US fighter jet crashlands, Gaddafi forces shell rebels

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AJDABIYA (Libya), Mar 22 (Agencies): Moammar Gaddafi's forces shelled rebels regrouping in the desert dunes outside a strategic eastern city on Tuesday, and his snipers and tanks roamed the streets of the last major opposition-held city in the west, signaling a prolonged battle ahead. An American fighter jet crashed, both crew ejecting safely. The U.S. Africa Command said both crew members were safe in American hands after what was believed to be a mechanical failure of the Air Force F-15 on Monday night. One was picked up by a rebel force and the other by a Marine Corps Osprey search and rescue aircraft. Disorganization among the rebels could hamper their attempts to exploit the air campaign by U.S. and European militaries, who themselves have struggled to articulate an endgame. Since the uprising began on Feb. 15, the opposition has been made up of disparate groups even as it took control of the entire east of the country. Regular citizens - residents of the "liberated" areas - formed an enthusiastic but undisciplined force that in the past weeks has charged ahead to fight Gaddafi forces, only to be beaten back by superior firepower. Regular army units that joined the rebellion have proven stronger and more organized, but only a few units have joined the battles while many have stayed behind as officers struggle to get together often antiquated, limited equipment and form a coordinated force. The ragtag band of hundreds of fighters who made their way to the outskirts of Ajdabiya on Tuesday milled about, clutching mortars, grenades and assault rifles. Some wore khaki fatigues. One man sported a bright white studded belt. Some men clambered up power lines in the rolling sand dunes of the desert, squinting and hoping to see Gaddafi's forces inside the besieged city of 140,000 that is the gateway to the east. Misrata, the last western city held by rebels, was being bombarded by Gaddafi's forces on Tuesday, his tanks and snipers controlling the streets, according to a doctor there who said civilians were surviving on dwindling supplies of food and water, desperately in search of shelter. Mokhtar Ali, a Libyan dissident in exile elsewhere in the Mideast, said he was in touch with his father in Misrata and described increasingly dire conditions. "Residents live on canned food and rainwater tanks," Ali said. He said Gaddafi's brigades storm residential areas knowing that they won't be bombed there. "People live in total darkness in terms of communications and electricity." The air campaign by U.S. and European militaries that began Saturday has unquestionably rearranged the map in Libya and rescued rebels from what had appeared to be imminent defeat. Monday night, Libyan state TV said a new round of strikes had begun in the capital, Tripoli, marking the third night of bombardment. But while the airstrikes can stop Gaddafi's troops from attacking rebel cities - in line with the U.N. mandate to protect civilians - the United States, at least, appeared deeply reluctant to go beyond that toward actively helping the rebel cause to oust the Libyan leader. A senior US defence official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss classified data, said Monday that the attacks thus far had reduced Libya's air defense capabilities by more than 50 per cent. That has enabled the coalition to focus more on extending the no-fly zone, which is now mainly over the coastal waters off Libya and around the rebel stronghold of Benghazi in the east, across the country to the Tripoli area this week. The sky above the capital of Tripoli lit up with anti-aircraft fire again on Monday night. Our correspondent heard one loud explosion nearby and several distant rumbles much further afield. Libyan state television reported that the capital was "under crusader enemy aerial bombardment" and that several sites had been attacked. The Libyan authorities said a naval base at Bussetta, about 10km (six miles) east of Tripoli, and a fishing village had also been hit. Libyan government spokesman Moussa Ibrahim said Monday's air and missile strikes had caused "numerous" civilian casualties, especially at the "civilian airport" in Sirte. US Defence Secretary Robert Gates said on Tuesday that coalition forces were "going to great lengths to avoid civilian casualties". Mr Gates, after talks in Moscow with his Russian counterpart Anatoly Serdyukov, added: "I also told him that I thought the significant military fighting that has been going on should recede in the next few days." Russia, which abstained in last week's UN Security Council vote on the resolution authorising force in Libya, has since criticised the air strikes. Fighting between Col Gaddafi's forces and the rebels has also continued, despite the declaration of a ceasefire by the government. A doctor in Misrata -- the last rebel-held city in western Libya -- said that residents had suffered another night of shelling by government forces. He reported 22 deaths overnight and said more than 100 people had been injured. There are also reports of continued fighting in Zintan, near the Tunisian border. Meanwhile rebel leaders based in eastern Libya have had talks with United Nations officials on the humanitarian situation there. Although food is being imported in the region from Egypt, it is not clear how viable the local economy will be if it remains cut off from the rest of Libya.