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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