AhlulBayt News Agency

source : Wall Street Journal
Thursday

3 March 2011

8:30:00 PM
229453

Air strikes target Libya's Ajdabia

Warplanes have attacked Libya's eastern town of Ajdabia, as the country's capital city of Tripoli is bracing for protest rallies against Muammar Gaddafi's regime.

(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) - Gaddafi loyalists earlier carried out aerial attacks in the oil terminal town of Brega for the third consecutive day on Friday. No casualties from the air strikes have yet been reported.

Libyan pilots seem to have intentionally missed targets in an act of defiance to protest government's harsh crackdown on opposition forces.

The Libyan air force includes French-made Mirage and the Russian MiG fighter aircraft. Despite possessing the high-tech warplanes, the forces are poorly-armed and under-trained.

Tripoli is reportedly gripped with fear as Gaddafi loyalists have launched a house-to-house search for anti-regime activists.

Hundreds of people were arrested overnight on Thursday to quell a plan by protesters to hold “day of rage” rallies in the capital on Friday

The US and Europe have called for imposing a no-fly zone over Libya, but Russia has voiced its rejection of the idea.

Western countries are reportedly weighing a military intervention in Libya, as a couple of US warships are approaching Libyan shores, raising speculations of a likely military measure against Gaddafi's regime.

Gaddafi has warned that thousands of Libyans will die if the West decides to directly attack his country.

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