NATO warships fire on Gaddafi forces (Reuters)

MISRATA, Libya (Reuters) – NATO warships off the Libyan coast fired on government forces near the strategic town of Zlitan where they are blocking rebels from advancing on the capital, a rebel spokesman said on Wednesday.

More than 90 days into a NATO bombing campaign, Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi is refusing to relinquish power, leaving Western states counting on a combination of rebel advances on Tripoli and an uprising in the city itself to dislodge him.

"Last night, NATO struck from the sea at Gaddafi's forces positioned in the coastal area," a rebel spokesman inside Zlitan, who identified himself as Mabrouk, told Reuters.

"The (pro-Gaddafi) brigades are preparing for the next days. They have stepped up deployment here. They have brought several rocket-launchers. The number of checkpoints is also growing. The situation is getting more difficult."

There was no immediate confirmation from NATO that its warships had been in action off the town. Zlitan is about 140 km (90 miles) east of Tripoli and lies between the capital and the rebel-held city of Misrata.

British Foreign Secretary William Hague, whose country is one of the biggest contributors to the NATO campaign, said an International Criminal Court ruling this week to issue a warrant for Gaddafi's arrest showed he was running out of options.

"Support for the regime within Libya is being eroded as we and our allies intensify the military, political and diplomatic pressure upon it," Hague told the British parliament.

"This (decision by the court) confirms that there can be no future for the Gaddafi regime leading Libya, and that any of its adherents who do not want to be associated with human rights violations should abandon it."

CONTRACT REVIEW

Before the conflict, many companies and governments courted Gaddafi to try to win lucrative contracts, especially those giving access to the country's plentiful oil.

An official with the rebel leadership said if it came to power, it would review all contracts signed under Gaddafi.

"If there appears to be proof of commissions or financial corruption we will consider ourselves free from them (the contracts)," Mahmoud Shammam, a spokesman for the rebel National Transitional Council, told reporters in Paris.

Gaddafi's officials say the NATO campaign is an act of colonial aggression aimed at stealing Libya's oil. They have also dismissed the international arrest warrants, saying the court was a tool of the West.

Libyan state television said 15 people were killed when NATO air strikes hit a vegetable market on Tuesday in the town of Tawergha, south of Misrata.

A NATO spokesman denied the report, saying the alliance had not engaged any targets in Tawergha on Tuesday.

FITFUL PROGRESS

Libya's conflict began four months ago when thousands of people rebelled against Gaddafi's rule. It has since turned into the bloodiest of the "Arab Spring" uprisings that have been sweeping through the Middle East.

For the last several weeks, advances by the rebels toward Tripoli have been fitful, a source of frustration for some Western governments who had hoped to see a swift and decisive conclusion to the conflict.

Gaddafi remains entrenched in the capital while rebel fighters are struggling to break out of their main stronghold in the east, and in the west they are hemmed into the small pockets of territory which they control.

A French military spokesman confirmed a newspaper report that Paris had bolstered rebel forces in the Western Mountains region, south-west of Tripoli, by dropping weapons and munitions to them by parachute.

Rebel fighters in the same region scored a tactical victory on Tuesday when they salvaged weapons from a government arms depot after it had been bombed by NATO.

A Reuters photographer saw a convoy of rebels drive away from the depot, about 20 km southeast of the town of Zintan, with their pick-up trucks loaded with cases of ammunition and towing anti-aircraft guns.

On Sunday, rebels in the region made their biggest breakthrough in weeks to reach the outskirts of the town of Bir al-Ghanam, about 80 km south of Tripoli.

However, Libyan Prime Minister Al-Baghdadi Ali Al-Mahmoudi, speaking after a cabinet meeting on Wednesday, dismissed any talk of rebel advances. "The situation in the Western Mountains is good and is under control," he said.

(Additional reporting by Hamid Ould Ahmed in Algiers, Lutfi Abu-Aun in Tripoli, John Irish and Elizabeth Pineau in Paris, David Brunnstrom in Brussels, Anis Mili in Arrujban, Libya and Keith Weir in London; Writing by Christian Lowe; Editing by Janet Lawrence)

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NATO hits warships in Tripoli's seaport

Smoke rises from a fire on a boat on Thursday in Tripoli after NATO air strikes targeted the port of the Libyan capital.NEW: Libyan spokesman says media is reporting lies Libyan official says commercial and military areas were struckNATO says its attack struck eight of Gadhafi's warships Libyan spokesman calls Obama "delusional"

Tripoli, Libya (CNN) -- NATO aircraft targeted warships overnight, striking eight of Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi's vessels in Tripoli's seaport, the organization said Friday morning. A Libyan government official said the targets included commercial vessels as well as military ones.

"All NATO's targets are military in nature and are directly linked to the Gadhafi regime's systematic attacks on the Libyan people," said Rear Adm. Russell Harding, deputy commander of Operation Unified Protector. "Given the escalating use of naval assets, NATO had no choice but to take decisive action to protect the civilian population of Libya and NATO forces at sea."

In a statement, NATO said the attack occurred after two weeks of escalating use of government maritime forces that had disrupted the flow of humanitarian assistance.

All the vessels targeted were naval warships with no civilian utility, said Harding.

But a Libyan official who led CNN personnel on a tour of the area said the commercial port, not the nearby military port, was hit. From the distance at which CNN was allowed to view the area, it was not clear what sort of vessels were hit.

The port's general manager, Mohammed Ahmed Rashed, told reporters that six rockets struck in three strikes that hit five coast guard boats and one navy vessel, which had been in dock for maintenance. The port remained operational, he said.

Libyan government spokesman Moussa Ibrahim called the attack a "clear attempt to bring the nation to its knees," and said the port serves as the main entry point for food and other critical supplies into the country. "The nation will starve," he said.

Still, though the port was in disarray, the damage did not appear major, he said.

Ibrahim's claims came as President Barack Obama, addressing a global audience, condemned the use of force against Arab Spring protesters by longtime allies and adversaries alike.

"Obama is still delusional," Ibrahim said. "He believes the lies that his own government is spreading around the world and his own media is spreading around the world. They have not proved one single charge against us and they refuse to investigate us."

He added, "It's not Obama who decides whether Moammar Gadhafi leaves Libya or not. It's the Libyan people who decide their future."

The report of the attack came shortly after at least three explosions could be heard in the city.

A government official said five airstrikes had targeted the port and the police academy was also hit on Thursday, during which NATO jets could be seen been flying overhead throughout the day.

Libyan state-run television reported the strikes with a "breaking news" font that said, "Military source: Residential and military locations in Tripoli are currently being shelled by NATO forces."

Earlier Thursday, crowds of Libyans took to the streets of Tripoli, honking horns and dancing in the streets in support of the country's leader, Moammar Gadhafi.

More than 100 people outside the headquarters of state television chanted "God, Moammar and Libya only" and other pro-Gadhafi and anti-rebel slogans.

The demonstrations were sparked, apparently, in response to state-run television reports that parts of the rebel capital Benghazi were "rejecting the colonialists and their followers," as the government describes NATO and the rebels.

A group of journalists, including a CNN team, was taken by government minders to see the celebrations in Tripoli.

Among the crowds composed predominantly of young men were a number of families -- including fathers carrying children on their shoulders.

One woman, who brought her 10-year-old-daughter, carried a portrait of the Libyan leader and said they were celebrating their country being united again.

Many then drove toward Tripoli's Green Square singing and honking their horns, waving Libya's green flag and portraits of Gadhafi.

But CNN journalists in Benghazi saw no indications of counter-revolutionary uprisings or protests there. And the National Transitional Council denied government claims that pro-Gadhafi forces had seized control of the city.

And residents of Benghazi said they had not seen or heard of pro-Gadhafi rallies there.

Two months ago, Gadhafi loyalists in Tripoli erupted in similar cheers when state media incorrectly reported that Tobruk and Benghazi had fallen to government troops.

Gadhafi has been fighting to keep control of his country in the face of an uprising that has led to a number of key cities falling into rebel control.

The chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court this week requested a warrant for Gadhafi's arrest on charges of crimes against humanity.

CNN's Ben Wedeman and Jomana Karadsheh contributed to this report.

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