20110322
Xinhua
TRIPOLI, March 21 (Xinhua) -- Loud explosions and heavy anti-aircraft gunfire were heard in the Libyan capital city of Tripoli at around 9:00 p.m. local time (1900 GMT) on Monday as a new round of Western-led airstrikes started, a Xinhua reporter said.

Anti-aircraft artilleries were shooting into the sky from the north and east parts of the city, while the anti-aircraft fire was also heard in south part of the city, lasting for about ten minutes.

One military barrack 30 km west to Tripoli was bombed, a local source told Xinhua reporters Monday.

Another military compound near the broadcasting and TV station in the capital was also targeted in the military strikes, but casualties were not clear.

Libyan State TV said the new strikes hit an oil pipeline in Shaab, a port city east of Tripoli.

Similar explosions rocked the capital on Sunday, with coalition officials on Monday saying an administrative building of the residence compound of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi was destroyed by a missile.

Footage of the Libyan state TV showed that a building near the tent where Gaddafi usually receives guests was severely damaged.

"It was a barbaric bombing" and could have hit hundreds of civilians who gathered near the destroyed building in support of the Libyan leader, said government spokesman Mussa Ibrahim, who declined to say whether Gaddafi was still inside the compound.

Libyan authorities said that at least 64 Libyans had been killed and 150 others wounded by the missiles and bombs rained upon Libya over the weekend. But the intervening forces denied targeting civilians.

Government forces of Libya pulled back 100 km from the main opposition stronghold of Benghazi on Monday after a weekend of air attacks.

The forces retreated to the strategic town of Ajdabiya, south of Benghazi, after the airstrikes destroyed much of their armor and seriously degraded the North African country's air defense systems.

Dubbing the attacks "a crusader war" against the Libyan people, Gaddafi said Sunday that the airstrikes were "terrorist means" and he vowed a "long war."

Echoing Gaddafi's warning, a top French official said that the international military action against Libya is likely to last "a while."

Henri Guaino, a top adviser to French President Nicolas Sarkozy, told RMC radio that the strikes dealt a serious blow to Libya's air defenses and stalled Gaddafi's troops.

Libyan people's patriotic sentiment has run high after Western countries launched the joint military action. Pro-Gaddafi rallies and protests against the military intervention in Libya were seen as many people and students would take to the streets after work or school.

A Xinhua correspondent said the government has already opened arms depots to the people to protect the country and any Libyan citizen who registers at the government department can get guns and bullets now.

The UN Security Council will meet on the situation in Libya Thursday at the request of the Gaddafi government amid the airstrikes to enforce a no-fly zone authorized by UN Resolution 1973.