NATO airstrikes destroy 25 Gaddafi tanks near Abjabiya and Misratah

[News_Editor]

NATO airstrikes destroy 25 Gaddafi tanks near Abjabiya and Misratah

2011-04-10 20:54:22 GMT+7 (ICT)

NAPLES (BNO NEWS) -- NATO forces on Sunday carried out several airstrikes near the Libyan cities of Ajdabiya and Misratah, destroying more than two dozen tanks belonging to forces loyal to Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.

NATO said the airstrikes continue to dismantle the fighting ability of the Gaddafi regime throughout the country, with particular attention to Ajdabiya and Misratah which it believes to be the most threatened.

"The situation in Ajdabiya and Misratah in particular, is desperate for those Libyans who are being brutally shelled by the Regime. To help protect these civilians we continue to strike these forces hard, with 11 tanks destroyed today as they approached Ajdabiya, and 14 tanks destroyed earlier this morning in the outskirts of Misratah," said Lieutenant-General Charles Bouchard, Commander of NATO Operation Unified Protector.

While NATO's operation is focused on destroying the heavy military equipment that poses the most threat to civilians, air strikes are also hitting ammunition bunkers and lines of communication to cut off these forces from their supplies.

"We are hitting the Regime logistics facilities as well as their heavy weapons because we know Gaddafi is finding it hard to sustain his attacks on civilians," said the Commander. "One recent strike cratered the road leading to Ajdabiya, west of Brega, where his fuel and ammunition is being moved forward on large trucks. Further west we hit two more storage bunkers where the ammunition is coming from."

Furthermore, NATO also said it intercepted a fighter aircraft flown by Libyan rebels and forced it to land within minutes of taking off from Benina Airfield near Benghazi on Saturday. The alliance called it "an example of NATO impartiality" as the UN-mandated no-fly zone allows no unauthorized aircraft to fly in Libyan airspace.

The Libyan civil war, which began in mid-February, has so far claimed the lives of thousands of people. Estimates range from 1,000 to 10,000 fatalities.

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