Hague calls for Nato apology as four die in attack on rebel tanks

The deputy commander of Nato’s Libya operation, Rear Admiral Russ Harding, confirmed that alliance jets appeared to be to blame for yesterday’s incident, but refused to apologise.

Pilots had seen armoured vehicles manoeuvring on the road between Brega and Ajdabiya and were not aware that the opposition Transitional National Council (TNC) was using tanks, which had previously been used by Muammar Gaddafi’s troops to attack civilians, he said.

Nato Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen expressed regret at the loss of life in what he called an “unfortunate” incident.

TNC General Abdelfatah Yunis called for a “rational and convincing explanation” from Nato for the strike on opposition tanks on the road between Brega and Ajdabiya, which has been the scene of much of the fighting over the last few days.

Gen Yunis said he assumed that Thursday’s strike – the third such incident in recent days involving international forces – was “Nato by mistake, friendly fire”.

At a press conference in Naples, Rear Admiral Harding confirmed: “It would appear that two of our strikes yesterday may have resulted in the deaths of a number of TNC forces who were operating main battle tanks.

“The incident took place north-east of Brega, where fighting had gone back and forth on the road to Ajdabiya.

“The situation in that area is still very fluid, with tanks and other vehicles moving in different directions, making it very difficult to distinguish who may be operating them.

“In addition, until this time we had not seen the TNC operating tanks.

“It is important to stress that our mission is to protect civilians and we will continue to strike forces that could potentially cause harm to the people of Libya.”

Rear Admiral Harding said there is no onus on Nato to tell rebel forces where its planes are operating or to improve lines of communication with the Libyan opposition.

“I am not aware of what General Yunis has said, but I am not apologising,” he said. “The situation on the ground was extremely fluid and remains extremely fluid and, up until yesterday, we had no information that the TNC or the opposition forces were using tanks.

“There was equipment moving up and down the road between Brega and Ajdabiya, going forward and coming back, and our role is to protect civilians. Tanks have been used in the past to directly target civilians.”

But Mr Hague said Nato should be ready to say sorry for what appeared to be a “mistake”.

In the rebel stronghold of Benghazi angry crowds fired into the air and chanted against Gaddafi’s regime as militiamen killed in an accidental Nato air strike were carried for burial.

“The martyrs’ blood is not shed in vain!” cried some of the thousands of people gathered in central Benghazi to pray and mourn some of the dead from the attack on rebel tanks and vehicles.

Meanwhile anti-government fighters battled forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi for control of a key road last night in the only major rebel-held city in western Libya, a witness said.

International relief efforts were stepped up for civilians caught in the crossfire and a witness said rebel forces were trying to keep Gaddafi’s troops from taking control of a route linking central Misrata to its port, a critical lifeline for ships carrying humanitarian supplies into the battle zone.

The main clashes appeared in Misrata, where the outcome is symbolically significant for both sides.