Libyas battered NTC forces urge more NATO strikes

Anti-Gaddafi forces urged NATO on Wednesday to intensify its air war as they took heavy losses in a push on the ousted despots birthplace of Sirte and his other remaining bastion, Bani Walid.In a radio message, Moammar Gaddafi hailed the resistance in Bani Walid, where the National Transitional Council (NTC) said 11 of its fighters were killed Tuesday in a hail of rockets fired by forces loyal to the former strongman.And while the fugitive Gaddafis whereabouts remain unknown, Libyas defence ministry spokesman said one of the deposed leaders sons, Seif al-Islam, is in Bani Walid and other, Mutassem, is in Sirte.Along with his father and former intelligence chief Abdullah al-Senussi, Seif is wanted by the International Criminal Court for alleged crimes against humanity.Among those killed in the barrage was senior commander Daou al-Salhine al-Jadak, whose car was struck by a rocket as he headed towards the front, NTC chief negotiator Abdullah Kenshil said.Jadak, one of the highest ranking NTC commanders in Bani Walid and who hailed from the town, said two days before his death that he had been imprisoned for more than 18 years for helping organise a 1993 rebellion.A report said that despite heavy use of tanks, rocket launchers and artillery, the NTC forces had not advanced from positions held for the past few days in the desert town 170 kilometres (100 miles) southeast of Tripoli.There is always incoming missile and artillery fire. We are returning fire with heavy weapons but we are not sending in infantry. We are waiting for reinforcements, Captain Walid Khaimej said.NATO is here but is not doing enough. They take out the rocket launchers firing at us, but they are immediately replaced. We need more help from NATO.Ahmed Hamza, a 22-year-old who had been studying in Scotland before returning to Libya to fight for the NTC, said we need more firepower, more artillery, more tanks. The infantry cannot move in because whoever tries gets taken out.What we really need is more strikes from NATO. NATO is only hitting once or twice or day. Thats not enough, Hamza said.Under a UN mandate, the alliance has been giving air support to the popular revolt that erupted in February and forced Gaddafi out of Tripoli and into hiding last month.It has scaled down the intensity of its strikes, saying in operational updates that it has taken out targets in Bani Walid on just one of the past three days.