OFF THE WIRE
AJDABIYA, Libya — NATO air strikes hit forces loyal to Moammar Gadhafi outside the eastern Libyan town of Ajdabiyah on Sunday, rebels said, and at least 15 bodies could be seen.
A Reuters reporter saw charred bodies next to six vehicles in two separate sites about 300 meters apart on the western approaches to the town, which Gadhafi's forces had been attacking all day.
Rebels at the scene said the vehicles were hit by two strikes by NATO aircraft. Overall, NATO forces destroyed 25 tanks belonging to Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi's forces on Sunday, the military alliance said in a statement.
NATO said 11 vehicles were struck as they approached Ajdabiyah, a town bombarded heavily by Gaddafi loyalists on Sunday. Fourteen were hit on the outskirts of Misrata, a lone major rebel bastion in western Libya which has been under siege for six weeks.
"The situation in Ajdabiyah, and Misrata in particular, is desperate for those Libyans who are being brutally shelled by the (Gaddafi) regime," Canadian Lieutenant General Charles Bouchard, who commands NATO's Libya operations, said in a statement.
Ajdabiya is the gateway to the rebels' stronghold of Benghazi, Libya's second-largest city, and has been the launch point for insurgents during a week-long fight for the oil port of Brega further west.
Rebels said Gadhafi's forces killed at least four rebel fighters in the second day of fighting for Ajdabiya.
"I saw the four this morning. Their throats were slit and they were all shot through the chest and dumped on the road. Their car was also riddled with bullets," said a rebel, Mohammed Saad, at a checkpoint on the eastern edge of Ajdabiya.
Insurgent Hassan Bosayna said eight Gadhafi fighters and four rebels were killed in fighting on Saturday, with one of the rebels shot in the forehead by a sniper.
Another rebel, Muftah, said: "There are Gadhafi forces inside Ajdabiya in sand-colored Land Cruisers and we know there are Gadhafi snipers in civilian clothing in the city as well."
A Reuters reporter near Ajdabiya's eastern gate heard shooting and artillery fire and saw plumes of black smoke, suggesting Gadhafi's forces had pushed toward the center.
The mostly untrained rebels have tried to reorganize and re-equip but were unable to hold ground last week against Gadhafi's better-armed forces in the fight for Brega.
'Clear violation'
Also on Sunday, Libya's deputy foreign minister said government forces shot down two U.S.-built helicopters being used by rebel forces in the east of the country.
Khaled Kaim also slammed the international community for allowing rebel forces to operate aircraft despite the existence of a no-fly zone over the country following U.N. Security Council resolution 1973.
"A clear violation was committed by the rebels to resolution 1973 relating to the no-fly zone. The rebels used two Chinook helicopters and they were shot down" near the eastern oil facilities of Brega, he said. "We have a question for the allied forces — is this resolution made for the Libyan government only or everyone in Libya?"
The report could not be confirmed with the rebels, but journalists in the area did describe seeing at least one helicopter apparently fighting for the rebels in the area Saturday, though it lacked the distinctive double rotor design of Chinook and appeared to be a Russian built model.
Most aircraft used by the Libyans, whether government or rebel forces, are Russian made, however, but the Directory of World Air Forces from 2008 says Libya had 20 Chinooks, which are used primarily for transport and heavy lifting, in service.
While the Libyan government forces still possess most of the military aircraft in the country, a few were taken by the rebels when some air force units defected in the east of the country following popular uprisings against Moammar Gadhafi's four decades of rule.
NATO, which enforces the no-fly zone said it has been has been applying it to both sides and on Saturday intercepted a rebel MiG-23 fighter jet and forced it back to the airport.
Nato Forces also continue to carry out airstrikes against Gadhafi's forces, destroying 17 tanks and damaging nine others, the alliance announced Saturday.
Rebels have criticized the NATO for not giving them sufficient battlefield support as government forces continue to push into the east.
Fight for control
On Saturday, as rebels attempted to advance toward the oil city of Brega, they were flanked by government forces, sending them scrambling back to defend the key city of Ajdabiya. By the end of the day, the two sides were battling each other in the city streets.
On Saturday, fighting continued over the city, with fleeing civilians reporting both sides shelling each other.
At least 11 people died in Saturday's fighting, reported Ajdabiya hospital supervisor Mohammed Idris, with two more rebels killed Sunday.
Recapturing the Ajdabiya would give the Libyan military a staging ground to attack the rebels' main stronghold, Benghazi, about 100 miles farther east along the coastal highway. Gadhafi's forces were approaching Benghazi when they were driven back by the international air campaign launched last month to protect civilians and ground Gadhafi's aircraft.
The fight for Ajdabiya followed pitched battles on Saturday when rebels fought off a heavy assault by government forces on the besieged western coastal city of Misrata.
One insurgent said 30 of their fighters were killed but another said there were eight confirmed dead and 10 unconfirmed.
City under siege
Rebels in Misrata, a lone rebel bastion in western Libya which has been under siege for six weeks, hailed more muscular NATO operations against Gadhafi's besieging forces.
The alliance confirmed an increased tempo of attacks and said it had destroyed 17 government tanks between Friday and Saturday, 15 near Misrata and two south of Brega.
Gadhafi's forces appear bent on seizing Misrata and crucially its port, which some analysts say is vital if Gadhafi is to survive because it supplies the capital Tripoli.
Video: Misrata: City under siege (on this page) Rebel spokesman Mustafa Abdulrahman said by telephone that Saturday's Misrata fighting centered on a road to the port, where a Red Cross vessel brought in badly needed medical supplies earlier in the day.
.A government-organized trip to Misrata revealed deserted streets and many heavily shelled buildings in the city's south.
As fighting raged on for the coastal town, where conditions are said to be desperate, a buoyant Gadhafi made his first television appearance for five days on Saturday.
Wearing his trademark brown robes and dark glasses, he was shown smiling and pumping his fists in the air at a school where he was welcomed ecstatically. Women ululated, one wept with emotion and pupils chanted anti-western slogans.
Gadhafi looked relaxed, confirming the impression among analysts that his administration has emerged from a period of paralysis and is hunkering down for a long campaign.
The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
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