Libya forces continue fighting over land control amid Western airstrikes
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Xinhua, March 27, 2011
Libyan government forces and the rebels continued to fight fiercely on Saturday in key military strongholds as Western aircrafts appeared in the sky of Misrata, unconfirmed reports said.
In Misrata, a city largely in rebel hands in the west of the country, government forces loyal to leader Muammar Gaddafi launched new attacks in renewed efforts to regain control of the city.
The government forces had largely stopped their bombardment of the city after Western countries launched new round of air raids against government forces.
Unconfirmed reports said Western aircrafts appeared in the sky of Misrata Saturday night. The government forces subsequently stopped fighting.
The French armed forces said French warplanes destroyed five planes and two helicopters of the government forces outside Misrata on Saturday. The aircrafts were destroyed when they were on the ground.
French jets "carried out several strikes in the Zintan and Misrata regions," the military said in a statement.
Sporadic shootings could also be heard in the city of Misrata after the air raids.
The British Defence Ministry said its warplanes destroyed five Libyan armored vehicles in air raids against Libyan government forces in Ajdabiya and Misrata on Saturday.
Meanwhile, in the eastern port city of Brega, the rebels claimed they had defeated government forces and seized complete control of the city.
There was no way to confirm the news at present.
A rebel spokesman was quoted as saying on Saturday that Brega was 100 percent in the hands of rebel forces after they won a decisive battle there.
The rebels had been in overall retreat before Western aircrafts pounded Gaddafi forces a week ago and silenced government forces' guns. Following the Western air raids, the government forces and the rebels were immersed in an impasse.
Separately, U.S. President Barack Obama defended his Libya policy on Saturday, saying the military mission in Libya was "clear and focused" and achieving success.
Obama asserted in his weekly radio and Internet address that the Western coalition was succeeding in its mission by taking out Libya's air defenses and preventing Gaddafi's forces from "advancing across Libya."
Obama said it was in the U.S. national interest as well as U.S. responsibility to act in Libya.
"Our military mission in Libya is clear and focused," Obama told his audience, saying the United States and its allies were protecting Libyan civilians and had put in place a no-fly zone over Libya and other measures to prevent "further atrocities."
He reiterated that the United States would not commit ground forces to Libya and the role of American forces had been limited.
NATO on Thursday agreed to assume command of the Libya no-fly zone from the United States, but remained undecided over whether to take on broader responsibility, including airstrikes on ground assets in the North African country.
