>NATO Airstrike Reportedly Kills Rebels in Libya

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A NATO airstrike intended for the forces of Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi killed 13 rebel fighters in the battle outside the pivotal oil port of Brega, the rebels said Saturday.

The deaths underscored the challenge that the Western allies and the rebels face in relying on airstrikes to push back the Qaddafi forces as the two sides mix in the battle zone along the front.

Perhaps in response to the Western airstrikes, the Qaddafi forces are increasingly plunging into combat in equipment similar to what the rebels are using, mainly pickup trucks mounted with artillery guns. The move makes it increasingly difficult for even the combatants to distinguish one group from the other at first sight.

“It’s a mistake,” said Abdul Hafidh Ghoga, the rebel’s main spokesman. “Nothing has changed.”

One rebel fighter who was wounded in the airstrike said a fellow rebel had fired artillery into the air moments before the attack.

“I don’t know why,” the rebel, Ali Abdullah Abubaker, said later from a hospital in Benghazi. “Maybe he was scared.”

Seconds later, Mr. Abubaker heard the planes. “I saw something white,” he said. “There was no sound.”

His white pickup truck was set on fire, and he said three of the four other men in the car were killed. Mr. Abubaker, a college student studying political science, had burns on his face and was struck by bullets in his car that ignited in the blast.

A NATO spokesman in Brussels said the alliance was aware of the report and was investigating.

“NATO takes reports of civilian casualties very seriously,” the spokesman said. “But for us, exact details are hard to verify because we do not have reliable sources on the ground.”

The spokesman, who, according to NATO policy, asked not to be identified, added, “If someone fires at one of our aircraft, they have the right to defend themselves.”

NATO said that it had conducted 148 airstrike sorties in the previous 24 hours.

The strike occurred after dark on Friday as rebels were continuing their efforts to retake Brega. The Qaddafi forces had positioned forward observers in the desert outside of the city with a view of the road, enabling their superior artillery crews within Brega to hit the rebels as they tried to approach.

A group of about four rebel trucks had entered a no-man’s land of close fighting between the lines of the two sides, where they mixed with similar trucks of the Qaddafi militia. Around 8:30 p.m., several allied strikes were heard at the front.

Mr. Abubaker said the rebels had been told to search the area.

The men had stopped for prayers on a stretch of the road between Ajdabiya and Brega. A few seconds before the bombing, rebels driving a Mitsubishi truck with an artillery gun mounted on the back pulled up near the group, and one of the rebels — a man Mr. Abubaker knew — started firing the weapon into the air.

A rebel ambulance driver who arrived at the scene about an hour later said he found only the blackened remains of the four trucks and eight or nine bodies so badly burned and mangled by the explosion that he could not determine the exact number.

“I saw the fire, and the bodies, eight or nine bodies,” said the driver, Akhmed al-Ginashi. “They were totally burned.”

At Benghazi’s hospital, Brahim Fahim al-Oraybey, a 19-year-old rebel fighter, said he had been wounded in the blast. His right leg was amputated below the knee, and he was badly burned across his face, back, shoulders and hands.

He said there had been six vehicles, including an ambulance, in front of him in a convoy when the explosion struck. He had been riding in a white pickup with a machine gun mounted on the back, a favorite combat configuration of both the rebels and Colonel Qaddafi’s forces. He said he saw a local shepherd who lost both arms in the blast, but his fate was not clear.

Around the scene of the airstrikes, rebel fighters speculated that Colonel Qaddafi’s forces had infiltrated the rebel lines and fired at the planes, or that celebrating rebels shooting guns into the air had drawn the allied fire.

Here on the eastern front and in the besieged western city of Misurata, rebel fighters said Saturday that they were anxious about what they perceived as a slowdown in the airstrikes, enabling Colonel Qaddafi to hold on as his forces regroup and advance.

The battle lines remained largely unchanged, centered to the east of Brega, as the fighting continued Saturday. A few rebels had established a light presence in the city, near the university, but the Qaddafi forces remained in solid control.

Although airstrikes have taken out some of the Qaddafi forces’ tanks and heavy weapons, the militia had evidently held back some of its military equipment in the relatively dense urban area, where the NATO forces cannot strike without the risk of civilian casualties.

In Washington, two lawmakers, Senator John McCain, an Arizona Republican, and Senator Joseph I. Lieberman, a Connecticut independent, argued in an opinion column in The Wall Street Journal that Western forces should refocus their airstrikes on toppling Colonel Qaddafi, moving beyond the initial mandate to protect Libyan civilians.

“A successful outcome in Libya requires the departure of Gadhafi as quickly as possible,” the senators wrote, using an alternate spelling for Qaddafi. “It is not in our interest for Libya to become the scene of a protracted stalemate that will destabilize and inflame the region.”

They continued, “The battlefield reversals suffered by the opposition this week, when weather conditions hampered coalition airstrikes, underscore the need for a more robust and coherent package of aid to the rebel ground forces.”

As a stalemate held in the eastern front, the capital, Tripoli, remained under a tight lockdown. A panic set off by the defection of the Qaddafi confidant Moussa Koussa eased slightly as only one other high-level official appeared to have fled in his wake. According to former government officials, guards were preventing others from leaving.

One senior official who had said he planned to travel to Egypt to pick up family members canceled his trip, telling reporters that he delayed it because of a paperwork problem.

There was no word on the details of talks in London by a senior aide to one of Colonel Qaddafi’s sons, Seif al-Islam el-Qaddafi, though British officials said the aide had returned to Libya.

In an informal currency market in the old city of Tripoli, traders said Libyan dinars were selling for less than half their value just a month ago. Colonel Qaddafi has flooded the economy with new money by providing a 500-dinar subsidy to each family and pay raises to all soldiers, apparently in an effort to bolster his support.

And, currency traders said in recent days, many are hedging against the long-term survival of the Qaddafi government as well.

>Gadhafi forces repel rebels

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A sustained counterattack by Libyan government troops sent overmatched rebel fighters fleeing eastward for almost 100 miles Tuesday, erasing many of the weekend gains by opposition forces attempting to overthrow Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi.

Panicked and badly rattled, hundreds of rebels sped away from the front to escape fierce rocket barrages by Gadhafi’s soldiers and militiamen. Rebel gun trucks raced three abreast and jostled madly for position on a coastal highway choked with retreating fighters and civilians. At one point, rebels surrendered 70 miles of terrain in just four hours.

It was a humiliating rout for a volunteer fighting force that had advanced 150 miles in 24 hours over the weekend behind allied airstrikes that pummeled government troops and armor. Many rebels had spoken confidently of marching on Tripoli, the capital, buoyed by false news reports Monday that their forces had captured Gadhafi’s hometown garrison of Sirte.

But by Tuesday afternoon, those same rebels were in headlong retreat from Bin Jawwad, which they had seized only Sunday. Many fled 25 miles east to Ras Lanuf, the oil city captured by the opposition Saturday. By nightfall, the city and its refinery were under government assault as the rebel retreat spilled farther east.

The swift battlefield reversal underscored the mercurial nature of the war in the east, where neither side seems strong enough to vanquish the other.

Nearly a month of fighting has raged back and forth across a 220-mile stretch of coastal wasteland in a nation with a coastline of nearly 1,100 miles.

The headlong retreat from Bin Jawwad marked the second time in just 23 days that government forces had routed rebels there. The town is on the fault line between eastern and western Libya, with several tribes in the area split between the two sides.

By nightfall Tuesday, some rebel gun trucks had retreated all way east to Uqaylah, 45 miles from Ras Lanuf — and nearly 120 miles from the spot where rebels had advanced to within 50 miles of Sirte 24 hours earlier.

Among those fleeing were rebels driving trucks mounted with the opposition’s most effective weapons: 106mm artillery, heavy machine guns and recoilless rifles. Rebels firing behind sand dunes shouted at them to turn around, but they ignored them and sped east.

Some fighters acknowledged that they felt helpless against the BM-21 Grad rocket systems that pounded rebel positions throughout the day. There was no sign near Bin Jawwad of Grad batteries that rebels seized from government forces last weekend.

“When the Grads hit, we all ran,” said Abdelsalam Ali, 37, a taxi driver armed with an assault rifle. “They’re too strong for us.”

Asked if he would stand his ground and fight if the government advance continued, Ali shrugged and replied, “It’s not wise to face these guys when they have heavy weapons and we don’t. I’m trying to do this in a safe way.”

Also fleeing was Mohammed Fatallah, 42, a businessman armed with a submachine gun manufactured in 1949. He said he also was leery of Grad rockets to stand and fight for Bin Jawwad.

“If the planes will hit Gadhafi’s men, well, then I’ll go there and fight,” Fatallah said. “If the planes don’t attack, we’ll get pushed back even more.”

Other lightly armed rebels said they retreated because they were told that only heavy machine guns and antiaircraft systems were needed at the front. But those claims proved suspect when rebel gun trucks fled from the front towing those very weapons.

Many rebels gave up any pretense, at least for the day, of marching on Sirte or on to Tripoli.

Gadhafi’s forces have built well-defended fortifications about 50 miles east of Sirte, which has been attacked by the Western-led alliance. But even after airstrikes routed Gadhafi’s men from eastern Libyan cities, government troops are still better armed and better led than the rebels.

The defense of Sirte is important to Gadhafi because it is the last major pro-Gadhafi redoubt between the current front and Tripoli, 275 miles west. The city is dominated by well-armed members of Gadhafi’s Gadhadhfa tribe.

More than 100 miles east of Sirte, gas shortages hobbled some rebel forces. Many rebel vehicles carry extra containers of gasoline. But some rebels, joined by civilians, crowded into gas stations closed for lack of electricity. Using rope, they lowered empty water bottles weighted with stones into underground storage tanks to scoop up gasoline.

Later, rebels set fire to an abandoned armored troop carrier and a cement truck as they retreated, apparently to keep them out of government hands.

The day began with a fierce government assault early Tuesday, the second in as many days. Rebels at first retreated to new lines a few miles east of a desert crossroads. There, they watched government rockets crash down two miles away, sending up plumes of dirty brown smoke.

The dull thump of artillery and heavy machine-gun fire sounded in and around Bin Jawwad at mid-day as rebels fought desperately to hold positions there.

Plumes of black smoke rose over the grimy coastal town as volleys of rocket and artillery fire echoed across the desert. Ambulances with blaring sirens sped west, their paramedics frantically treating wounded fighters.

At 2:30 p.m., a furious government fusillade stirred panic among rebel volunteers and defecting army regulars fighting alongside them. About 200 fighters suddenly abandoned their positions east of Bin Jawwad in a mad dash to safety.

Two larger, more chaotic retreats erupted an hour later as hundreds of rebels fled another 25 miles eastward. Some fired their weapons into the air at random. They were cursed by other fleeing fighters for wasting precious ammunition.

A few fighters shouted “Allahu Akbar!” — God is great — over their shoulders with little conviction as they abandoned the fight.

Those same rebels earlier had boldly proclaimed their intent to not only hold their ground but also mount an assault on Sirte. Bernwi, the exterminator-turned-fighter, vowed to march to Tripoli “to exterminate the biggest rat — Gadhafi.”

Just two hours later, a stiff desert wind blew in the faces of terrified fighters speeding east, and Bin Jawwad was abandoned to Gadhafi’s men.

The government counterattack began overnight with rocket barrages that scattered poorly organized rebel positions west of Bin Jawwad. By early morning Tuesday, dozens of rebels sped east into Bin Jawwad, fleeing gunfire and explosions.

Furious arguments broke out over the proper way to hold off the government assault. With no formal leadership and no coordinated tactics, the rebels are not a unified fighting force but a collection of enthusiastic but untrained men with guns.

Some fighters set up truck-mounted 106mm artillery tubes atop sand dunes and fired at advancing government forces. Others turned their gun trucks around and drove cautiously toward the fight, only to suddenly turn and flee again at the sound of enemy fire.

Still other fighters crouched behind sand dunes and embankments along the Mediterranean coast, armed only with assault rifles and rocket-propelled grenade launchers. Some squinted helplessly through binoculars at Grad rockets exploding along the highway a mile west.

Rebels said they were lured by Gadhafi gunmen into an ambush late Monday about 50 miles east of Sirte. Bernwi and other gunmen said a group of government militiamen raised a white flag to draw the rebels close, then opened fire with heavy machine guns.

As the rebels retreated toward Bin Jawwad, they passed several groups of rebel fighters lounging on sand dunes and feasting on meals provided by rebel supporters.

The men were implored to stand and fight, retreating rebels said. But these fighters, too, turned their gun trucks around and sped east toward the rapidly collapsing rebel lines.

>Obama Says He’s Confident Libya Operation Command Issues Will Be Resolved

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President Barack Obama said yesterday that he is confident the coalition of nations involved in Libyan military operations will be able to resolve their command disagreements as he defended U.S. involvement in the strikes.

Speaking to reporters in El Salvador, where he met with President Mauricio Funes, Obama said a command transition orchestrated by members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization will be done “over the next several days.”

“I have absolutely no doubt that we will be able to transfer control of this operation to an international coalition,” Obama said at a press conference with Funes in San Salvador.

Obama also said U.S. involvement in the operation to establish a “no-fly” zone in Libya to protect civilians and opposition forces fighting troops loyal to Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi is in the nation’s vital interest to stop a “brutal dictator.”

“At the end of the day, the American people are going to feel satisfied that lives were saved,” he said. “Very shortly we’re going to be able to say we’ve achieved the objective of a no-fly zone.”

Obama linked the fighting in Libya to demonstrations that toppled autocratic regimes in Egypt and Tunisia. He said a victory for Qaddafi in Libya could imperil progress in those nations.

National Interest

“We have a huge national interest in making sure that those are successful,” he said. “They become models for peaceful transitions.”

About a dozen countries, including the U.S., France, Italy and the U.K., are involved in the fifth day of military operations in Libya, and are split over what command role to assign to NATO.

The U.K. and Italy want NATO to take over the leadership of military operations in Libya, a step resisted by France and other members of the alliance, including Turkey, and some of the Arab nations backing the air campaign.

Obama said the U.S. took command at the start of the campaign because of the “unique capabilities” of its military for the attack on Libyan air defenses. France, Italy and the U.K. are among other nations involved in the operation, which was authorized by a United Nations Security Council resolution.

Domestic Pressures

While he deals with a dispute within the international alliance, the president is also being pressed by Republicans and some Democrats in Congress to provide a clearer explanation for the U.S. action in Libya and to address concerns about whether there is an exit strategy.

Obama said that the U.S. won’t bear all the costs of the campaign and that so far the U.S. contribution is “relatively modest.”

“We’re confident this is something we can budget as part of our overall operations,” he said.

The U.S. has spent at least $168 million during the first stage of the campaign, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Obama spoke yesterday with French President Nicolas Sarkozy and U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron, and the three agreed that NATO should have a “key role” in the command of the air campaign, Ben Rhodes, the U.S. deputy national security adviser for strategic communications, told reporters.

Steering Committee

The allies are considering a proposal, backed by France, to create a political steering committee that would oversee military operations using NATO’s command structure. It would consist of the 12 nations that have committed to participating, according to a Western diplomat familiar with the discussions who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Sarkozy, one of the most vocal proponents of the no-fly zone, said full command by NATO risked prejudicing non-NATO Arab forces. Germany and Turkey, two NATO members, have opposed putting the alliance in charge.

Turkey may be key in the debate. Obama and Turkey’s Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan spoke by telephone yesterday and “reaffirmed their support” for the UN mandate, the White House said in a statement. Still, the Turkish leader was noncommittal about future support of the operation, Rhodes said.

The coalition arrayed against Libya includes non-NATO countries, and “not every single NATO ally is going to be participating in the enforcement of the no-fly zone,” Rhodes said.

U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates told reporters in Moscow yesterday that “the question is if there is a way we can work out NATO’s command-and-control machinery without it being a NATO mission and without a NATO flag.”

Libyan Rebellion

The strikes were launched in response to gains by forces loyal to Qaddafi in putting down a rebellion aimed at toppling his government. Qaddafi’s forces last week had closed in on the rebel stronghold of Benghazi after recapturing almost all the towns they lost during the uprising.

The turmoil in North Africa and the Middle East, triggered by the revolt that ousted President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali in Tunisia on Jan. 14, led to the removal of President Hosni Mubarak in Egypt as well as protests in Saudi Arabia and Syria and an uprising against the Sunni monarchy in Bahrain.

The situation in Libya has overshadowed each of Obama’s stops on his five-day visit to Latin America. He arrived in El Salvador yesterday from Chile and was in Brazil over the weekend. He returns to the White House this evening.

The trip is aimed at deepening trade ties with the region, including openings for U.S. companies in the region’s energy development and infrastructure-building.

>Dollar slips ahead of jobs report

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The Australian dollar slipped on Tuesday, as the spectre of Libya weighed on markets while currency traders awaited official local jobs figures.

At the local close, the dollar was trading at 101.16 US cents, down from Monday’s local close of 101.27 US cents.Commonwealth Bank currency strategist Joe Capurso said there was little action on the local currency market with no market moving data released during the trading day.

He said traders were awaiting official national employment data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics on Thursday.

‘‘Probably there’s a little bit of holding back until the jobs data and some guidance on Libya,’’ he said.

Australia’s unemployment rate is expected to remain steady at 5.0 per cent in February, unchanged from the previous month’s result, the median of 11 economists surveyed by AAP shows.

Thursday’s ABS figures are also expected to show total employment rose by 20,000, while the participation rate is expected to remain at 65.9 per cent.

On the global stage, international pressure is mounting against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who has been violently suppressing protests against his rule for about a month.

US President Barack Obama warned on Tuesday the US and its NATO allies were still considering military options to stop what he called ‘‘unacceptable’’ violence by Gaddafi’s regime.

NATO decided to boost the number of surveillance planes over Libya from 10 to 24 hours a day, the US Ambassador to NATO Ivo Daalder said.

Before the upheaval, Libya produced around 2 per cent of the world’s oil.