UAE urges Libya to begin 'inclusive political process' as air raids stun Tripoli

Rebels claim Qaddafi's men are on the run as Nato chief says time is running out for the Libyan leader.

A police officer looks at a damaged building at the High Commission for Children in Tripoli which the Libyan government said was caused by coalition air strikes.

TRIPOLI // Nato air raids rocked Tripoli yesterday as rebels in besieged Misurata claimed to be pushing back Col Muammar Qaddafi's forces.

Jets screamed in low over the capital in the early hours, carrying out an unusually heavy bombardment that lasted more than three hours. The alliance said the raids were not aimed at the Libyan strongman.

The attack came after the Nato chief, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, claimed time was running out for Col Qaddafi. The Libyan leader "should realise sooner rather than later that there is no future for him or his regime", he said.

The United Nations said the offensive launched by Col Qaddafi's forces was paralysing the oil-rich nation and causing the population to suffer widespread shortages of essential goods.

The UAE pledged yesterday to continue aid to Libya's people and called for an "inclusive political process" that would allow all Libyans to have a say in how their country was run.

Addressing the UN Security Council, the UAE's ambassador to the UN, Ahmed al Jarman, said the Emirates had embarked on an "intensive and continuing endeavour" to tackle the humanitarian crisis brought about by Libya's civil conflict.

"The UAE affirms its support for the legitimate aspirations of the Libyan people within the framework of an inclusive political process that would enable the Libyan people to determine their future and bring a lasting peace to their country," Mr al Jarman said.

The envoy described a "critical humanitarian situation facing the Libyan people" in which civilians faced danger and widespread shortages of basic supplies. "We will continue our cooperation with these international efforts to ensure the protection of civilians," he said.

Witnesses said the latest Nato-led air bombardment hit targets near Col Qaddafi's compound, but the mission's chief operations officer, Brig Gen Claudio Gabellini, denied the raids aim had been to kill the Libyan leader.

"All Nato targets are military targets, which means that the targets we've been hitting, and it happened also last night in Tripoli, are command and control bunkers," Brig Gen Gabellini told reporters.

"Nato is not targeting individuals," he said via videolink from his headquarters in Naples, Italy.

Asked whether Col Qaddafi was still alive, the Italian general said: "We don't have any evidence. We don't know what [Qaddafi] is doing right now.

"To tell you the truth, we are not really interested in what he is doing. Our mandate is to protect civilians from attacks or from the threats of attacks, so we are not looking after individuals."

Col Qaddafi escaped a similar Nato bombing blitz on May 1 in Tripoli, which killed his second youngest son, Seif al-Arab, and three of his grandchildren.

The rebels said they had driven Col Qaddafi's forces back from around Misurata, which has been under loyalist siege for about two months, and were poised to make another thrust.

After heavy clashes, the rebels took control of a stretch of coastal road west of Misurata, their last major stronghold in the west, prompting thousands to flee.

The rebels forced government troops about 15 kilometres from Misurata, advancing to Dafnia, and were preparing to move on Zliten, the next major town on the road to Tripoli.

Ahmad Hassan, a rebel spokesman in Miusrata, said the insurgents had also "liberated" areas south and east of the city, killing government troops and seizing a large amount of weapons. Eighteen rebels and civilians were wounded.

The rebel claims could not be immediately verified.

Brig Gen Gabellini said Nato had struck more than 30 military targets in and around Misurata in the past week, including a dozen main battle tanks, three rocket-launcher systems, three self-propelled artillery pieces and 15 ammunition storage sites.

There has also been deadly fighting in recent days on the frontline between the rebel-held east and the mainly government-held west, observers said.

* Agence France-Presse, with additional reporting by James Reinl at the UN