20110323
Xinhua
TRIPOLI, March 22 (Xinhua) -- Clashes between government forces and rebels erupted again in eastern Libya Tuesday, as Western warplanes continued to enforce a no-fly zone over the North African country.



Pan-Arab Al-Jazeera TV said clashes erupted Tuesday between Libyan rebels and forces loyal to Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi on the northeast city of Ajdabiya.

Rebels reportedly were regrouping near Ajdabiya and hundreds of fighters were seen moving towards the outskirts of the city, carrying weapons such as mortars.

Libyan government forces pulled back 100 km from the main opposition stronghold of Benghazi on Monday after Western forces initiated air attacks on Saturday.

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

Western warplanes Tuesday continued to take off from various bases in Britain, Italy and other places and swept over Libya to enforce the U.N.-mandated no-fly zone.

Also on Tuesday, the U.S. Africa Command, based in Germany, confirmed that a U.S. F-15E fighter jet crashed Monday afternoon (local time) some 40 km southwest of Benghazi due to a malfunction, but the two pilots ejected and had been recovered safely.

The pilots drifted to different locations after ejecting from the jet and both suffered minor injuries, it said.

The Arab League (AL) held a meeting Tuesday to discuss the Libyan situation. The group supported the enforcement of the no-fly zone.

China Tuesday expressed concern over reports the multinational military strike against Libya had caused civilian casualties.

"The U.N. resolution on no-fly zone over Libya is aimed to protect civilians. We oppose abuse of force causing more civilian casualties and more serious humanitarian disasters," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu said.

"We again call on relevant sides to cease fire immediately and resolve the Libya issue in a peaceful manner," Jiang said.

Russian Defence Minister Anatoly Serdyukov said, after meeting visiting U.S. Defence Secretary Robert Gates in Moscow on Tuesday, that an immediate ceasefire and dialogue would best protect civilians in Libya.

On Monday, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin severely criticized the U.S. role in the "Odyssey Dawn" operation against Libya, saying "the use of force against other countries had become a steady trend in U.S. policy".

He also said the U.N. resolution "is, surely, flawed and lame...as it allows intervention in a sovereign country".

Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe Monday reprimanded the West for bombing Libya, saying some countries manipulated the U.N. resolution to attack Libya.

Mugabe said the African Union and the Arab League had indeed been cheated by the West.

Bolivian President Evo Morales told a press conference Monday it was unaccepted that the Western coalition, under the pretext of protecting Libyan civilians, bombed and destroyed the country.

He described the intervention as "a crime, an assault and an aggression", and urged the United Nations to order an immediate end to the military operation.

Morales also called for the withdrawal of the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize from U.S. President Barack Obama.

Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa denounced the military intervention as "terrible," and called for an "immediate ceasefire" to make way for peaceful negotiations.

Reports said at least 64 Libyans had been killed and 150 others wounded since Saturday and most of Libya's civil airports and seaports were destroyed.

France, Britain and the United States launched airstrikes against Libya on Saturday after the UN Security Council adopted a resolution on Thursday to impose a no-fly zone over Libya and authorize all necessary measures, excluding ground troops, to safeguard Libyan civilians.

The three Western powers and others have since launched several rounds of airstrikes and missile attacks on Libyan targets.

Canadian CF-18 Hornet jet fighters Monday flew their first mission to help enforce the no-fly zone over Libya, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) reported.

Speaking to a Pentagon briefing live from his headquarters in Stuttgart, Germany, Commander of U.S. Africa Command Gen. Carter Ham said Monday the coalition was achieving its military objectives in Libya.

He said the no-fly zone imposed upon Libya was expanding and would soon cover a 1,000-km area, including the capital Tripoli, to make it possible for humanitarian relief to enter that country.

Ham said the allies were not coordinating directly with Libyan anti-government forces, but planes of Libyan government forces had been grounded, and advances against rebel stronghold Benghazi had been stopped.

Ham said coalition planes flew some 70 to 80 sorties over Libya on Monday, more than half of them by non-U.S. planes. He expected the frequency of the flights to decrease.

The U.N. Security Council is expected to meet to discuss the situation on Thursday at the request of the Libyan government.