Two days of relentless allied air attacks have largely destroyed Libya's military capabilities and left troops scattered and confused, according to a statement from the U.S. on Monday.
The Pentagon said Libya's air defences have been crippled and Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi's ground forces have been stopped from approaching the rebel stronghold of Benghazi -- Libya's second largest city.
Navy Vice Admiral William E. Gortney said Monday the air strikes have been "very effective," and the Pentagon believes Gadhafi's military is "under significant stress."
One day earlier a cruise missile smashed into an administrative building inside Gadhafi's compound in Tripoli, as international forces kept up their military bombardment.
It wasn't clear where Gadhafi was at the time the missile landed. Prior to the attack, the U.S. had said the Libyan leader wasn't the target of the military offensive, but rather the goal was to protect civilians and stop Gadhafi's military advance against the rebels.
The security council resolution does not authorize attacks against Gadhafi.
CTV's Ben O'Hara-Byrne said rebel forces were still reporting clashes with pro-Gadhafi fighters Monday morning and it didn't appear the air assault had completely shut down the military.
"They continue to have contact with pro-Gadhafi forces... they also say coalition strikes on Gadhafi forces are continuing today, that they are acting as spotters, that they are providing information to the coalition so they know exactly where Gadhafi's forces are," he told CTV's Canada AM from Cairo.
Also on Monday, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon emphasized that the decision to enforce a no-fly zone over Libya and to authorize military action against Gadhafi came at the recommendation of the Arab League.
He held a news conference with Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa and said the goal was to stop Gadhafi's killing of civilians "which was totally unacceptable and strongly condemned all across the world."
Moussa emphasized the Arab League supports the UN's decision.
"We respect the Security Council decision and we have no objection to that because it has specified there will be no land troops to occupy Libya," Moussa said Monday, agreeing that the primary goal is to protect civilians.
On Sunday, there were reports that Moussa had complained that allied troops were shelling civilians, which didn't fit with the terms the Arab League had agreed to. However, an EU official later said Moussa was misquoted.
Shelling in Tripoli
On Sunday the Libyan government escorted journalists from at least two major news outlets to the scene of a rocket attack to view the damaged building said to be a Gadhafi command centre. The building stands near the Bedouin tent where Gadhafi has been known to entertain foreign guests.
Half of the multistory building was destroyed, and scraps of metal from the missile lay scattered across the area.
Explosions and anti-aircraft gunfire had erupted in the Libyan capital earlier in the night, signaling another round of coalition air assaults.
The military operation began overnight Saturday to enforce a UN Security Council resolution that called for an immediate ceasefire in the fighting between Gadhafi forces and members of the month-old opposition movement.
The resolution authorized a no-fly zone above the North African country and allowed UN members to use "all means necessary" to prevent attacks on civilians.
Despite the international pressure, Gadhafi pledged Sunday to continue fighting. In a phone call to Libyan state television, he said his weapon depots had been opened up to allow civilians to arm themselves against the outsiders.
"We promise you a long war," Gadhafi said.
During a press conference at the Pentagon on Sunday afternoon, Gortney said naval ships had launched 124 cruise missiles at military installations along the Libyan coast, followed by air assaults from French, British and American fighter jets and bombers against Gadhafi ground forces and air defences.
Military forces from Spain, Belgium, Denmark and Qatar are joining the military operation under U.S. command, Gortney said, but a coalition of countries would take over command in the coming days.
Rebel reaction
The coalition air strikes provided some relief to residents of Benghazi, the capital of the opposition movement that has been seeking to oust the Libyan leader.
On Saturday, at least 120 people were killed in the eastern city of 700,000 as Gadhafi troops staged ground raids and air assaults. But rebel forces said the attacks on Benghazi had since been stunted by international forces.
"Yesterday was a catastrophe," said Salwa el-Daghili, a member of the rebels' governing council. "Today, there is hope -- you can see it on the streets."
U.S. military officials said the international assault would take aim at any Gadhafi forces that were attacking the opposition. And one of their targets was a line of tanks that had been moving towards Benghazi when it was destroyed.
According to the opposition, the coalition attacks also struck an air force complex used by Gadhafi forces near Misrata, the last rebel-held city in the west, and a second air base outside Tripoli.
Meanwhile state television claimed that 48 people died in the U.S. and European strikes and that Gadhafi's supporters were converging on airports as human shields. Neither report could be independently verified.
The U.S., which has so far spearheaded the allied mission, said it planned to hand the reins of the mission over to Britain, France or NATO in a few days.
With files from The Associated Press
(CTVNews)
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