NATO forces destroy Libyan ship

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By CBC News, cbc.ca, Updated: March 29, 2011 2:22 PM

NATO forces destroy Libyan ship

U.S. aircraft have fired at a Libyan coast guard vessel that launched missiles

at merchant ships in the port city of Misrata, military officials said Tuesday.

A P-3C maritime patrol aircraft fired at the Vittoria after multiple explosions

were seen near the port Monday evening. The 12-metre patrol vessel was struck

and had to be beached.

A U.S. air force A-10 Thunderbolt also fired on two smaller vessels, destroying

one and forcing the other to be abandoned, said the statement from Joint Task

Force Odyssey Dawn, which is providing operational and tactical command of U.S.

military forces supporting the response to unrest in Libya.

" The purpose of firing onto the vessel was to stop them from firing into the

port, harming civilians and damaging other vessels, " Lt. Potter said.

Officials said they were in the process of assessing the damage caused by the

Libyan vessel, including whether any civilians had been harmed, or if any

vessels in the port had sustained damage.

It was one of the most direct confrontations between NATO personnel and forces

loyal to Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi since the former pledged airstrikes to

protect civilians in the North African nation.

On Tuesday, Russia's envoy to NATO was urging coalition partners not to bomb

Libyan ground targets as it works to enforce the UN resolution to implement an

arms embargo and no-fly zone in and around Libya.

Russia, which abstained from voting on the Security Council resolution, says the

international air campaign is overstepping its bounds.

Rebels trying to topple Gadhafi's 40-year reign on the country have used the

cover of airstrikes to race along the coastline in recent days, retaking several

oil towns.

But their charge westward has met resistance near the town of Sirte. Residents

and forces loyal to Gadhafi fired at Libyan rebels on the road east of Gadhafi's

hometown overnight, pushing them back toward the town of Bin Jawad, rebels said.

There are reportedly dozens of rebel fighters and civilians gathered with

pickups and cars about 150 kilometres outside Sirte.

The two sides traded salvos over Bin Jawad amid the crash of rockets and

artillery shells as plumes of smoke erupted from the town. The steady drum of

heavy machine-gun fire and the pop of small arms could also be heard above the

din.

But the rebels remain woefully outgunned by Gadhafi's forces and it is unclear

how they can take the stronghold of Sirte without further aggressive

international air support.

With files from The Associated Press