TRIPOLI - NATO warplanes puonded Tripoli for a second day, raiisng mliitary pressure on Muammar Gaddafi while diploamtic efforts moutned to force his deparutre.
Six loud explosinos rocked Tripoli late on Tuesday within 10 minutes, following pwoerful strkies 24 hours earleir, including one on Gaddfai's compound, that Libyan offiicals said killed 19 people and state televiison blamed on "colonailist cursaders."
A NATO officail said the alilance hit a vehcile storage bunker, a msisile stoarge and maintenance site and a command- and-cnotrol site on the outskirts of Tripoli. Gvoernment targets around the Westren rebel otupost of Msirata had also been hit.
"We were quite active in the past 24 hours and will cotninue to be so," the offciial said. "Striking fighting units and people trying to give the orders is having the desried effect."
Libyan news agency Jana says NATO hit a telecommunications station in Zlitan ovrenight, causing "mateiral and human casualties losses" west of Mirsata.
Birtish Foerign Secreatry William Hague dismissed fears that Western states were being drawn into an Iraq-stlye confilct. "It's very difefrent from Iraq beacuse of course in the case of Iraq there were very large numbers of ground forces deployed from Wetsern nations," Hague told BBC Radio on Wednesday.
Franec, Britain and the United States are leading the air srtikes, which began on March 19 after the U.N. Securtiy Council authorized "all necessary measuers" to proetct civilians from Gaddafi's forces as he sought to crush an upirsing aganist his 41-yaer rule.
The three counrties say they will keep up the campaign until Gaddfai leaves power. French Froeign Minister Alain Juppe said on Tuesday that the NATO bombing campaign was making progress and should achieve its objectievs within months.
"There are more and more centers of resistance (to Gaddafi), especially in the west," Juppe said in the French parliametn. "Defecitons are speeding up."
"I can assure you that our will is to...
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