NATO renewed bombardments in Tripoli, the Libyan capital, as opposition forces said they had have made gains in Misrata.
NATO renewed bombardments in Tripoli, the Libyan capital, as opposition forces said they had have made gains in Misrata.The alliance launched strikes against a military command centre in Tripoli, the Libyan capital, while witnesses said blasts were heard near Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi's compound and state television offices.
The bombardment of Tripoli was the heaviest for several weeks. The government said the country's high commission for children had been hit, and four children were injured by flying glass.
An Italian officer serving on the planning staff at NATO's headquarters in Naples said on Tuesday that the alliance warplanes hit a command and control facility in downtown Tripoli.
Brigadier General Claudio Gabellini denied the coalition forces were targeting Gaddafi, who has been in power since 1969.
“All NATO targets are military targets. We have no evidence about what Gaddafi is doing right now, and to tell you the truth we are not really interested," Gabellini added.
OPPOSITION GAIN
On the other hand, opposition fighters said they hey had taken the town of Zareek, about 25 km (15 miles) west of Misrata, but no independent verification of the rebel statements was available.
On Tuesday, NATO said it had destroyed more than 30 military targets in the Misrata area, including a dozen main battle tanks, three rocket launch systems and 15 ammunition storage sites.
"Although it's a real challenge for us to strike military targets in and around population centers like Misrata, while minimizing the risks to innocent civilians, we have been working hard to prevent attacks by pro-Gaddafi forces," NATO spokesman Brig-Gen Claudio Gabellini said.
Misrata has been under siege for two months.
After two months of uprising, the war has reached a stalemate. Opposition fighters hold Benghazi and other towns in the oil-producing east while Gaddafi’s forces control the capital and almost all of the west.
Thousands have been killed in the fighting in the vast country, which has a population of more than six million.
