Libyan rebels urge US to reassert role in Nato action

Libya's rebels have urged the US military to reassert a stronger role in the Nato-led air campaign against Muammar Gadafy's regime…

Libya's rebels have urged the US military to reassert a stronger role in the Nato-led air campaign against Muammar Gadafy's regime.

The call came after Britain and France pressured other Nato members to contribute militarily to the organisation's operation in Libya.

Qatar's crown prince told international envoys at the meeting in Doha it was time to help the uprising tip the scales in favour of the rebels.

The appeals reflected the urgent tone of the meetings among the UN secretary general and other top Western and Arab envoys as they gathered in Qatar's capital to discuss ways to end the Libyan crisis.

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While peace efforts remain the top objective, there also appears to be a shift toward trying to boost the rebels' firepower to protect their territory from government offensives. One proposal noted by Italy - Libya's former colonial ruler - calls for allies to provide defensive weapons.

US fighter jets have continued to attack Col Gadafy's air defences even after Nato took over command of Libya operations earlier this month, the Pentagon said today.

The revelation followed Pentagon assurances that the United States had halted regular strike sorties after Washington's April 4th handover of full command of international operations to Nato and would conduct attacks only if asked by the Brussels-based military alliance.

A Pentagon spokesman, said such operations were defensive by nature and were not considered "strikes" by the military.

Eleven US aircraft have flown 97 sorties in Libya since April 4th and fired on air defence targets three times, the Pentagon said.

Meanwhile, Libyan rebels reported heavy clashes in parts of Misrata today, but said they were making progress in driving back government troops west of the city. Libyan television said Nato planes had bombed Tripoli Street in Misrata and killed people, but gave no details. It said alliance aircraft also attacked Col Gadafy's birthplace Sirte, a coastal town east of Misrata.

This afternoon, Nato said it hit munitions bunkers in an air strike just outside the capital Tripoli. Nato said it conducted air strikes yesterday on an ammunition depot in Sirte on Libya's central coast and destroyed 12 tanks near the western town of Zintan, about 120 km southwest of Tripoli.

There is a divergence of opinions among the 28 members of the Nato alliance. Germany, Turkey and Poland opposed the operation in Libya and are not involved in the air campaign.

Italy has said its aircraft will not open fire, the Dutch are enforcing the no-fly zone but may not bomb ground targets, and non-Nato Swedish planes may only open fire in self-defence while patrolling the no-fly zone.

Rebel spokesman Mahmoud Shamman said the anti-Gadafy forces will not bend on their demands that any peace proposal require the Libyan leader Col Gadafy and his inner circle to leave the country. The rebel conditions for Col Gadafy's removal effectively killed a ceasefire bid by the African Union this week.

Mr Shammam also urged Nato to step up its air campaign to hit pro-Gadafy forces in efforts to protect civilians and appealed for a greater role by the United States, which turned over operations to Nato last month. "When the Americans were involved the mission was very active and it was more leaning toward protecting the civilians," he said. "Nato is very slow responding to these attacks on the civilians. We'd like to see more work toward protecting the civilians,"

His comments echoed calls by French foreign minister Alain Juppe and others after government forces shelled the rebel-held city of Misrata in western Libya.

An Italian foreign ministry spokesman said allies may consider providing "defensive weapons" and equipment to rebels. "The discussion of arms is certainly on the table," he said. "We are not talking about offensive arms ... Every country will decide. It is a political decision."

Libyan opposition spokesman Ali al-Issawi said that Col Gadafy's soldiers have killed about 10,000 people throughout the country and injured 30,000 others, with 7,000 of the injured facing life-threatening wounds. He said an additional 20,000 people were missing and suspected of being in prison.

There was no way to independently verify his claims, and the numbers are far higher than rights groups and foreign diplomats have estimated.

Agencies