BRUSSELS: NATO's commander in chief for the operation in Libya Tuesday announced military strikes against Muammar Gaddafi's command centers, including Tripoli and a brigade accused of leading attacks on civilians. “NATO conducted deliberate, multiple strikes against command and control facilities of the Gaddafi regime last night,” the alliance said in a communique from its Brussels headquarters. It said these strikes targeted “communications infrastructure used to coordinate attacks against civilians, and the headquarters of the 32nd Brigade located 10 km south of Tripoli”. Libya's official news agency JANA reported earlier that NATO airstrikes Tuesday hit the Libyan capital Tripoli; Sirte, Gaddafi's home town; and the town of Aziziyah, south of the capital. Deputy Foreign Minister Khaled Kaim said these raids were carried out “at the request of the rebels who are preparing to carry out massacres in the region”. “NATO will continue its campaign to degrade the Gaddafi regime forces that are involved in the ongoing attacks on civilians,” Lieutenant-General Charles Bouchard added. Kaim Tuesday ruled out the possibility of allowing foreign troops to escort UN aid convoys in Libya, saying such a deployment would be viewed as military, not humanitarian. The EU is reportedly drawing up contingency plans for such escorts who would have a noncombat role. Over the weekend, the UN reached an agreement with Gaddafi's regime on carrying out aid operations in the western half of Libya under his control. A key target of such aid would be the besieged rebel city of Misrata. The UN has said it has received no guarantees from Libyan authorities that fighting in Misrata would be halted to allow aid in.
