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NATO Investigating Reports Airstrike Killed Libyan Civilians

   VOA News  April 02, 2011
   Rebel fighters push cars burnt in what they say was a coalition
   airstrike on a group of vehicles killing around ten on the road between
   Ajdabiyah and Brega, in Libya, April 2, 2011

Photo: Reuters

   Rebel fighters push cars burnt in what they say was a coalition
   airstrike on a group of vehicles killing around ten on the road between
   Ajdabiyah and Brega, in Libya, April 2, 2011

   NATO said Saturday it is investigating reports from Libyan rebels that
   a coalition airstrike hit a group of rebel fighters near the eastern
   oil town of Brega, killing at least three of them.
   Witnesses say someone in the group had fired heavy anti-aircraft guns
   into the air before the strike late Friday, although it is unclear if
   the guns were fired by celebrating rebels or forces loyal to Libyan
   leader Moammar Gadhafi that had infiltrated the group.
   The witnesses say they saw at least four burning vehicles after
   Friday's strike.
   The French news agency, AFP, says rebels have claimed victory in the
   battle for Brega after heavy fighting Saturday. Brega is one of several
   oil towns along the Mediterranean coast that have changed hands since
   the uprising against the 42-year-old rule of Gadhafi began in
   mid-February.
   On Friday, an opposition leader in the eastern rebel stronghold of
   Benghazi proposed a cease-fire. Mustafa Abdul-Jalil, a former Libyan
   justice minister, said government troops must first withdraw from
   cities they now control while ending their siege of those under control
   of the rebels. He also said Libyans living in western cities must be
   given the freedom to determine their fate.
   The cease-fire offer was almost immediately rejected by the Gadhafi
   government as a "trick." A government spokesman, Mussa Ibrahim, told
   reporters in the capital, Tripoli, that the rebels' demands are
   "impossible" and "never offered peace."
   The Libyan government has labeled the continued Western coalition air
   attacks in support of the rebels as "crimes against humanity." It said
   at least six civilians were killed in an air attack Thursday on a
   village near Brega.

   Some information for this report was provided by AP and Reuters.
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References

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