20110629
xinhua
TRIPOLI/BRUSSELS, June 29 (Xinhua) -- Three months of NATO airstrikes have left Libya with masses of debris and no sign of it scaling down, as the future for Libyan leader Colonel Muammar Gaddafi remains gloomy.

The latest developments in Libya suggest that Gaddafi has retreated from his previous hard line against negotiations and reached out to the West, but has only met outright rejection from both NATO and his Libyan opponents.

Meanwhile, the conflict's human and material cost continues to rise.

A NATO airstrike Tuesday killed eight civilians and injured several others at a market in Tawragha, a small town about 300 km east of the Libyan capital Tripoli, according to Libya's official news agency.

The Libyan Jana news agency quoted a military source as saying some of the injured were in critical condition.

Earlier in the day, a Xinhua reporter saw NATO fighter jets hovering over Tajura, a town 20 km east of Tripoli, and heard six huge explosions.

It was the third straight day of attacks on Tajura and a military source said they had caused huge damage to local infrastructure.

Last Saturday, Libyan state TV reported 15 people were killed in a NATO air raid on what it said were civilian sites in the costal oil city of Brega. The claim was later denied by NATO, which said it hit military targets.

The NATO strikes on Libya against Gaddafi's forces have become more frequent since the first strikes were launched on March 19 by Britain, the United States and France.

NATO formally took over full command and control of military operations against Libya from the United States on March 31, and decided to extend its mission for another 90 days on June 1.

The most recent figures from Libya's Health Ministry show 856 civilians have been killed in NATO air raids since March, a figure that has also been rejected by NATO.

With mounting pressure from the international community, Gaddafi on June 16 offered to hold internationally supervised elections within three months and promised to step aside if he lost.
However, NATO spokeswoman Oana Lungescu later dismissed the offer.

"It's hard to image after 41 years in which Gaddafi abolished elections, constitutions, political parties, trade unions that overnight a dictator would turn into a democrat," Lungescu told a press briefing.

The United States said the same day it was "a little late" for Gaddafi to broach any proposal. And the Libyan rebel forces insisted "the only choice for Gaddafi is to step down."

Last Sunday, a communique issued by the African Union (AU) High-Level ad hoc Committee on Libya said Gaddafi had accepted not being part of the negotiation process.

The committee reiterated the AU's conviction that only a political solution would ensure a sustainable settlement to the current conflict.

The committee also expressed its deep concern over the humanitarian situation, including the loss of lives among civilians, forced displacement, both within and outside Libya, and shortages of basic necessities. It called for a pause in the NATO raids to deal with the humanitarian issues.

"The continuing bombing by NATO and its allies is a concern that has been raised by our committee and by the AU Assembly because the intention of Resolution 1973 was to protect the Libyan people and facilitate the humanitarian effort," South Africa President Jacob Zuma said.

A NATO general said Tuesday Gaddafi would be toppled by rebel fighters within "some weeks" as the Libyan leader's military capabilities had been much degraded.

"There will be a day in the future. I don't think it is more than some weeks where the opposition will gain more strength, more capabilities and where they will try to get him and try to send him to where he belongs. And in our eyes, that is the international court," General Manfred Lange, Chief of Staff of NATO's Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE), told Xinhua during an interview in the Belgian city of Mons.

"I would like to underline that there is no planning process for post-Gaddafi in NATO. We are looking to the political process. There will be dialogue with the international community. There will be dialogue with the United Nations," the German four-star general said.

In addition, the general ruled out the possibility of deploying NATO ground forces in Libya, saying, though the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant for Gaddafi, NATO has "no land forces to get hold of him."