War to go on even if NATO bombing ends: Gaddafi camp, Posted by Meosha Eaton

(Reuters) - Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi's camp has vowed to push on with its war against rebels whether or not NATO stops its bombing campaign, leaving little room for diplomacy to end the five-month conflict.

The rebels and their Western backers kept up the pressure on the veteran leader as the Muslim holy month of Ramadan began, with NATO bombing military targets and dropping leaflets over the capital calling on loyalists to give up.

Rebels clash with Gaddafi loyalists near Benghazi, Posted by Mosha Eaton

(Reuters) - Libyan rebels clashed in the early hours of Sunday with an armed gang they said was loyal to Muammar Gaddafi, the latest sign of growing lawlessness in the rebel-held east.

Rebel spokesman Mahmoud Shammam told reporters in the opposition capital of Benghazi that the clashes broke out when rebel forces attacked a militia that had helped some 300 Gaddafi loyalists break out of jail Friday.

Libya's Gaddafi urges Misrata notables to fight rebels, Posted by Meosha Eaton

TUNIS, Jul 22, 2011 - Muammar Gaddafi urged families and tribal leaders from Misrata to fight to take back Libya's third-largest city from rebels who have pushed his troops away after more than four months of bitter fighting.

Libyan TV showed footage of Gaddafi meeting at a conference center in Tripoli with dozens of notables from Misrata and residents of the capital with relatives in the town, chastising them for their inaction.

Report: US promises to provide safe haven for Gaddafi, Posted by Meosha Eaton

Cairo- The United States promised during recent talks with Libyan officials to provide embattled Libyan leader Moamer Gaddafi with a safe haven if he agreed to step down, a Libyan official said in remarks published Wednesday.

'The US delegation expressed clear readiness to go ahead and find a place or a country prepared to host Gaddafi, along with offering him guarantees that he will not be tracked down for prosecution,' the official was quoted as saying in the pan-Arab newspaper Asharq Al Awsat.

Gaddafi govt talking to rebels, Russia Libya envoy says, Posted by Meosha Eaton

CLICK THE LINK BELOW FOR FULL STORY!

Gaddafi govt talking to rebels, Russia Libya envoy says 

Gaddafi envoy in Greece; Turkey rescues wounded, Posted by Meosha Eaton

* Libyan envoy in Athens with message from Gaddafi

* Fighting still stalemated in oil town of Brega

* Turkish ship evacuates wounded from Misrata

By Maria Golovnina

TRIPOLI, April 3 (Reuters) - The Libyan government sent an envoy to Greece on Sunday to discuss an end to fighting, but gave no sign of any major climbdown in a war that has ground to a stalemate between rebels and forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi.

Libyan Deputy Foreign Minister Abdelati Obeidi flew to Athens carrying a personal message from Gaddafi to Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou that Libya wanted the fighting to end, a Greek government official told Reuters.

"It seems that the Libyan authorities are seeking a solution," Foreign Minister Dimitris Droutsas told reporters.

But there was no indication on what Tripoli might be ready to offer -- beyond a willingness to negotiate -- to end a war that has become bogged down on a frontline in the eastern oil town of Brega, while leaving civilians trapped by Gaddafi's forces in the west.

Underlining the plight of civilians in western Libya, a Turkish ship that sailed into the besieged city of Misrata to rescue some 250 wounded had to leave in a hurry after crowds pressed forward on the dockside hoping to escape.

"It's a very hard situation ... We had to leave early," said Turkish consular official Ali Akin after the ship stopped to pick up more wounded in the eastern rebel stronghold Benghazi.

Turkey's foreign minister ordered the ship into Misrata after it spent four days waiting in vain for permission to dock.

It arrived under cover from 10 Turkish air force F-16 fighter planes and two navy frigates, Akin told Reuters.

The U.N.-mandated military intervention that began on March 19 was meant to protect civilians caught up in fighting between Gaddafi's forces and the rebels.

STALEMATE IN BREGA

Neither Gaddafi's troops nor the disorganised rebel force have been able to gain the upper hand on the frontline in eastern Libya, despite Western air power in effect aiding the insurgents.

After chasing each other up and down the coastal road linking the oil ports of eastern Libya with Gaddafi's tribal heartland further west, both sides have become bogged down in Brega, a sparsely populated settlement spread over more than 25 km (15 miles).

Yet Western countries, wary of becoming too entangled in another war after campaigns in Afghanistan and Iraq, have ruled out sending ground troops to help the rebels.

The United States, which has handed over command of the operation to NATO, said it had agreed to extend the use of its strike aircraft into Monday because of poor weather last week.

But it has stressed its desire to end its own involvement in combat missions, and shift instead to a support role in areas such as surveillance, electronic warfare and refuelling.

The combination of stalemate on the frontline and the plight of civilians caught in fighting or facing food and fuel shortages has prompted a flurry of diplomatic contacts to find a way out.

Greece said Obeidi would travel to Malta and Turkey after his talks in Greece, which has enjoyed good relations with Gaddafi for a number of years.

Papandreou had been talking by phone with officials in Tripoli as well as the leaders of Qatar, Turkey and Britain over the last two days.

One diplomat cautioned, however, that any diplomatic compromise -- for example one in which Gaddafi handed over power to one of his sons -- could lead to the partition of Libya.

That was a possibility ruled out by western countries before the air strikes were launched.

"Various scenarios are being discussed," said the diplomat. "Everyone wants a quick solution."

The rebels, meanwhile, are working to impose discipline among the ranks of their many inexperienced volunteers in order to not only hold their positions but push forward.

If there were eventually to be a ceasefire leading to the partition of Libya, control of revenues from the oil ports, including Brega and Ras Lanuf to the west, would be crucial.

The rebels named a "crisis team" with Gaddafi's former interior minister as their armed forces chief of staff, and attempted to stiffen their enthusiastic but untrained volunteer army by putting professional soldiers at its head.

"We are reorganising our ranks. We have formed our first brigade. It is entirely formed from ex-military defectors and people who've come back from retirement," former air force major Jalid al-Libie told Reuters in Benghazi.

Outside Brega, better rebel discipline was already in evidence on Sunday. The volunteers, and journalists, were being several kilometres (miles) east of the front.

Without a backbone of regular forces, the lightly-armed volunteer caravan has spent days dashing back and forth along the coast road on Brega's outskirts, scrambling away in pick-ups when Gaddafi's forces attack with rockets.

SHELLING IN MISRATA

In the west, Gaddafi's forces continued to besiege Misrata, shelling a building that had been used to treat wounded, a resident said, killing one person and wounding more.

Misrata, Libya's third city, rose up with other towns against Gaddafi's rule in mid-February, but it is now surrounded by government troops after a violent crackdown put an end to most protests elsewhere in the west of the country.

"It is very, very bad. In my street, Gaddafi bombed us," said Ibrahim al-Aradi, 26, one of the evacuees on board the Turkish ship that brought the wounded from Misrata.

"We have no water, no electricity. We don't have medicine. There are snipers everywhere," he told Reuters.

After weeks of shelling and encirclement, Gaddafi's forces appear to be gradually loosening the rebels' hold on Misrata. Rebels say they still control the city centre and the port, but government troops are pressing in.

Accounts from Misrata cannot be independently verified because Libyan authorities are not allowing journalists to report freely from the city, 200 km (130 miles) east of Tripoli.

Gaddafi's troops are also mopping up resistance in the mountainous southwest of Tripoli.

Government forces shelled the small town of Yafran, southwest of the capital on Sunday, killing two people, Arabiya television reported, quoting a witness.

They also shelled the city of Zintan, about 160 km (100 miles) southwest of the capital, a resident said.

"Gaddafi's brigades bombarded Zintan with tanks in the early hours on Sunday. There has been random bombardment of the northern area (of Zintan). They are still besieging the town," the resident, called Abdulrahman, told Reuters. (Additional reporting by Renee Maltezou in Athens, Alexander Dziadosz in Brega, Angus MacSwan in Benghazi, Christian Lowe in Algiers, Tom Pfeiffer in Cairo, Joseph Nasr in Berlin, Justyna Pawlak in Brussels; Writing by Myra MacDonald; Editing by Kevin Liffey)

Intelligence on Libya rebels shows hints of Qaeda, Posted by Meosha Eaton

* Coalition still compiling picture of Libya opposition

* Rebels struggling against Gaddafi's loyalist troops (Adds Gaddafi on al Qaeda, paragraph 11; Levin on arming Libyan rebels, paragraphs 14-15)

By Missy Ryan and Susan Cornwell

WASHINGTON, March 29 (Reuters) - Intelligence on the rebel forces battling Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi has shown "flickers" of al Qaeda or Hezbollah presence but there is still no detailed picture of the emerging opposition, NATO's top operations commander said on Tuesday.

"We are examining very closely the content, composition, the personalities, who are the leaders of these opposition forces," Admiral James Stavridis, NATO's supreme allied commander for Europe and also commander of U.S. European Command, said during testimony at the U.S. Senate.

Gaddafi's troops on Tuesday reversed the westward charge of rebel forces as world powers met in London more than a week after the United States and other nations launched a military campaign aimed at protecting Libyan civilians.

While Stavridis said the opposition's leadership appeared to be "responsible men and women" fighting Gaddafi, he said that "we have seen flickers in the intelligence of potential al Qaeda, Hezbollah. We've seen different things."

"But at this point I don't have detail sufficient to say there is a significant al Qaeda presence or any other terrorist presence," he said.

The Pentagon says it is not communicating officially with the Libyan rebels.

U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice disagreed that al Qaeda was involved in the rebel movement.

"I would like to think I'm reading much of the same stuff and no," Rice told Fox News when asked whether she had seen any evidence to support Stavridis' assessment.

"I think we can't rule out the possibility that extremist elements could filter into any segment of Libyan society and it's something clearly we will watch carefully for," she added.

The United States has appointed veteran diplomat Chris Stevens as envoy to the Libyan rebels in Benghazi and expect him to go there soon to get a "clearer picture" of the rebel leadership, U.S. officials said. France has also dispatched an envoy to Benghazi, a diplomatic source said.

Gaddafi has said that al Qaeda sleeper cells were behind the uprising, that those opposed to his rule had been brainwashed by Osama bin Laden and that their milk and coffee had been spiked with hallucinogenic drugs.

'MORE CLARITY' NEEDED FOR EXIT PLAN

Stavridis' comments came a day after President Barack Obama made his case for action in Libya in a televised address to Americans, who are wary of another war with U.S. troops already in Afghanistan and Iraq.

While Obama has said Gaddafi should leave power, he stressed the military mission endorsed by the United Nations was limited to protecting civilians and enforcing a no-fly zone over Libya.

Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin said he believed the Obama administration was considering the pluses and minuses of arming the Libyan rebels. Levin said consensus with U.S. allies would be needed on the matter since NATO had agreed to take charge of the military mission in Libya.

"I believe he (Obama) will continue to weigh carefully the pros and cons of providing offensive arms such as heavy vehicles and artillery to the opposition," Levin said at the hearing where Stavridis was testifying.

Even as the rebels struggle against Gaddafi's better-armed, better-organized troops, Stavridis said the long-time Libyan leader was likely to go if the coalition brought a range of military power to bear against him.

"If we work all the elements of power, we have a more than reasonable chance of Gaddafi leaving, because the entire international community is arrayed against him," he said.

Senators' questions about the make-up of the Libyan opposition reflect skepticism in Congress about U.S. preparedness for the campaign. It also underscores worries about who might take over in Libya if Gaddafi does go.

"It's premature to say what is our exit strategy until we have a little more clarity moving forward," Stavridis said.

The Libya campaign has also intensified fears in Congress about the high cost of military activities overseas.

The war in Afghanistan costs the United States around $9 billion a month. Stavridis said the Libya mission had cost "hundreds of millions of dollars" so far. (Writing by Missy Ryan; Editing by John O'Callaghan, Deborah Charles and Eric Walsh)

Misrata rebels say under intense Libya attack, Posted by Meosha Eaton

* Rebels say pro-Gaddafi forces mount fierce attack

* Humanitarian situation is "catastrophic"

* British PM says Misrata suffering "murderous attacks"

(Adds new quote from rebels, more details)

By Hamid Ould Ahmed

ALGIERS, March 29 (Reuters) - Rebels in the Libyan city of Misrata said they had come under intense attack on Tuesday by forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi, and appealed to governments meeting in London to help them.

"Gaddafi's forces are launching intensive and vicious military campaigns against us in Misrata," rebel spokesman Mohamed said by satellite telephone. "They are determined to capture the city. Today was tough for the rebels."

Misrata, under siege for several weeks, is the last big rebel stronghold in western Libya. Some Western leaders cite it as proof that foreign military intervention must carry on if it is to protect civilian lives in the Libyan conflict.

Accounts from the city speak of bombardments killing dozens of people, sniper fire from rooftops, and food and water running out.

"The humanitarian situation is catastrophic. There is a shortage of food and medicine. The hospital is no longer able to deal with the situation," rebel spokesman Sami said.

Another rebel spokesman, Saadoun el Misrati, said a total of nine people had been killed on Tuesday. Rebels in the eastern city of Benghazi, their main stronghold, said 124 civilians had been killed in the past nine days in Misrata, a city of 300,000 people.

"Gaddafi's forces went into houses in Zawabi, which is near Tripoli street, and killed four brothers and two of their neighbours," Misrati said. "We are sure they have positioned snipers on the rooftops of these houses."


"MURDEROUS ATTACKS"

In London, where more than 40 governments and international bodies met to discuss Libya's future, British Prime Minister David Cameron said: "As I speak, people in Misrata continue to suffer murderous attacks from the regime."

Reports from Misrata, about 200 km (125 miles) east of the capital Tripoli, could not be independently verified because Libyan officials have not allowed journalists to work freely there.

Authorities in Tripoli say the insurgents are Islamist militants holding the population hostage.

The Al Jazeera news channel said that Qatar was sending ships to Misrata to evacuate Egyptians trapped there.

A Libyan doctor based in Britain who said he was in contact with people in Misrata urged Western governments to do more to protect the city's civilians from attack.

"The coalition force should stop this ongoing massacre," he said. "Either they are fully committed to protecting these civilians or should leave them to their destiny."

Western air strikes have targeted an air base near Misrata and some positions held by pro-Gaddafi forces.

Rebel spokesman Mohamed said the planes had bombed pro-government Gaddafi vessels near the port that had tried on Saturday night to land forces in Misrata.

But rebels say government troops have driven heavy armour into the city, making it difficult to hit them from the air. (Additional reporting by Michael Georgy in Tripoli, Joseph Nasr in Berlin and Miriam Karouny in Beirut; Writing by Adam Tanner; Editing by Kevin Liffey)

What happend to Libya, revisiting the pledge to remedy "backwardness,"

A look into the history of Libya from he November 17, 2010  Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs Country Profiles:


For most of their history, the peoples of Libya have been subjected to varying degrees of foreign control. The Phoenicians, Carthaginians, Greeks, Romans, Vandals, and Byzantines ruled all or parts of Libya. Although the Greeks and Romans left impressive ruins at Cyrene, Leptis Magna, and Sabratha, little else remains today to testify to the presence of these ancient cultures.

The Arabs conquered Libya in the seventh century A.D. In the following centuries, most of the indigenous peoples adopted Islam and the Arabic language and culture. The Ottoman Turks conquered the country in the mid-16th century. Libya remained part of their empire, although at times virtually autonomous, until Italy invaded in 1911 and, in the face of years of resistance, made Libya a colony.

In 1934, Italy adopted the name "Libya" (used by the Greeks for all of North Africa, except Egypt) as the official name of the colony, which consisted of the Provinces of Cyrenaica, Tripolitania, and Fezzan. King Idris I, Emir of Cyrenaica, led Libyan resistance to Italian occupation between the two world wars. Allied forces removed Axis powers from Libya in February 1943. Tripolitania and Cyrenaica came under separate British administration, while the French controlled Fezzan. In 1944, Idris returned from exile in Cairo but declined to resume permanent residence in Cyrenaica until the removal in 1947 of some aspects of foreign control. Under the terms of the 1947 peace treaty with the Allies, Italy relinquished all claims to Libya.

On November 21, 1949, the UN General Assembly passed a resolution stating that Libya should become independent before January 1, 1952. King Idris I represented Libya in the subsequent UN negotiations. When Libya declared its independence on December 24, 1951, it was the first country to achieve independence through the United Nations and one of the first former European possessions in Africa to gain independence. Libya was proclaimed a constitutional and a hereditary monarchy under King Idris.

The discovery of significant oil reserves in 1959 and the subsequent income from petroleum sales enabled what had been one of the world's poorest countries to become extremely wealthy, as measured by per capita GDP. Although oil drastically improved Libya's finances, popular resentment grew as wealth was increasingly concentrated in the hands of the elite. This discontent continued to mount with the rise throughout the Arab world of Nasserism and the idea of Arab unity.

On September 1, 1969, a small group of military officers led by then 28-year-old army officer Mu'ammar Abu Minyar al-Qadhafi staged a coup d'état against King Idris, who was subsequently exiled to Egypt. The new regime, headed by the Revolutionary Command Council (RCC), abolished the monarchy and proclaimed the new Libyan Arab Republic. Qadhafi emerged as leader of the RCC and eventually as de facto head of state, a political role he still plays. The Libyan Government asserts that Qadhafi currently holds no official position, although he is referred to in government statements and the official press as the "Brother Leader and Guide of the Revolution," among other honorifics.

The new RCC's motto became "freedom, socialism, and unity." It pledged itself to remedy "backwardness," take an active role in the Palestinian cause, promote Arab unity, and encourage domestic policies based on social justice, non-exploitation, and an equitable distribution of wealth.

An early objective of the new government was withdrawal of all foreign military installations from Libya. Following negotiations, British military installations at Tobruk and nearby El Adem were closed in March 1970, and U.S. facilities at Wheelus Air Force Base near Tripoli were closed in June 1970. That July, the Libyan Government ordered the expulsion of several thousand Italian residents. By 1971, libraries and cultural centers operated by foreign governments were ordered closed.

In the 1970s, Libya claimed leadership of Arab and African revolutionary forces and sought active roles in international organizations. Late in the 1970s, Libyan embassies were re-designated as "people's bureaus," as Qadhafi sought to portray Libyan foreign policy as an expression of the popular will. The people's bureaus, aided by Libyan religious, political, educational, and business institutions overseas, attempted to export Qadhafi's revolutionary philosophy abroad.

Qadhafi's confrontational foreign policies and use of terrorism, as well as Libya's growing friendship with the U.S.S.R., led to increased tensions with the West in the 1980s. Following a terrorist bombing at a discotheque in West Berlin frequented by American military personnel, in 1986 the U.S. retaliated militarily against targets in Libya, and imposed broad unilateral economic sanctions.

After Libya was implicated in the 1988 bombing of Pan Am flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, UN sanctions were imposed in 1992. UN Security Council resolutions (UNSCRs) passed in 1992 and 1993 obliged Libya to fulfill requirements related to the Pan Am 103 bombing before sanctions could be lifted. Qadhafi initially refused to comply with these requirements, leading to Libya's political and economic isolation for most of the 1990s.

In 1999, Libya fulfilled one of the UNSCR requirements by surrendering two Libyans who were suspected to have been involved with the bombing for trial before a Scottish court in the Netherlands. One of these suspects, Abdel Basset al-Megrahi, was found guilty; the other was acquitted. Al-Megrahi's conviction was upheld on appeal in 2002. On August 19, 2009, al-Megrahi was released from Scottish prison on compassionate grounds due to a terminal illness and returned to Libya. In August 2003, Libya fulfilled the remaining UNSCR requirements, including acceptance of responsibility for the actions of its officials and payment of appropriate compensation to the victims' families. UN sanctions were lifted on September 12, 2003. U.S. International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA)-based sanctions were lifted September 20, 2004.

On December 19, 2003, Libya publicly announced its intention to rid itself of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR)-class missile programs. Since that time, Libya has cooperated with the U.S., the U.K., the International Atomic Energy Agency, and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons toward these objectives. Libya has also signed the IAEA Additional Protocol and has become a State Party to the Chemical Weapons Convention. These were important steps toward full diplomatic relations between the U.S. and Libya.

Libya rebels advance, Russia criticises airstrikes, POSTED BY MEOSHA EATON

REBELS RATHER SEE GADDAFI DEAD.....,


* Gaddafi's birthplace Sirte is rebels' next target

* Russia says intervening on rebel side breaches U.N. terms

* Qatar recognises rebels as representatives of Libya

(Updates situation in Sirte)

By Angus MacSwan

BIN JAWAD, Libya, March 28 (Reuters) - Rebels advanced towards the birthplace of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi on Monday, streaming west along the the main coastal road in pick-up trucks mounted with machineguns.

Russia criticised the Western-led air strikes that have turned the tide of Libya's conflict, saying these amounted to taking sides in a civil war and breached the terms of a United Nations Security Council resolution.

Qatar became the first Arab country to recognise the rebels -- now in the sixth week of their uprising against Gaddafi's 41-year rule -- as the sole legitimate representative of the Libyan people.

Al Jazeera said the rebels had seized the town of Nawfaliyah from forces loyal to Gaddafi, extending their advance westwards towards his hometown of Sirte, about 120 km (75 miles) away.

Emboldened by the Western-led air strikes against Gaddafi's forces, the rebels have quickly reversed earlier losses and regained control of all the main oil terminals in the east of the OPEC member country.

"We want to go to Sirte today. I don't know if it will happen," said 25-year-old rebel fighter Marjai Agouri as he waited with 100 others outside Bin Jawad with three multiple rocket launchers, six anti-aircraft guns and around a dozen pick-up trucks with machineguns mounted on them.

A Reuters correspondent who was about 15 km (10 miles) west of Bin Jawad on the road to Nawfaliyah heard a sustained bombardment on the road ahead.

"This is the frontline. The army has stopped over there, we are stopping here," Mohammed al-Turki, 21, a fighter at a rebel checkpoint, told Reuters, pointing to the road ahead where the sounds of blasts were coming from.

Western-led air strikes began on March 19, two days after the U.N. Security Council authorised "all necessary measures" to protect civilians from Gaddafi's forces. But since the outset, the mission has faced questions from critics about its scope and aims, including the extent to which it will actively back the rebel side and whether it might target Gaddafi himself.

Russia, which abstained in the U.N. vote, said Western attacks on Gaddafi's forces amounted to taking sides with the rebels.

"We consider that intervention by the coalition in what is essentially an internal civil war is not sanctioned by the U.N. Security Council resolution," Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told a news conference.

Russian oil company Tatneft is expected to book $100 million of losses on capital expenditure in Libya as a result of the conflict, a company source told Reuters.

NATO chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen told the BBC: "We are there to protect civilians -- no more, no less."

Contradicting a rebel claim to have captured Sirte, Reuters correspondent Michael Georgy reported from the city that the situation was normal. He had seen some police and military, but no signs of any fighting.

Soldiers were manning checkpoints and green Libyan flags flapped in the wind. Militiamen fired AK-47 rifles defiantly into the air. "If they come to Sirte, we will defend our city," said Osama bin Nafaa, 32, a policeman.

As Gaddafi's hometown and an important military base, Sirte -- about half-way along the coast from the rebel stronghold of Benghazi to Tripoli -- has great symbolic and strategic value.. If it fell, the rebels would gain a psychological boost and the road towards the capital would lie open.

As the rebels pressed forward in the east, they reported attacks by Gaddafi's forces in the west. One rebel spokesman told Al Jazeera that loyalist forces bombarded the rebel-held city of Misrata again on Monday, and snipers were on rooftops. Another told Al Arabiya television that eight people had been killed and more than 24 injured in clashes.

A rebel spokesman in another western town, Zintan, said forces loyal to Gaddafi bombarded the town with rockets early on Monday, Al Jazeera reported.

Libya's state news agency Jana said Western forces bombed the southern city of Sabha at dawn on Monday, leading to several casualties.

TRIPOLI BLASTS

At least six blasts resonated in Tripoli on Sunday night, followed by long bursts of anti-aircraft fire by Libyan forces. Libyan television said there had been air strikes on the "civilian and military areas" in the capital.

Libyan state TV broadcast what it said was live footage of Gaddafi in a car in his Tripoli compound where hundreds of supporters waved green flags and chanted slogans. Gaddafi could not be seen in the white car but the TV said he was in it.

On Sunday, NATO agreed to take full command of military operations in Libya after a week of heated negotiations, officials said. The United States, which led the initial phase, had sought to scale back its role in another Muslim country after the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Western air strikes had "eliminated" Gaddafi's ability to move his heavy weapons.

Gates also raised the possibility that Gaddafi's government could splinter and said an international conference in London on Tuesday would discuss political strategies to help bring an end to Gaddafi's rule.

Libya accused NATO of "terrorising" and killing its people as part of a global plot to humiliate and weaken the North African country.

The government says Western-led air attacks have killed more than 100 civilians, a charge denied by the coalition which says it is protecting civilians from Gaddafi's forces and targeting only military sites to enforce the no-fly zone.

"The terror people live in, the fear, the tension is everywhere. And these are civilians who are being terrorised every day," said Mussa Ibrahim, a Libyan government spokesman.

"We believe the unnecessary continuation of the air strikes is a plan to put the Libyan government in a weak negotiating position. NATO is prepared to kill people, destroy army training camps and army checkpoints and other locations."

Britain's Guardian newspaper quoted Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan as saying his country was ready to act as mediator and broker an early ceasefire.

Erdogan said if the parties to the conflict requested Turkey to mediate, "we will take steps to do that" within the framework of NATO, the Arab League and the African Union. (Additional reporting by Alexander Dziadosz, Edmund Blair, Maria Golovnina, Michael Georgy, Ibon Villelabeitia, Tom Pfeiffer, Lamine Chikhi, Mariam Karouny, Joseph Nasr, Marie-Louise Gumuchian, David Brunnstrom and Arshad Mohammed; Writing by Mark Trevelyan; Editing by Giles Elgood)

Some Libyan army trucks, families seen leaving Sirte, Posted by Meosha Eaton

NEAR SIRTE, Libya, March 27 (Reuters) - A convoy of 20 military vehicles including truck-mounted anti-aircraft guns was seen leaving Muammar Gaddafi's stronghold of Sirte on Sunday and moving westwards towards Tripoli, a Reuters reporter said.

Dozens of civilian cars carrying families and loaded with people's belongings were also seen driving westwards along the coastal road from the city of Sirte towards the Libyan capital.

Libyan rebels, emboldened by the capture of Ajdabiyah to the east of Sirte, have been aggressively pushing west on Sunday to retake more territory from Gaddafi's forces. (Reporting by Michael Georgy, Writing by Maria Golovnina)

Center Puts Cost of No-Fly Zone at $300m Weekly, Posted by Meosha Eaton

By Williams Ekanem for MACTV NEWS

The Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, in an analysis this month, estimated that the Libyan no-fly zone could cost $100 million to $300 million per week.

In a classified briefing for congressional staff Tuesday, officials from the State Department, Pentagon and Treasury were pressed on the cost. They declined to address the issue.

Rep. Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio, said he would offer an amendment to the next budget resolution that would prohibit taxpayer dollars from being used to fund U.S. military operations in Libya. His effort could gain significant congressional support, including the backing of tea partiers, if the U.S. military operation is going full-bore when lawmakers return from their recess next week.

"We have already spent trillions of dollars on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, both of which descended into unwinnable quagmires," Kucinich wrote his colleagues. "Now, the president is plunging the United States into yet another war we cannot afford."

The government already is operating on a series of stopgap spending bills for the current fiscal year amid the clamor to cut the budget, including defense dollars. The Pentagon has requested $553 billion for the fiscal year that begins Oct. 1, plus $118 billion in war costs for Iraq and Afghanistan.

"The Pentagon really needs to do this on the cheap," said Loren Thompson, head of the Virginia-based Lexington Institute and adviser to several major defense contractors. "If someone suggests more money to do the Libyan operation, most voters would say, 'Let's not do the Libyan operation.'
As of Tuesday, the coalition had fired at least 162 sea-launched Tomahawk missiles priced at $1 million to $1.5 million apiece and dispatched B-2 stealth bombers — round-trip from Missouri — to drop 2,000-pound bombs on Libyan sites.

Total flying time: 25 hours. Operating cost for one hour: at least $10,000.

Yet those numbers only provide part of the costs. The B-2 bombers require expensive fuel — and rely on air tankers to refuel in flight — and probably needed parts replaced upon their return to Whiteman Air Force Base. The pilots most certainly will get combat pay.

An array of U.S. warplanes; 11 ships steaming in the Mediterranean, including three submarines, two destroyers and two amphibious ships; and one F-15 fighter jet that crashed, costing $75 million or more — it all adds up to numbers that unnerve budget-conscious lawmakers.

"Every six hours we have another billion-dollar deficit," said Rep. Roscoe Bartlett, R-Md., a member of the House Armed Services Committee. "This could cost us a billion dollars there, which means simply another billion-dollar debt that our kids, our grandkids and our great-grandkids are going to have to pay back."

West strikes Libya forces, NATO sees 90-day campaign, Posted by Meosha Eaton

* Western planes hit ground targets

* NATO planners assume 90-day campaign

* Libya suffering fuel shortage

* Sudan allows overflights for no fly zone-envoys

(Adds rebel strike on Ajdabiyah, quote)

By Maria Golovnina and Michael Georgy

TRIPOLI, March 25 (Reuters) - Western warplanes bombed Muammar Gaddafi's armour in eastern Libya on Friday to try to break a battlefield stalemate and help rebels take the strategic town of Ajdabiyah.

The African Union said it was planning to facilitate talks to help end war in the oil producing country. But NATO said its no-fly zone operation could last three months, and France cautioned the conflict would not end soon.

In Washington, a U.S. military spokeswoman said the coalition fired 16 Tomahawk cruise missiles and flew 153 air sorties in the past 24 hours targeting Gaddafi's artillery, mechanized forces and command and control infrastructure.

Western governments hope the raids, launched on Saturday with the aim of protecting civilians, will shift the balance of power in favour of the Arab world's most violent popular revolt.

In Tripoli, residents reported another air raid just before dawn, hearing the roar of a warplane, followed by a distant explosion and bursts of anti-aircraft gunfire.

Rebel forces massing for an attack on the strategically important town of Ajdabiyah fired steady bursts of artillery at army positions after Gaddafi's forces refused a ceasefire offer.

Opposition forces on the road to Ajdabiyah seemed more organised than in recent days, when their disarray stirred doubts about their ability to challenge Gaddafi.

They had set up road blocks at regular intervals and Reuters counted at least four truck-based rocket launchers -- heavier weaponry than had been seen earlier this week.

Winning back Ajdabiyah would be the biggest victory for the eastern rebels since their initial push westwards went into reverse two weeks ago and the better equipped Gaddafi forces drove them back towards the rebel stronghold of Benghazi.

It would also suggest that allied airstrikes are could be capable of helping rebel fighters topple Gaddafi.

NOT DAYS, WEEKS

At African Union headquarters in Addis Ababa, AU commission chairman Jean Ping said it was planning to facilitate talks to help end the conflict in a process that should end with democratic elections.

It was the first statement by the AU, which had rejected any form of foreign intervention in the Libya crisis, since the U.N. Security Council imposed a no-fly zone last week and air strikes began on Libyan military targets.

But in Brussels, a NATO official said planning for NATO's no-fly operation assumed a mission lasting 90 days, although this could be extended or shortened as required.

France said the war could drag on for weeks.

"I doubt that it will be days," Admiral Edouard Guillaud, the head of French armed forces, told France Info radio. "I think it will be weeks. I hope it will not take months."

Guillaud said a French plane destroyed an army artillery battery near the eastern frontline town of Ajdabiyah, 150 km (90 miles) south of Benghazi. Ajdabiyah is strategically important for both sides as it commands the coastal highway to the west.

In London, the Ministry of Defence said British Tornado aircraft had also been active there, firing missiles overnight at Libyan military vehicles threatening civilians.

Later in the afternoon, Western warplanes were again active over Ajdabiyah and a Reuters correspondent close to the town heard three large explosions and large plumes of black smoke rising above the eastern entrance to the town.

A rocket apparently fired from rebel positions then hit the eastern gate, sending a fireball into the sky.

"The eastern gate has fallen and we are sending a team to check before moving forward," rebel Colonel Hamad al-Hasi told Reuters near the town.

In the eastern rebel bastion of Benghazi, rebel spokesman Mustafa Gheriani said he expected Ajdabiyah to fall on Friday or Saturday following the overnight British and French strikes.

"This (the strikes) will weaken their forces and more importantly their morale," he said, adding the level of Western strikes was "sufficient. We feel safe under their protection".

Simon Brooks, head of the International Committee of the Red Cross operations in eastern Libya, reported big population movements from the Ajdabiyah area because of the fighting.

The ICRC was sending 700 tents to the area of Ajdabiyah to help displaced people, he said. In Ajdabiyah, the hospital "is obviously very close to where the fighting is going on. It is extremely difficult for people to get access to the hospital."

Officials and rebels said aid organisations were able to deliver some supplies to the western city of Misrata but were concerned because of government snipers in the city centre.

NATO said on Thursday after four days of tough negotiations that it would enforce the no-fly zone but stopped short of taking full command of U.N.-backed military operations to protect civilians from forces loyal to Gaddafi.

SUDAN SAID TO SUPPORT NO FLY ZONE

Differences over the scope the U.N. resolution gave for military action against Gaddafi's army led to days of heated arguments within NATO about its role in the operation.

The United States, embroiled in Iraq and Afghanistan, is keen to step back and play a supporting role in Libya in order to preserve alliance unity and maintain the support of Muslim countries for the U.N.-mandated intervention.

Despite the apparently cumbersome structure of the planned new command and Arab jitters on the use of force, the operation continues to receive support from beyond Western ranks.

The United Arab Emirates said it would send 12 planes to take part in operations to enforce the no-fly zone.

Qatar has already contributed two fighters and two military transport planes to help enforce the no-fly zone.

Western jets pounded targets in southern Libya on Thursday but failed to prevent government tanks re-entering Misrata, whose main hospital was besieged by government snipers.

In Tripoli, a Libyan energy official said on Thursday Libya was short of fuel and needs to import more, but a ship with fuel now bound for Tripoli may be stopped by Western forces.

Officials and hospital workers said civilians, including women, were among those killed in the latest Western air strikes in the Libyan capital. There was no way to independently verify the report. (Reporting by Mohammed Abbas and Angus MacSwan in Benghazi, Hamid Ould Ahmed and Christian Lowe in Algiers, Tom Perry in Cairo, David Brunnstrom in Brussels, Phil Stewart in Moscow, Andrew Quinn in Washington, Catherine Bremer, Emmanuel Jarry and Yves Clarisse in Paris, Rosalba O'Brien in London; Writing by William Maclean and Jon Hemming; Editing by Giles Elgood)

No reports of Libyan civilian casualties- US admiral, Posted by Meosha Eaton

WASHINGTON, March 23 (Reuters) - A top U.S. military officer involved in enforcing the U.N.-backed no-fly zone over Libya said on Wednesday he had no reports of civilian casualties caused by coalition forces.

"There have been no reports of civilian casualties. Our mission here is to protect the civilian populace and we choose our targets and plan our actions with that as a top priority," Rear Admiral Gerard Hueber told reporters by phone from the command ship USS Mount Whitney in the Mediterranean.
(Editing by Sandra Maler)

Gaddafi forces shell rebel town of Zintan:resident, Posted by Meosha Eaton

ALGIERS, March 23 (Reuters) - Forces loyal to Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi have resumed their bombardment of the rebel-held town of Zintan, about 90 km (55 miles) south-west of the capital, a resident said. "Gaddafi's brigades started bombardment from the northern area half an hour ago. The bombardment is taking place now. The town is completely surrounded. The situation is very bad," the resident, Abdulrahman, told Reuters by telephone from the town.

"They are getting reinforcements. Troops backed with tanks and vehicles are coming. We appeal to the allied forces to come and protect civilians," he said. (Reporting by Hamid Ould Ahmed; Writing by Christian Lowe; Editing by Louise Ireland)

Gaddafi attacks rebel towns, U.S. plane down, Posted by Meosha Eaton

* Residents in Misrata, Zintan say attacked

* NATO meets to discuss assault's command structure

* U.S. warplane crashes, crew rescued

* Analysts see stalemate as rebel army stalls

(Adds quotes from battlefield in east Libya, NATO meets)

By Maria Golovnina and Michael Georgy

TRIPOLI, March 22 (Reuters) - Muammar Gaddafi's forces attacked two west Libyan towns, killing dozens while rebels were pinned down in the east and NATO tried to resolve a heated row over who should lead the Western air campaign.

With anti-Gaddafi rebels struggling to create a command structure than can capitalise on the air strikes against Libyan tanks and air defences, Western nations have still to decide who will take over command once Washington pulls back.

The United States will cede control in days, President Barack Obama said, even as divisions in Europe fuelled speculation that Washington would be forced to retain leadership of air patrols that will replace the initial bombardment.

"We anticipate this transition to take place in a matter of days and not in a matter of weeks," Obama, facing questions at home about the U.S. military getting bogged down in a third Muslim country, told a news conference on a visit to Chile.

In the first apparent air force casualty of the campaign, a U.S. F-15E crashed in Libya overnight and its two crew members were rescued, the U.S. military said. The crash was likely caused by mechanical failure and not hostile fire, it said.

In the latest fighting on Tuesday, Gaddafi's tanks shelled the rebel-held western city of Misrata and casualties included four children killed when their car was hit, residents said, adding the death toll for Monday had reached 40.

"The bombardment is focused on the town centre, and what is going on in Misrata is a massacre," Saadoun, a spokesman for the rebels in Misrata, told Al Jazeera. "The bombardment continues."

"The situation here is very bad. Tanks started shelling the town this morning," a resident, called Mohammed, told Reuters by telephone from outside the city's hospital, adding: "Snipers are taking part in the operation too. A civilian car was destroyed killing four children on board, the oldest is aged 13 years."

REBELS PINNED DOWN IN EAST

Al Jazeera news network said Gaddafi forces were trying to seize the western rebel-held town of Zintan near the Tunisian border in an attack using heavy weapons. Residents had already fled the town centre to seek shelter in mountain caves.

Rebels in east Libya were positioned just outside Ajdabiyah on Tuesday, making no further advance on the strategic town despite a third night of Western air strikes on the north African oil-producing state.

At the frontline in the desert scrub about 5 km (3 miles) outside the town located at the gateway to the rebel-held east, rebels said air strikes were helping cripple Gaddafi's heavy armour. But there was no sign of a swift drive forward.

When asked why rebel units had not advanced towards their objective, which is the eventual taking of Tripoli, Ahmed al-Aroufi, a rebel fighter at the frontline, told Reuters: "Gaddafi has tanks and trucks with missiles."

Commenting on the air campaign to protect civilians in this uprising against Gaddafi's 41-year rule, Aroufi said:

"We don't depend on anyone but God, not France or America. We started this revolution without them through the sweat of our own brow, and that is how we will finish it."

Echoing rebel opposition to any intervention by foreign ground forces, he said: "We need the no-fly zone for them to strike the heavy armour. But if they bring land forces we will leave Gaddafi alone and they will be our new target."

Washington, wary of being drawn into another war after long campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan, has ruled out specific action to overthrow Gaddafi, though France said on Monday it hoped the Libyan government would collapse from within.

Obama did not spell out which nation or organisation would take charge of the campaign, but Britain and France took a lead role in pushing for air strikes in Libya which have already destroyed much of its air defences.

NATO TALKS "EMOTIONAL"

British Prime Minister David Cameron said the intention was to transfer command to NATO, but France said Arab countries did not want the U.S.-led alliance in charge of the operation.

NATO officials resumed talks in Brussels on Tuesday after failing to reach agreement at heated talks on Monday.

Some allies were now questioning whether a no-fly zone was necessary, given the damage already done by air strikes to Gaddafi's military capabilities, a NATO diplomat said.

"Yesterday's meeting became a little bit emotional," the NATO envoy said, adding that France had argued that the coalition led by France, Britain and the United States should retain political control of the mission, with NATO providing operational support, including command-and-control capabilities.

"Others are saying NATO should have command or no role at all and that it doesn't make sense for NATO to play a subsidiary role," the diplomat said.

Underlining the differences in the anti-Gaddafi coalition, Italy's Foreign Minister Franco Frattini said if agreement was not reached on a NATO command, Italy would resume control of the seven airbases it has made available to allied air forces.

A NATO role would require political support from all the 28 states. Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan, whose country is a NATO member, said on Tuesday that the United Nations should be the umbrella for a solely humanitarian operation in Libya.

In a speech to deputies from his ruling AK Party in parliament Erdogan said: "Turkey will never ever be a side pointing weapons at the Libyan people."

Andrew Bacevich, a professor of international relations at Boston University, said it would be difficult to stand up a multinational command structure "on the fly."

"If that's what's being attempted then the hand-off may take longer than the Obama administration would like," he said.

Rifts are also growing in the world community over the resolution, with Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin comparing the U.N. mandate a call for "medieval crusades". China and Brazil urged a ceasefire amid fears of civilian casualties.

ARCHIVE FOOTAGE OF GADDAFI

Libyan television was showing archive footage of Gaddafi being greeted by cheering crowds waving his portrait. The images were set to stirring patriotic music. Gaddafi himself has not been since in public since the air strikes began at the weekend.

State television was also broadcasting old footage of military parades, including pictures of elite troops marching in formation wearing balaclavas and gas masks.

Several sites in Tripoli had been subject to new attacks by what it called the "crusader enemy", state television said. "These attacks are not going to scare the Libyan people."

The United States and its allies have run into some criticism for the intensity of the firepower unleashed on Libya, including more than 110 Tomahawk missiles on Saturday. The next step is to patrol the skies to enforce the no-fly zone.

Security analysts say it is unclear what will happen if the Libyan leader digs in, especially since Western powers have made clear they would be unwilling to see Libya partitioned between a rebel-held east and Gaddafi-controlled west. (Reporting by Mohammed Abbas and Angus MacSwan in Benghazi, Maria Golovnina and Michael Georgy in Tripoli, Hamid Ould Ahmed and Christian Lowe in Algiers, Tom Perry in Cairo; David Brunnstrom in Brussels; Writing by Peter Millership; Editing by Giles Elgood)

Rebels wary of Gaddafi forces near east Libya town, Posted by Meosha Eaton

* Rebels were driven back before Western air strikes

* Air strikes help cripple Gaddafi's heavy armour

* Rebel forces depend on pick-ups with maching guns

By Mohammed Abbas and Angus MacSwan

NEAR AJDABIYAH, Libya, March 22 (Reuters) - Rebels in east Libya outside Ajdabiyah were not advancing on the strategic town on Tuesday because heavily armed troops loyal to Muammar Gaddafi could still overhelm them despite Western air strikes.

Rebels at the frontline about 5 km (3 miles) outside the town located at the gateway to the rebel-held east said three nights of air strikes were helping cripple Gaddafi's heavy armour, but his forces were still a potent threat.

"Gaddafi has tanks and trucks with missiles," said Ahmed al-Aroufi, a rebel fighter at the frontline.

The rebel forces had been driven as far back as their headquarters in Benghazi by Gaddafi's warplanes, tanks and artillery before U.N.-air strikes were launched on Saturday by France, Britain, the United States and others in a coalition.

"We need the no-fly zone for them to strike the heavy armour," he said, adding a warning against any more direct intervention.

"If they bring land forces we will leave Gaddafi alone and they will be our new target," Aroufi said, echoing rebel opposition to any involvement of foreign ground forces.

"We don't depend on anyone but God, not France or America. We started this revolution without them through the sweat of our own brow, and that is how we will finish it."

There have been signs of tensions at the front as rebels have failed to make swift progress. There is no obvious sign of a clear command structure to guide what is mostly a rag-tag force of enthusiastic but inexperienced fighters.

Overhearing Aroufi speaking to the Reuters media team, another rebel nearby, Rashad Shaafi, said: "If you want to attack, go and flank them, or do you just want to pose for the cameras?"

Gaddafi's burned out tanks, armoured personnel carriers and other vehicles destroyed by Western warplanes litter the road that his forces used on their advance on Benghazi, where the rebels have their headquarters.

Rebels say strikes halted that offensive but they also say the Libyan leader has plenty more equipment to use against their forces which rely largely on 4x4 pick ups mounted with machine guns, rocket propelled grenade launchers and other light arms.

There was no obvious sign of rebel heavy equipment at the front on Monday, although in past days and weeks rebels have been seen with a few tanks and other heavier equipment. (Writing by Edmund Blair in Cairo; Editing by Matthew Jones)

West trying to avoid Libya civilian deaths-Gates, Posted by Meosha Eaton

MOSCOW, March 22 (Reuters) - The Western coalition carrying out air strikes in Libya is trying to avoid civilian casualties and is targeting air defences in sparsely populated areas, U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said on Tuesday.

"The coalition is going to great lengths to avoid civilian casualties and most of the targets are air defense targets isolated from populated areas," Gates said in Moscow where he met Russian Defence Minister Anatoly Serdyukov.

"I also told him that I thought the significant military fighting that has been going on should recede in the next few days," Gates said.

Serdyukov condemned civilian deaths in Libya. (Reporting by Phil Stewart, writing by Guy Faulconbridge, editing by Steve Gutterman)

Divided NATO tries again to define Libya role, Posted by Meosha Eaton

* NATO split on French, Turkish demands

* U.S. wants to step back from leadership within days

By David Brunnstrom

BRUSSELS, March 22 (Reuters) - NATO tried again on Tuesday to resolve a fractious debate on who should command the military campaign in Libya once the United States steps back from leading the operation.

President Barack Obama, seeking to avoid getting bogged down in a war in another Muslim country, said on Monday Washington would cede control of operations against Muammar Gaddafi's forces within days and NATO would have a coordinating role.

But a heated meeting of NATO ambassadors on Monday failed to resolve whether the 28-nation alliance should run the operation to enforce a U.N.-mandated no-fly zone, diplomats said. The NATO council was meeting again on Tuesday to resume debate.

France, which launched the initial air strikes on Libya on Saturday, has argued against giving the U.S.-led NATO political control over an operation in an Arab country, while Turkey has called for limits to any alliance involvement.

Some allies were also now questioning whether a no-fly zone was necessary, given the damage already done by air strikes to Gaddafi's military capabilities, a NATO diplomat said.

"Yesterday's meeting became a little bit emotional," the envoy said, adding that France had argued that the coalition led by France, Britain and the United States should retain political control of the mission, with NATO providing operational support, including command-and-control capabilities.

"Others are saying NATO should have command or no role at all and that it doesn't make sense for NATO to play a subsidiary role," the diplomat said.

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu suggested that air strikes launched after a meeting in Paris hosted by France on Saturday had gone beyond what had been sanctioned by a U.N. Security Council resolution. [ID:LDE72L0JR]

"There are U.N. decisions and these decisions clearly have a defined framework. A NATO operation which goes outside this framework cannot be legitimised," he told news channel CNN Turk.

ITALIAN WARNING ON BASES

Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini reiterated a warning that Italy would take back control of airbases it has authorised for use by allies for operations over Libya unless a NATO coordination structure was agreed. [ID:RMELEE7IO]

U.S. Defence Secretary Robert Gates has said Britain or France could take charge of the air operation, or NATO could lead it, if sensitivities in the Arab League over working under NATO leadership were assuaged. [ID:nN20241921]

However, some analysts and NATO officials question whether France or Britain would be capable of coordinating a complex multinational air mission.

British Prime Minister David Cameron said on Monday that NATO should take charge of a no-fly zone, given its "tried and tested machinery in command and control". [ID: nHOC002230].

In arguing against a prominent NATO role, France has cited the alliance's poor reputation in the Arab world as a result of the war in Afghanistan and the perception that NATO is dominated by the United States.

Senior French analyst Francois Heisbourg said the best outcome would be to have NATO handle military coordination but hand political decisions to an ad hoc council of states participating in the coalition, including Arab countries.

Italy should be given an equal role with France and Britain because of its geographical location, interests in Libya and the key role of its air bases, he said.

"If Turkey sticks to its line, that would rule out a NATO role either politically and militarily," Heisbourg told Reuters. "If it lifts its objection, France would favour having NATO do the operational military coordination but not the political conduct of operations."

The nations leading the air campaign are all prominent NATO states, but NATO's operational role has so far been limited to expanded air surveillance.

Italian officials have described the current three-way command structure involving France, Britain and the United States and the resulting bombing campaign as "anarchic".

Italy's position reflects evident Italian annoyance with the attitude of French President Nicolas Sarkozy, who led the diplomatic drive for the Security Council resolution.

Gianpiero Cantoni, head of the Italian Senate's defence affairs committee, was quoted in the Corriere della Sera daily as saying that French policy appeared to be motivated by a desire to secure oil contracts with a future Libyan government, while Italy would have to face a potential flood of refugees.

On Monday, Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi said the mission should be limited to creating a no-fly zone and that Italian planes taking part would not open fire.

(editing by Paul Taylor)

Italy tug zig-zagging along Libya coast - operator, Posted by Meosha Eaton

* Offshore supply vessel heading northwest towards Mellitah

* Pro-Gaddafi military personnel are on board with crew

ROME, March 21 (Reuters) - An Italian tugboat, held for nearly 24 hours in Tripoli, is zig-zagging northwest along the Libyan coast with pro-Gaddafi military personnel on board, its operator said on Monday.

The offshore supply vessel, crewed by 8 Italians, two Indians and a Ukrainian was detained in Libya at around 1600 GMT on Saturday, shortly before French aircraft fired the first shots against forces loyal to Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.

The vessel left Tripoli at around 1300 GMT on Sunday with its crew along with members of Libya's armed forces aboard and its destination was unknown, said a spokesman from Augusta Offshore, operator and manager of the ship. "It left the port (of Tripoli) and it is navigating between Mellitah and Tripoli," the spokesman said.

"We are not quite sure where it is or where it is going. But obviously the Italian foreign ministry is involved in trying to negotiate the release of the ship," he said. "We know Libyan military personnel are on board."

Defence Minister Ignazio La Russa told Italian television that the crew was still aboard the the vessel, which had been engaged for a Libyan client of Italian oil group Eni.

"It's heading west but we don't really know where it's going because it's zig-zagging along and there are armed Libyan soldiers aboard," he told Canale 5 television. (Reporting by Jonathan Saul and James Mackenzie; Editing by Louise Ireland)