NATO said Tuesday that allied air strikes have destroyed nearly a third of Libya's military capacity, and the alliance has made the defence of the besieged city of Misrata a priority.
NATO said Tuesday that allied air strikes have destroyed nearly a third
of
Libya
's
military capacity, and the alliance has made the defence of the besieged city
of
Misrata
a
priority.
"We have taken out 30 percent of the military capacity of pro-Gadhafi
forces," said Brigadier General Mark van Uhm, citing an assessment by the
Libya
operation's commander, Lieutenant General Charles Bouchard.
Van Uhm, NATO's chief of allied operations, told reporters that the pace of
strikes has not slowed since NATO took command of bombing operations from a
US-led coalition last Thursday on a U.N. mandate to protect civilians since
March 19.
He said NATO warplanes conducted 14 strikes on Monday alone, including "a
number" that hit air defence systems, tanks and armoured vehicles in the
area of Misrata, where rebels are holding out under siege from Gadhafi forces.
"Misrata is a number one priority because of the situation on the ground
over there," van Uhm said.
"We have confirmation that in Misrata tanks are being dispersed, being
hidden, (and) humans being used as shields in order to prevent NATO sorties to
identify targets," he said.
For more than 40 days the insurgents have defended
Misrata
,
Libya
's
third largest city located 214 kilometres (132 miles) east of
Tripoli
, as
it is besieged and pounded by Gadhafi's troops.
In other operations on Monday, the alliance struck a rocket launcher that was
firing around the oil town of
Brega
, the
general said.
Ammunition storage facilities were hit in other parts of the north African
country.
"What we have seen is that pro-Gadhafi forces have changed their tactics
over days, what we see is that they are more and more using trucks and light
vehicles to move their personnel to the frontline," Van Uhm said.
"We are trying to identify where those heavy assets like tanks and
armoured vehicles are because we have seen that they have chosen to hide in
urban areas, even using human shields in order to not be targeted."
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