Jets pound Libyan capital

Jets screamed in low over Tripoli early Tuesday, carrying out a series of strikes in quick succession, after witnesses reported two others near state media offices a few hours before.

Eight explosions were heard in the capital Tripoli as jets carried out unusually heavy bombardment over roughly three hours.

Four explosions rocked the Libyan capital shortly after 2:00 am (0000 GMT) on Tuesday, shaking the windows of a hotel housing journalists.

They were quickly followed by two more blasts.

Late Monday, witnesses reported two explosions in the capital as jets flew overhead, adding that smoke was rising from a site near the offices of Libyan television and state news agency JANA.

The blasts came after NATO chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen said time was running out for Libyan leader Moamer Gadhafi, who "should realise sooner rather than later that there's no future for him or his regime."

Earlier Monday, rebels fighting to oust Gadhafi drove his forces back from around the rebel-held western city Misrata and were poised to make another thrust.

After heavy clashes, the rebels controlled a stretch of coastal road west of Misrata, Libya's third city which Gadhafi's forces have laid siege to for more than two months, forcing thousands to flee.

In all, the United Nations said Monday that nearly 750,000 people have fled Libya since Gadhafi's forces launched an offensive against anti-government demonstrators.

The Red Cross meanwhile said it has delivered a shipment of humanitarian aid to Misrata amid concerns Gadhafi's forces may have dropped mines into the harbour from helicopters bearing the Red Cross emblem.

And the International Organisation for Migration said it had growing accounts from refugees arriving in Italy indicating an overloaded boat carrying up to 600 people capsized off the Libyan coast on Friday.

On the battlefront, the rebels forced Gadhafi's troops about 15 kilometres (10 miles) from Misrata on Monday, advancing to Dafnia and ready to move on Zliten, the next major town on the road to Tripoli, an AFP correspondent said.

Ahmad Hassan, a rebel spokesman in Misrata, said the insurgents had also "liberated" areas south and east of the city, killing many Gadhafi troops and seizing a large amount of weapons.

Eighteen rebels and civilians were wounded.

The report could not be immediately verified.

NATO said Monday that its warplanes hit targets and three buildings "hosting active shooters" in the vicinity of Misrata.

It also hit 26 ammunition depots and 16 "vehicle storages" near Hun, eight military vehicles near Brega, two military operational facilities near Tripoli and four ammunition dumps near Zintan.

Meanwhile, 70 representatives from 25 Libyan cities that have remained under the control of Gadhafi's regime, including Tripoli, pledged allegiance to the rebellion in Abu Dhabi on Monday.

"As we continue our support for the 17th February uprising and, in defiance of the regime's claims, we announce unequivocally our allegiance to and trust in the National Transitional Council (NTC)," they said in a statement.

Anti-regime sentiment is also alive and well only 40 kilometres (25 miles) west of Tripoli in Zawiya, which has been under the control of Gadhafi's forces for the past month.

"Gadhafi is a dictator," said one Zawiya shopkeeper who spoke on condition of anonymity, adding he thought that out of the population of the town "95 per cent are against the regime."

Another shopkeeper reported that clashes between rebels and regime forces had lasted for four hours overnight between Sunday and Monday.

Because people are afraid, he said, many say they support the Gadhafi regime, but "in reality, 90 per cent are against the regime."

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