As Allied bombardment of Tripoli continued, Libyan rebels advanced on Ajdabiya March 24 in their bid to retake the strategic eastern oil town from troops loyal to Moammar Qaddafi. The rebels, whose weapons range from Kalashnikovs to knives, face cordons of tanks guarding approaches to the city, and the populace is fleeing en masse. In Benghazi, rebel spokesman Ahmed Omar Bani said: "We are trying to negotiate with these people [Qaddafi troops] in Ajdabiya because we are almost sure that they have lost contact with their headquarters. Truthfully some of the Ajdabiya militias have asked to surrender, to be left alone and to go back home. But we cannot leave them to go without interrogation because the answers we get from them will be useful in saving lives." (Middle East Online, March 24)

US Defense Secretary Robert Gates said in Cairo March 23 that the UN Security Council resolution authorizing a no-fly zone in Libya is "not time-limited" and that it was unrealistic to expect military action to be over in a matter of weeks. "So I think that there is no current timeline in terms of when it might end," he told reporters. The comments came as nearly 12 hours of Allied air-strikes broke the Libyan regime's five-day siege of the key rebel-held town of Misurata. Aerial bombardment destroyed tanks and artillery, sending the bulk of Moammar Qaddafi's besieging forces fleeing, and securing the town for the rebels. The battle for Misurata is said to have cost some 100 lives from shelling, snipers and street fighting. (Middle East Online, The Guardian, March 23)

As air-strikes continue on Libya, Tripoli on March 21 accused both Allied forces and rebels of breaking a ceasefire, which it had announced late the previous day—but rebel sources said Qaddafi's troops continued to attack their western enclave of Misurata. Qaddafi's troops retreated 100 kilometers from the rebel capital of Benghazi after being strafed by coalition aircraft, but beat off a rebel advance on their new positions in Ajdabiya. Gen. Carter Ham, head of the US Africa Command, said US forces have no mission to support a ground offensive by the rebels—but that Qaddafi's troops in the Benghazi area show "little will or capability to resume offensive operations."

US, French and British warplanes continued to strike targets in Libya March 21—including Qaddafi's central compound, sparking accusations that Allied forces are trying to kill the Libyan leader. This was denied by the Pentagon, but Hillary Clinton stated: "We will continue to work with our partners in the international community to press Qaddafi to leave, and to support the legitimate aspirations of the Libyan people." There were rumors that Qaddafi had been killed; he spoke the day before the strike to pledge resistance to the Allies' "naked aggression," but hasn't been heard from since. The Libyan military announced a ceasefire, but this was met by skepticism. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said: "I sincerely hope and urge the Libyan authorities to keep their word. They have been continuing to attack the civilian population." Rebel fighters trying to retake the eastern town of Ajdabiya said they were driven back by rocket and tank fire from government loyalists still controlling approaches to the city. Fighting was also reported from Misurata, the last western city held by the rebels.

The international operation to enforce a no-fly zone over Libya "has been successful," top US military commander Michael Mullen said March 20. "They are no longer marching on Benghazi," Mullen, chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told ABC News. Meanwhile, the Arab League secretary general, Amr Moussa, protested the air-strikes against Libya, saying he would call a league meeting to reconsider Arab approval of the Western military intervention. "What is happening in Libya differs from the aim of imposing a no-fly zone," he said. "And what we want is the protection of civilians and not the shelling of more civilians." (Middle East Online, WP, March 20)

Following opening French air-strikes near Benghazi, US and British warships launched more than 110 Tomahawk missiles at defense facilities along the Libyan coast. The strikes targeted specifically surface-to-air missile sites and radar detectors that are part of the Libyan military's air defense infrastructure, said Vice Admiral William E. Gortney, commander of US Naval Forces Central Command. The campaign, code-named Operation Odyssey Dawn is being co-ordinated at a US headquarters in Germany. In a brief statement, Qaddafi pledged resistance to the "colonial crusader" attacks. (LAT, BBC News, March 19)

France has launched military strikes on Libyan tanks advancing on rebel-held Benghazi, Paris announced March 19. After an international meeting on the situation in Libya at Elysee Palace, President Nicolas Sarkozy said: "At unity with our partners our air forces will counteract any attacks from Col. Qaddafi planes on the residents of Benghazi. Other French aircraft are ready to countervail against armored vehicles which may threaten civilians." The French air-strikes on Qaddafi's forces came just as Qaddafi's planes carried out their first air-strikes on Benghazi, sending thousands of residents fleeing the city. The highway to al-Bayda, the next town to the east, is reported to be clogged with cars packed with families fleeing Benghazi. (APA, BBC News, AP, AGI, March 19)

The Libyan government announced an immediate ceasefire in its offensive against rebels in the country's east March 18, as a coalition of Western and Arab nations prepared for air-strikes following the previous day's UN Security Council resolution. Rebels said government forces had been bombarding Misrata, the last rebel-held city in the west—but the government denied that this had continued after the ceasefire. Government spokesman Mussa Ibrahim told Reuters: "Libya has already implemented the ceasefire. We have not carried out any military operations today on Misrata or anywhere else in the country." He added that Tripoli wanted the Turkish and Maltese authorities to "supervise and help implement the ceasefire."