Global General

Gadhafi compound bombed

By Maria Golovnina and Michael Georgy (China Daily)
Updated: 2011-03-22 08:17

Rebel fighters flee with their injuried comrades after soldiers loyal to Libyan leader Muammar Gadhafi shelled their positions near the town of Ajdablyah, about 160 km south of the rebel stronghold of Benghazi, on Monday. [Photo/Agencies]

TRIPOLI - Western forces launched a second wave of air strikes on Libya overnight and officials in Tripoli said a missile intended to kill Muammar Gadhafi had destroyed a building in his fortified compound.

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"It was a barbaric bombing," said government spokesman Mussa Ibrahim, showing pieces of shrapnel that he said came from the missile. "This contradicts American and Western (statements) ... that it is not their target to attack this place."

The first air strikes on Saturday halted the advance of Gadhafi's forces on the rebel-held eastern city of Benghazi and had targeted Libya's air defenses.

The second wave of Western air strikes also hit Gadhafi's troops around Ajdabiyah, a strategic town in the barren, scrub of east Libya that rebels aim to retake.

The UN-mandated intervention "to protect civilians" drew criticism from Arab League chief Amr Moussa, who questioned the need for a heavy bombardment, which he said had killed many civilians.

Moussa said on Monday, however, that the league respected the UN resolution while stressing a need to protect civilians.

The United States, carrying out the air strikes in a coalition with Britain, France, Italy and Canada, among others, said the campaign was working and dismissed a ceasefire announcement by the Libyan military on Sunday evening.

Henri Guaino, one of French President Nicolas Sarkozy's closest aides, said the strikes were not aimed at ousting Gadhafi but told French radio that they were likely to last "a little while".

Britain's Defence Ministry said one of its submarines had again fired Tomahawk cruise missiles as part of a second wave of attacks.

The Libyan government urged people in towns, cities and tribes to join a march from the capital, Tripoli, to Benghazi "so we could exchange condolences, ... announce forgiveness ... and then we could sit down as one family ..."

Late on Sunday night, Libyan officials took Western reporters to Gadhafi's compound in Tripoli, a sprawling complex that houses his private quarters as well as a military barracks,

anti-aircraft batteries and other installations, to see what they said was the site of a missile attack two hours earlier.

A short walk from a brightly lit tent where Gadhafi receives his guests, the three-story building stood in ruins, and a circular hole was visible on its gutted facade.

A Libyan military spokesman announced a new ceasefire on Sunday, saying that "the Libyan armed forces ... have issued a command to all military units to safeguard an immediate ceasefire from 9 pm this evening".

The US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mike Mullen, said the no-fly zone was now in place.