Gaddafi forces push towards Ajdabiya, 5 killed in Misurata

The panel, which includes leaders of Congo, Mali, Mauritania, South Africa and Uganda, had been scheduled to visit Libya last month but had to cancel the trip after failing to obtain permission to enter the country as Western nations began implementing a no-fly zone.

Before starting their visit to Libya, the leaders will first meet in Mauritania. Meanwhile, weapons depots belonging to Gaddafi's forces near the town of Zintan were hit by NATO air strikes yesterday, and residents said they saw the buildings on fire. Al Jazeera said rebels at the western boundary of Ajdabiya, still jittery after the friendly fire accident, fled from an artillery bombardment though there was no immediate sign of a government advance. The NATO strikes have not done much to help the rebel advance as was being hoped earlier and NATO leaders have acknowledged the limits of their air power particularly with Gaddafi''s forces tactics of placing their weaponry in the middle of civilian areas. NATO chief Anders Fogh Rassmussen expressed regret over the deaths in the rebel camp by an alliance air strike, terming the incident as "unfortunate". "The situation on the ground is very fluid," Rasmussen said. "We have seen in the past that tanks have been used by the Gaddafi regime to attack civilians."