Libyan rebels "disappointed" by NATO airstrikes

Opposition says NATO slow to mount strikes as rebels try to recapture Brega

Published April 6, 2011 12:54PM (EDT)

Libyan rebels fire a rocket launcher toward pro-Gadhafi forces along the front line near Brega, Libya Tuesday, April 5, 2011. Libyan government forces on Tuesday unleashed a withering bombardment of the rebels outside a key oil town pushing them back, even as the regime said Moammar Gadhafi might consider some reforms but would not stepping down. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser) (AP)
Libyan rebels fire a rocket launcher toward pro-Gadhafi forces along the front line near Brega, Libya Tuesday, April 5, 2011. Libyan government forces on Tuesday unleashed a withering bombardment of the rebels outside a key oil town pushing them back, even as the regime said Moammar Gadhafi might consider some reforms but would not stepping down. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser) (AP)

Libyan rebel complaints that NATO has been slow to launch airstrikes are mounting as they try to fight their way back into the eastern oil port of Brega.

But French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said Wednesday that the situation has become increasingly complicated because Moammar Gadhafi's forces are positioning themselves in heavily populated civilian areas to make targeting difficult.

Juppe also says airstrikes have destroyed most of Gadhafi's aircraft and armored vehicles, making it difficult to distinguish his troops from the rebels.

To help avoid confusion, ex-military officers who have joined the rebels are trying to keep untrained fighters from the front lines as they press toward Brega. But that's causing tensions within the rebel ranks.


By Associated Press

MORE FROM Associated Press


Related Topics ------------------------------------------

Africa Libya