NATO ready to patrol Libyan skies to enforce no-fly zone

NATO is set to take over the policing of Libyan skies to enforce a no-fly zone after overcoming objections mainly from Turkey, as French and British fighters pounded the strategic eastern town of Ajdabiya where rebel fighters have mounted an offensive to recapture it.

NATO, which operates by consensus, reached an agreement on Libya after marathon talks to discuss objections raised by the group''s only Muslim nation Turkey, as the UAE became the second Arab nation to commit fighters for Operation Odyssey Dawn.

Ankara had earlier refused to support any plan unless it was given assurances that the operation would be limited to protecting civilians, enforcing an arms embargo and a no-fly zone, and providing humanitarian aid.

There was, however, no agreement yet on whether the 28-member North Atlantic Treaty Organisation would take over complete command of the West-led military operations in Libya.

Fighting, meanwhile, continued for control of major cities between the rebels and the forces loyal to Gaddafi.

Reports from the crucial city of Ajdabiya, which is located at a strategic point on the roads to the eastern rebel strongholds of Benghazi and Tobruk, said the rebels were being held off at the gates of the town.

Fighting also raged in the rebel-held town of Misurata where a
French warplane destroyed a Libyan military aircraft as it was landing at an air base.

An armed forces spokesman said a patrol of Rafale fighters spotted the Libyan plane that was breaching a no-fly order and shot it down, Al Arabiyah reported.

"The French patrol carried out an air-to-ground strike with an AASM weapon just after the plane had landed at the Misrata air base," the spokesman said.

British Defence Secretary Liam Fox said the British Tornado aircraft also targeted Libyan armoured vehicles "threatening the civilian population of Ajdabiya," BBC said.

A spokesman for the Libyan government, meanwhile, accused the Western governments of fighting on the side of the rebels and put the civilian death toll from five days of coalition air strikes at almost 100.

Giving details of the operation in Washington, Director, Joint Staff Vice Admiral Bill Gortney told reporters that the coalition forces continue to strike the regime''s integrated air defence capabilities as well as command-and- control facilities, logistics nodes and ammunition supplies.

"We are vigorously planning to enable the delivery of humanitarian assistance by interested governments and non-governmental agencies," Gortney said.

"And we will continue to conduct coordinated attacks on regime ground forces that threaten the lives of the Libyan people," he said. .