Libyan rebels angry after second fatal NATO airstrike

Libyan rebels angry after

second fatal NATO airstrike

Associated Press

AJDABIYA, Libya

An apparent NATO airstrike slammed into a rebel combat convoy Thursday, killing at least five fighters and sharply boosting anger among anti-government forces after the second bungled mission in a week blamed on the military alliance.

The attack — outside the strategic oil port of Brega — brought fresh questions about coordination between NATO and the patchwork of rebel militias in a conflict described by a senior U.S. commander as a stalemate that eventually could require the Pentagon to reassert more power, and possibly even send in ground forces.

Tensions between the rebels and NATO were flaring even before the latest accident, with the fighters criticizing the alliance for doing too little to help them. A rebel commander described the attack as a likely NATO accident but said it would be a “bigger mistake” if it was waged by Moammar Gadhafi’s pilots and exposed holes in NATO’s efforts to ground Libyan warplanes.

In a sign of the hair-trigger tensions along the front, thousands of civilians and fighters raced out of the rebel-held city of Ajdabiya in eastern Libya after reports that Gadhafi’s forces gained ground in the chaos after the bombing. Some militiamen shouted insults against NATO as they retreated.

“We don’t want NATO anymore!” cried fighter Basit bin Nasser. Another yelled: “Down, down with NATO.”

In Brussels, NATO did not directly acknowledge responsibility for a blundered airstrike on the rebels but noted that the area where the attack occurred was “unclear and fluid with mechanized weapons traveling in all directions.”

“What remains clear is that NATO will continue to uphold the U.N. mandate and strike forces that potentially can cause harm to the civilian population of Libya,” the alliance said in a statement.

But NATO faces the same challenges to avoid friendly fire deaths as commanders in other wide-ranging air missions such as Iraq and Afghanistan.

The rebels lack the high-grade communications and surveillance systems to coordinate with NATO planners and pilots.