European and American unleashed warplanes against Libya

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Libyan rebel military leader Abdel-Fattah Younis adjusts an opposition flag on the podium, as he speaks to the media at a hotel in Benghazi, Libya Tuesday, April 5, 2011. Younis lashed out at NATO saying it's not doing enough to protect opponents of Moammar Gadhafi and complained about what he said is an overly bureaucratic process that means NATO takes hours to respond to events on the battlefield.​

 

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Former British Prime Minister Gordon Brown answers question during an interview with The Associated Press in Geneva, Switzerland, Tuesday, April 5, 2011. Brown has warned that terrorist groups such as al-Qaida could exploit instability in the Middle East to establish safe havens. Brown told The Associated Press in the interview that al-Qaida was already taking advantage of political disarray in Yemen to organize its operations. He says Somalia has also been used as a staging post for terror attacks in Africa and the world needs to be vigilant against this happening elsewhere. Brown's comments echo those made by various Mideast leaders, including Libya's Moammar Gadhafi, who have warned of radical Islamic elements infiltrating popular protest movements demanding political reform.​

 

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Rebels gesture from their trucks to a passing vehicle carrying a multiple rocker launcher on the road to the frontline in Brega April 5, 2011. A Western air strike destroyed two of Muammar Gaddafi's military vehicles in the east Libyan oil town of Brega on Tuesday allowing rebels to edge forward, but diplomatic efforts to end the war remained stalled.​

 

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A training instructor, center-left, schools new recruits in the use of a rocket launcher, as others line up to receive training behind, at a rebel forces training camp in Benghazi, Libya Tuesday, April 5, 2011. Despite being supplemented by captured heavy weapons and backed by western airstrikes from some of the world's finest air forces, Libya's rebels are still a long way from overpowering the better trained and equipped forces of Moammar Gadhafi.​

 

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Men carrying weapons in a truck pass another truck loaded with fuel supplies for ambulances and rebels' trucks outside Brega in eastern Libya April 5, 2011. A Western air strike destroyed two of Muammar Gaddafi's military vehicles in the east Libyan oil town of Brega on Tuesday allowing rebels to edge forward, but diplomatic efforts to end the war remained stalled.​

 

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A man hands a weapon to another near a truck loaded with fuel supplies for the rebels outside Brega in eastern Libya April 5, 2011. Rebels have clashed with Muammar Gaddafi's forces in the east Libyan oil town of Brega for five days, rebel fighters said.​

 

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Libyan loyalist forces' bombs explode on rebels position on April 5, 2011 near the eastern oil town of Brega, the frontline in a war in which neither side has been able to make any significant advances for days.​

 

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Chief of Allied Operations Brigadier General Mark van Uhm briefs the media on the NATO no-fly zone operations in Libya at the Alliance headquarters in Brussels April 5, 2011. Western air strikes have so far destroyed nearly a third of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi's military power, the NATO official said on Tuesday.​

 

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NATO spokesperson Oana Lungescu briefs the press on NATOâs operation in Libya with Brigadier General Mark van Uhm (unseen), Chief of Allied Operations, at the NATO Headquarters in Brussels on April 5, 2011. Moamer Kadhafi's forces were hit by a NATO airstrike near Brega today after they launched an intensive artillery barrage that sent rebels fleeing from the outskirts of the east Libya oil town.​

 

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In this image taken during an organized trip by the Libyan authorities, signs of smoke damage can be seen in a main office of a Libyan police station burned by Zawiya rebels during fighting almost three weeks ago in the coastal city of Zawiya, 30 miles (50 kilometers) West of Tripoli, Libya, Tuesday, April 5, 2011. On the wall hangs a frame with Verses of the Quran.​

 

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United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Goodwill Ambassador Angelina Jolie meets with 26-year-old Veronica, a refugee from Ivory Coast, and Nanig Karekinian (R), a UNHCR Protection Officer at Shousha Camp near the Tunis-Libya border April 5, 2011. Veronica arrived at the camp on March 29, fleeing fighting in Tripoli, Libya. She now resides in a part of the camp of almost 9000 refugees with some 80-90 Ivorian men, who she says, look after her and ensure her security in the male-dominated camp, according to UNHCR.​

 

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France's industry minister Eric Bersson delivers his speech during the 12th International Oil Summit in Paris, Wednesday April 6, 2011. Unrest in Libya, Tunisia, Egypt and elsewhere in the region has sent shock waves through global oil markets, pushing price of a barrel above $108, the highest price since 2008. Libya's entire production of 1.6 million barrels a day has been shut down since February.​

 

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People loyal to Libya's leader Muammar Gaddafi hold signs during a protest against the coalition forces' and NATO strikes on Libya, in Tripoli April 6, 2011. The sign in the middle reads: "Uranium!? To protect civilians?!" The protesters think that uranium was used during the air strikes by the coalition forces.​

 

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British national Rashad Brydan from Manchester looks over at some fellow rebel fighters before getting into a car leaving Ajdabiya heading for the frontline as the sun sets, April 5, 2011. Brydan, 35-years-old, a dual national of Britain and Libya told AFP that he had bought his flack jacket on e-bay and decided to join his comrades to fight against regime leader Moamer Kadhafi's forces.​

 

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U.S. envoy Chris Stevens (R) leaves a hotel after a meeting with the Libyan opposition, in Benghazi April 5, 2011. Stevens has arrived in Benghazi to better get to know Libya's opposition and to discuss how the United States might help it meet its financial needs, a U.S. official said on Tuesday.​

 

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Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan (R) addresses lawmakers of his ruling Justice and Development (AKP) party at the parliament in Ankara on April 5, 2011. Turkey and Indonesia on April 5 called for a ceasefire in Libya and promised to help rebuild the country, as rebels and government forces battled for key eastern cities under a UN no-fly zone.​

 

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A Libyan rebel soldier rides with a rocket launcher on the road to Brega April 6, 2011 near Brega, Libya. Rebel militias fighting against Libyan government loyalist soldiers continued their stand-off in the eastern Libyan desert today, regaining ground toward a key oil port while anxiously awaiting further NATO airstrikes in their quest to unseat longtime Libyan ruler Muammar Gaddafi.​

 

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Rebel fighters fire rockets from the desert east of Brega April 6, 2011. Libyan rebels pushed back towards the contested oil port of Brega on Wednesday, regaining mostly desert territory lost to Muammar Gaddafi's army the day before.​

 

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Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini (L) and US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton attend a press conference at the US State Department on April 6, 2011 in Washington, DC. Clinton and Frattini spoke to the press about Libya and other issues after a bilateral meeting.​

U.S. Said to Consider Arming Libyan Rebels While Pushing for Qaddafi Exile
By Indira A.R. Lakshmanan
- Apr 7, 2011

The U.S. and Italy are each considering arming Libyan opposition forces to speed the ouster of Muammar Qaddafi, according to an official involved in closed- door talks between Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini in Washington yesterday.
Frattini also told Clinton that the African Union, whose commission chairman, Jean Ping, met with Frattini in Rome on April 5, has promised to send a delegation to Tripoli in coming days to try to persuade Qaddafi to leave the country, according to the official, who wasn’t authorized to comment on the private discussions at the State Department.
Clinton floated the question of whether Italy would be willing to send its forces to help train or assist Libyan rebels in combat, an option that Frattini rejected as unrealistic given sensitivities over Italy’s role as Libya’s former colonial ruler, the official said.
State Department press officers offered no rundown of what was discussed in the meeting, and a spokesman did not respond to an e-mail request for comment last night. Clinton told reporters after the meeting that she and Frattini had discussed how every nation involved can “do more to help the opposition make very fast progress.”
The rebels who came together two months ago to revolt against Qaddafi’s rule “were not soldiers” or trained military forces, she said. “They were doctors and lawyers and university professors and economists and young men who were students, and they are being attacked by mercenaries, by ruthless forces.”