Tripoli: NATO warplanes bombed command centers near Tripoli and in Libya's southwest as part of a continuing effort to cut communications links between Muammar Gaddafi and his units on the battlefields, the military alliance said on Saturday.
The raids targeted a facility near the capital yesterday and a command and control node near Sebha, a Gaddafi stronghold deep in Libya's southwestern desert, a NATO statement said.
Three surface-to-air missile launchers were hit near the government-held town of Sirte, and three rocket launchers near the rebel-held town of Zintan in the mountains south of Tripoli.
The alliance said its aircraft has flown more than 7,500 sorties since it took command of the aerial offensive, including nearly 3,000 strike missions.
With the bombing campaign entering its third month, NATO has come under increasing criticism that it is overstepping the UN Security Council's mandate, which provides for the protection of the civilian population but not for wider aerial attacks. Regional support for the daily bombings also appeared to be wavering.
This week, the South Africa-based Pan African Parliament, the legislative body of the African Union, condemned "the military aggression of NATO forces" and called for an urgent session of the UN General Assembly to consider the situation. The legislature reiterated its support for the AU peace plan that called for an immediate cease-fire and dialogue between the government and the rebels. The rebels have rejected that plan.
The Pan African Parliament also criticised NATO attacks on "public facilities, infrastructure and residential sites and the targeted assassination of (Libyan) leaders."
The African Union will hold an emergency session next week to discuss the crisis.
On Thursday, NATO warplanes bombed eight Libyan naval vessels in three ports, leaving ships partially sunken and charred and showering docks with debris in the military alliance's broadest attack on Muammar Gaddafi's navy.
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