NATO: Errant Strike May Have Killed Civilians in Libya

NATO has admitted another accidental airstrike by its forces may have killed civilians in the Libyan capital, Tripoli.

The alliance said the air strikes were launched against a military missile site in Tripoli Sunday, but "one weapon did not strike the intended target" because of a possible "weapons system failure." NATO said it regretted the "loss of innocent civilian lives."

Libyan officials said Sunday, NATO warplanes struck a residential neighborhood and killed nine people. Two children were among the dead.

This was the second recent admission of deadly error by coalition forces. On Saturday, NATO acknowledged that aircraft under its command had accidentally hit a rebel column near the oil refinery town of Brega on the frontline between the rebel-held east and the mainly government-held west on Thursday. The number of casualties in that attack were not revealed.

Elsewhere Sunday, rebels and medical officials in Libya say fighting near the rebel-held western city of Misrata has killed at least nine people and wounded more than 50 others.

The officials said forces loyal to Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi used heavy artillery to pummel Dafniya, just west of Misrata.

On Saturday, the coalition called Libyan government claims that alliance airstrikes are targeting civilians "outrageous." Spokeswoman Oana Lungescu said it is Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi and his forces who have been "systematically and brutally attacking" the Libyan people

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Don't know if Gaddafi is dead or alive: Nato

A Libyan boy holds up a Kingdom of Libya flag at a checkpoint after crossing from Libya into Tunisia at the border crossing in Dehiba May 7, 2011.

Nato said on Tuesday it was unaware of embattled Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi being dead or alive and denied its air strikes on Tripoli were aimed to kill him. "All Nato targets are military targets, which means that the targets we've been hitting are command and control bunkers," Nato spokesman Cl audio Gabellini told reporters, adding "and it happened also last night in Tripoli".

"Nato is not targeting individuals," he said via videolink from the operation's headquarters in Naples, Italy.

When asked whether Gaddafi was still still alive, the Italian Nato general said, "We don't have any evidence. We don't know what Gaddafi is doing right now."

Fresh sorties by Nato warplanes struck the Libyan capital on late Monday and on early Tuesday in some of the heaviest bombing missions in weeks. The air strikes reportedly targeted a military base and a compound used by Gaddafi.

Nato earlier rejected claims by Libya on Tuesday that the military alliance attacked the Supreme Court building in Tripoli and various civilian targets.

Since the Nato mission in Libya began March 31, its jets have conducted a total of 5,968 sorties, including more than 2,300 strike missions, the alliance said on Tuesday.

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NATO airstrike mistakenly kills 12 Libyan rebels

Reporting from Benghazi, Libya—
A NATO airstrike in the besieged rebel-held city of Misurata mistakenly killed 12 Libyan rebels, an official with the transitional government confirmed Thursday, while new fighting was reported on Libya's western border with Tunisia.

The strike Wednesday was at least the third reported friendly fire incident since North Atlantic Treaty Organization fighter jets began pounding forces loyal to Moammar Kadafi more than five weeks ago in a mission to protect Libyan civilians.

Leaders of the anti-Kadafi forces have labeled the incidents unfortunate accidents in a worthy cause, reflecting wide support in rebel ranks for the NATO strikes.

Nonetheless, both NATO and the rebels have said additional precautions — such as marking rebel vehicles and reporting precise positions to NATO — have been employed to avoid further tragedies.

"It is regrettable, but we know the people of Misurata understand," said Shamsiddin Abdulmolah, a press liaison with the transitional council, who confirmed the death toll. "We know NATO didn't do this on purpose."

There was no immediate response from North Atlantic Treaty Organization officials.

NATO's bombing campaign is widely seen as having prevented Kadafi forces from retaking rebel-held territory, including the eastern city of Benghazi, de facto capital of the opposition. Despite the deadly friendly fire episodes, rebel officials have urged their international allies to step up the air campaign against the Kadafi regime.

Two previous inadvertent NATO strikes on anti-Kadafi forces left at least 18 rebels dead and many injured.

Reports from the scene indicated that Wednesday's strike occurred near Misurata's port, which has been a lifeline for supplies into the city and refugees going out. NATO has been bombarding loyalist forces shelling the port area.


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Gaddafi offers $400,000 bounty for Libyan opposition leader

The embattled Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, facing protests against his 41-year regime, has announced a reward of more than $400,000 for capturing the country's top opposition leader, a media report said. According to a Libyan TV channel, Gaddafi offered a half million-dinar ($410,900) for the capture of former justice minister Mustafa Abdul-Jalil.

The bounty would be paid "to whoever captures and hands over" the "agent spy" Abdul-Jalil, and "200,000 Libyan dinars ($164,300) to whoever offers information leading to his actual arrest".

Inspired by the recent overthrow of long-term regimes in Tunisia and Egypt, Gaddafi's opponents are demanding his immediate removal.

International human rights organisations have estimated about 6,000 people have been killed since the anti-Gaddafi protests began February 14. The UN said the toll ranged from 1,000 to 2,000 people.

Gaddafi said Wednesday in an interview with the Turkish TRT media holding that Libya is confronting an attempt by the Al Qaeda terrorist network to destabilise the situation there and in another Arab countries.

Gaddafi also blamed the current unrest in the country on Al Qaeda and its leader Osama bin Laden, who he said were seeking to turn Libya into a state resembling Afghanistan or Somalia.

The UN Security Council adopted a resolution Feb 26 on "targeted measures" against the current Libyan government. The sanctions include a total arms embargo, travel bans and freezing of accounts held by the country's leadership.

A UN resolution on the imposition of a no-fly zone over Libyan airspace is to be debated by NATO defence ministers later this week. Russia has said it is against all military intervention.

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Global call for Libya 'no-fly zone'

David Cameron has raised the prospect of more aggressive international action against Colonel Muammar Gaddafi in an effort to prevent him carrying out further attacks on his own people.

The Prime Minister has ordered government officials to draw up plans with Britain's allies for a no-fly zone over Libya. He also suggested that anti-regime forces could be armed to help oust the dictator.

The intervention came as Col Gaddafi again dismissed demands to quit, insisting his people "loved" him and blaming al Qaida for the uprising.

Speaking in the Commons on Monday, Mr Cameron said the international community could not tolerate the "illegitimate" regime using military force on the civilian population and warned that they needed to be ready to act if the repression worsened.

"We do not in any way rule out the use of military assets. We must not tolerate this regime using military force against its own people," he told MPs. "In that context I have asked the Ministry of Defence and the Chief of the Defence Staff to work with our allies on plans for a military no-fly zone."

Asked whether Britain would be willing to arm rebel groups, Mr Cameron said: "If helping the opposition would somehow bring that about it is certainly something we should be considering."

The Prime Minister spoke to French president Nicolas Sarkozy on the telephone on Monday night, and agreed that their experts would work together on "the range of possible options for increasing pressure on the regime", according to Downing Street.

US secretary of state Hillary Clinton, attending the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva, said that America was also actively looking at the possibility of a no-fly zone. "The no-fly zone is an option we are actively considering. I discussed it with allies and partners," she said. "All options are on the table. That of course includes a no-fly zone."

The Libyan deputy permanent representative to the United Nations, Ibrahim al-Dabashi - one of a number of diplomats to desert the regime - said it was "very important" to have a no-fly zone to "prevent the dictator using helicopters to terrorise people in the streets". "He uses these helicopters to shoot on people," he told BBC Radio 4's PM programme. "People are afraid to go to the streets whenever they see the helicopters."

Meanwhile, in an interview with the BBC on Monday night, Col Gaddafi insisted his people "loved" him. "They love me, all my people love me," he said. "They would die to protect me." Asked why so many appeared to be rebelling, he blamed al Qaida fighters. "This is al Qaida, not my people," Col Gaddafi said. "They come from outside."

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