Libya clashes continue despite no-fly zone

TRIPOLI – Fighting raged between forces loyal to Libyan leader Moamer Gaddafi and insurgents in several towns on Tuesday despite a UN-mandated no-fly zone aimed at stopping the violence.
Meanwhile, as a senior US officer said Gaddafi forces were still attacking civilians, doubts persisted over the best way to continue the campaign to stop Gaddafi, and where it was leading. French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said future actions of the coalition, which began airstrikes on Saturday on Gaddafi military installations, depend in part of the embattled Libyan leader.
“The military operations could stop at any moment. All it would take is for the Tripoli regime to adhere precisely and completely with UN Security Council resolutions, and to accept a genuine ceasefire,” he said. He called on Gaddafi to withdraw troops engaged in military advances and send them “back to their barracks”.
Libyan anti-aircraft fire opened up over the capital after nightfall on Tuesday, amid the sound of far-off explosions, AFP journalists reported. Residents of Yafran, 130 kilometres southwest of Tripoli, said at least nine people had been killed in clashes between the two sides.
Gaddafi’s tanks shelled the rebel-held western town of Misrata and casualties included four children killed when their car was hit, residents said, adding the death toll for Monday alone had reached 40. A US F-15 jet crashed in rebel-held eastern Libya late on Monday.