Nato commanders say Libyan regime forces have begun digging in for a last stand in the town where Colonel Muammar Gaddafi was born, raising the prospect that a bloody battle lies ahead as rebel forces barrel westward. Nato sources said regime forces who retreated in the face of the rebel advance have begun locating their armour and artillery inside civilian buildings in Sirte, a tactic designed to make air strikes fraught with risk. Sirte, which Col Gaddafi repeatedly tried to turn into Libya’s capital, is dominated by members of Col Gaddafi’s own tribe, the Qadafdha, who remain largely loyal to the regime.
Nato has already targeted the two squadrons of obsolescent Su22 Soviet-era jets housed inside hardened bunkers at the Sirte airbase, located alongside the civilian airport.
A senior French Nato official told The Daily Telegraph one strategy could be to starve out the regime forces in Sirte, who do not have the stockpiles of supplies needed to weather a prolonged siege.
Dr Liam Fox, the Defence Secretary, confirmed that Nato was due to take over command and control of the operation from the Americans, under the leadership of Canadian Lieutenant-General Charles Bouchard.
Warning that the Gaddafi regime was continuing to “rain down death and destruction on their own people”, Dr Fox said that events on the ground in Libya had persuaded the international community to come together to protect civilians. (read more)
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