Libyan Air Force Destroyed

Col Muammar Gaddafi’s air force “no longer exists as a fighting force”, the commander of British aircraft operating over Libya has said.

Air Vice Marshal Greg Bagwell said the allies could now operate “with near impunity” over the skies of Libya.

He said they were now applying unrelenting pressure on the Libyan armed forces.

He was speaking during a visit to RAF aircrew based at Gioia del Colle in southern Italy.

“We are watching over the innocent people of Libya and ensuring that we protect them from attack,” he said.

“We have the Libyan ground forces under constant observation and we attack them whenever they threaten civilians or attack population centres.”

Here, RAF Tornado’s are filmed during a mid-air refueling operation on their way to pound Libyan Forces Loyal to Gaddafi

His comments come as Nato members debate who should lead the intervention, with the US keen to hand over to Nato.

They were echoed by Rear Admiral Gerard Hueber, US chief of staff for the Libya mission, who said: “We are putting pressure on Gadaffi’s ground forces that are threatening cities.” Asked if that meant air strikes, he replied: “Yes.”

Speaking to reporters by phone from the command ship USS Mount Whitney, in the Mediterranean, he insisted there had been no reports of civilian casualties caused by allied action.

“Our mission here is to protect the civilian populace and we choose our targets and plan our actions with that as a top priority.”

He said allied aircraft had flown 175 sorties in the last 24 hours – 113 of them by US aircraft.

Western aircraft have flown more than 300 sorties over Libya in recent days and more than 162 Tomahawk cruise missiles have been fired.
Snipers

Earlier, witnesses reported that international forces had launched new air strikes near Libya’s rebel-held western city of Misrata.

Witnesses said tanks pulled back from their positions, from where they have been spearheading a siege of the city for days, but said snipers continued to target people from rooftops.

Mohamed, a spokesman for the rebels in Misrata, said: “Misrata was in a desperate state… we almost lost all hope, but the strikes came at a good time with good intensity and frequency.

“They even managed to take out some convoys inside the city which was very impressive.

“The strikes made such a difference – Gaddafi’s forces are scared of them. I want to express our gratitude and appreciation for these actions – we will never, ever forget.”
Read the rest Via: BBC

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