Libyan Rebels Lose Ground as NATO Takes Over Anti-Gaddafi Strikes

Rebel fighters receive training on how to use a mortar at a military camp in Benghazi, eastern Libya, 30 March 2011. EPA/BGNES

NATO began to take command of Operation Odyssey Dawn against the regime of Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi on Wednesday, while Gaddafi forces managed to beat back the anti-government rebels.

NATO commanders have thus taken over the control over war planes and other assets from the coalition of several Western and a couple of Arab states, which has been enforcing a no-fly zone over Libya since March 19.

"Today NATO aircraft are flying under NATO command in the Libyan sky. This is a phased process, which will be completed as soon as all allies and partners have transferred authority for their assets," NATO spokeswoman Oana Lungescu said as quoted by international media.

The UK, Canada, Belgium, Denmark, Spain, and the Netherlands placed all or part of their military assets under NATO command as part of the transition. NATO's combined air operations centre in Poggio Renatico, northern Italy, transmitted flight plans to units involved in the aerial campaign, the official said.

The 28-member alliance is expected to be in full command of Operation Odyssey Dawn's follow-up on Thrusday.

A NATO diplomat has said that the alliance would effectively be in full command of the operations on Thursday. NATO navies have been enforcing an arms embargo off Libya's coast since last week in Operation United Protector.

All NATO members agreed to take over the no-fly zone operation on Sunday after overcoming Turkish concerns about the air strikes.

Meanwhile, families fled the key rebel-held city of Ajdabiya on Wednesday as opposition forces retreated and Muammar Gaddafi's counterattacks continued to push eastward, DPA reported.

Rebels are fleeing towns they seized almost without a fight last Sunday under cover of the coalition forces as government troops launch offensive using military hardware.

The panic came as Gaddafi's military and armed groups continued their push towards Brega, according to Qatar-based broadcaster Al Jazeera.

Rebel forces also retreated from Bin Jawad as Libyan armed forces pushed forward to retake the strategic town. Gaddafi's forces also routed rebels from the nearby oil port of Ras Lanuf, pushing the frontline further eastward, according to reports.

Libyan state-run news agency JANA said Gaddafi would sue any foreign company that signed contracts with the opposition's Interim Transitional National Council (ITNC), adding that such oil installations cannot be left to the management of 'armed gangs.'

With the international operation against Gaddafi's forces entering its 11th day, the coalition was finding it difficult to differentiate between the rebels and Gaddafi's plain-clothed armed men, many of whom both ride on the backs of trucks, according to Al Jazeera.

US President Barack Obama, meanwhile, said it was possible that the US would arm rebels fighting to overthrow Gaddafi. He was responding to appeals from the ITNC.

"I'm not ruling it out, but I'm also not ruling it in," said Obama in an interview aired on NBC News.

However, Hesham Youssef, a senior official of the Arab League, said the League's reading of the UN no-fly zone resolution did not include arming the opposition.

Around 382 000 people have fled Libya since the violence started earlier this month, according to the International Organization of Migration.

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