BENGHAZI, Libya – British Apache and French attack helicopters
struck targets for the first time in NATO's campaign in Libya, hitting
Moammar Gadhafi's troops early Saturday in several locations, including
near a key coastal oil city, the alliance said.
The
action came as a significant step-up in NATO's operations and a major
boost to Libyan rebels on the ground, just a day after rebel fighters
forced government troops from three western towns and broke the siege
of a fourth in yet another erosion of Gadhafi's power since the
eruption in mid-February of the uprising to end his 42-year rule.
NATO
said the helicopters struck targets that included Gadhafi troops hiding
in populated areas, military vehicles and equipment.
The
Apaches hit two targets near the coastal city of Brega, according to a
statement from the Ministry of Defense in London. It said they took off
from HMS Ocean, stationed off the Libyan coast and returned safely
after completing their mission in the early morning hours.
The
French helicopters took off from the helicopter transport ship Tonnerre
in the Mediterranean, said Col. Thierry Burkhard. He said the French
helicopters struck 15 military vehicles and 5 military command
buildings, without identifying the sites or their location.
He
said the French helicopters came under light firearms fire but were not
hit or damaged. Burkhard said the operation was aimed at putting
"additional pressure on the Gadhafi forces who continue to threaten the
civilian population."
Until now, NATO has
relied on attack jets, generally flying above 15,000 feet (4,500
meters) — nearly three miles (five kilometers) high and pounding
Gadhafi targets in relentless overnight bombings.
But the helicopters are a game-changer, giving the alliance a key advantage in close-up combat, flying at much lower altitudes.
NATO
quoted Lt. Gen. Charles Bouchard, commander of the Libya operation, as
saying the engagement "demonstrates the unique capabilities brought to
bear by attack helicopters."
The strikes came
after Libyan rebels on Friday won control of four towns in the western
Nafusa mountain range, where government forces have besieged and
randomly shelled rebel-held areas for months.
After
weeks of siege, government forces drove about seven tanks and a number
of armored vehicles into Yifran in early May and surrounded its near
neighbor Galaa, Col. Jumaa Ibrahim of the region's rebel military
council said via Skype.
Fighters who had fled
then used their knowledge of area to chip away at the government
forces, he said. On Friday, the rebels entered the town to find that
the last government forces had fled the day before.
The
rebels also pushed government fighters from Shakshuk and Qasr al-Haj,
two villages near a key road that runs along the mountain range's
northern edge, Ibrahim said. The latter holds an important power
station for local towns.
Ibrahim said rebel
forces took the towns on Thursday then moved north to clash with
Gadhafi forces in the village of Bir Ayyad on Friday. There were no
reports of casualties.
The small rebel force in
the western mountains is unlikely to threaten Gadhafi's hold on
Tripoli, 45 miles (70 kilometers) northwest, but the victories could
bring relief to local residents by opening up roads between their
communities. The western mountain population is tiny compared to the
large rebel-held territories in east Libya.
The
conflict in Libya is nearly four months along, but the situation on the
ground appears mostly stalemated. NATO airstrikes have kept the
outgunned rebels from being overrun, but the rebels have been unable to
mount an effective offensive against Gadhafi's better equipped armed
forces.
Gadhafi's regime has been slowly
crumbling from within. A significant number of army officers and
several Cabinet ministers have defected, and most have expressed
support for the opposition, but Gadhafi's hold on power shows little
sign of loosening.
Gadhafi has been seen in
public rarely and heard even less frequently since a NATO airstrike on
his compound killed one of his sons on April 30. Questions are arising
about the physical and mental state of the 69-year-old dictator, who
has ruled Libya since 1969.
Rebels have turned down initiatives calling for cease-fires,
insisting that Gadhafi and his sons must relinquish power and leave the
country. AP
