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    June 17, 2011

NATO Pounds Tripoli During Daytime Raids

   VOA News
   Smoke is seen after coalition air strikes in Tripoli, June 17, 2011
   Photo: Reuters
   Smoke is seen after coalition air strikes in Tripoli, June 17, 2011

   NATO warplanes shook the Libyan capital Tripoli on Friday with more
   bombing runs, targeting several parts of the city.
   It was not immediately clear what was hit or whether there were
   casualties. Sirens of rescue vehicles blared through the streets.
   NATO has most often struck under the cover of darkness, but daytime
   assaults have become more common. Friday's raids followed a barrage on
   Thursday night.
   As the attacks continued, there were tentative attempts at resolving
   the three-month-long conflict.
   Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi's son said his father is willing to hold
   elections, and that he would step aside if he loses. Rebels and the
   United States have rejected that offer.
   The son, Seif al-Islam Gadhafi, told Italian newspaper Corriere della
   Sera Thursday the vote could take place within three months. He said
   transparency could be guaranteed by international observers.
   Opposition spokesman Abdel Hafiz Ghoga told al-Jazeera television the
   time for elections has passed, "because our forces are at the outskirts
   of Tripoli." A U.S. State Department official also dismissed the idea.
   A Russian envoy in Tripoli, Mikhail Margelov, told reporters earlier
   Thursdayi that Libyan officials assured him the government is in direct
   contact with rebels in their eastern stronghold, Benghazi.
   Libyan Prime Minister Baghdadi al-Mahmoudi says Gadhafi will not
   relinquish power in response to international pressure for him to step
   down.

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