -- The U.S. military launched its first airstrikes on Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi's air defenses, a senior military official said Saturday.
U.S. Tomahawk missiles landed in the area around Tripoli and Misrata, the official said, adding that the action was taken after Gadhafi failed to comply with a cease-fire.
"He's clearly been on the offensive," the official said of Gadhafi. "He said that he was going to do a cease-fire and he continued to move his forces into Benghazi."
The attacks on Gadhafi's forces will be part of a multiphase approach in a sequential and deliberate manner, according to the official.
"The U.S. will be at the front end of this, providing the unique capabilities that the U.S. has," the official said.
RANDOM UPDATES: Saturday
#2345 French denies this \/
#2319: Al-Jazeera's Rawya Rageh tweets: "Captured #AlJazeera team in #Libya: Lotfi Messaoudi (Tunisia), Ahmed Vall OuldAddin (Mauritania), Ammar Hamdan (Norway) Kamel Atalua (UK)"
#2309: LibyanYouthMovement tweets: "Be4 the the coalition started air strikes, we predicted mass defections by the remaining forces, looks like we may start to see them #Libya"
#2304: LibyanYouthMovement tweets: "ALL, yes ALL Gaddafi forces in ZINTAN have joined the #Feb17 revolution, Zintan now fully armed and ready #Libya #gaddaficrimes"
#2249 Libyan TV claims a french plane has been shot down
#1904: A US defence official tells Reuters that the US Navy has three submarines in the Mediterranean preparing for operations in Libya.
#1829 French military jet opens fire in Libya
Key points
#The first shots have been fired in Libya by French military jets enforcing the no-fly zone voted for by the UN
#French aircraft are preventing forces loyal to Libyan leader Col Gaddafi from attacking the rebel-held city of Benghazi, French President Nicolas Sarkozy says after a meeting of world leaders in Paris
#French aircraft also flew over "all Libyan territory" on reconnaissance missions, according to French military sources
#Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte tells journalists he believed British, French and Canadian aircraft would launch the first airstrikes, a BBC correspondent reports
#Earlier, Pro-Gaddafi forces launched an assault on Benghazi, a BBC journalist witnessed. A jet appears to have been shot down over the city
French President Nicolas Sarkozy said after an emergency summit in Paris on Saturday that France has already taken military action against Libya.
PARIS — Top officials from the United States, Europe and the Arab world have announced immediate military action to protect civilians amid combat between Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi's forces and rebel fighters.
Sarkozy said "our determination is total."
Earlier Saturday, Libyan government troops forces stormed into the rebel capital of Benghazi, apparently ignoring a proclaimed cease-fire and potentially complicating any allied military action.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/...rticle1948433/
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