Missile Destroys Gaddafi Command Centre Building

Journalists were shown the ruined building in Col Gaddafi's Tripoli compound 

A missile strike has destroyed a building in Libya's capital, Tripoli, which Western officials say was one of Col Muammar Gaddafi's command centre. Journalists were shown the wrecked building but it was not clear if there were any casualties. It comes as a coalition of countries including the US, UK and France continue strikes to enforce a UN-mandated no-fly zone over Libya.

Col Gaddafi has been fighting a rebellion that broke out last month. US officials have said Col Gaddafi himself is not a target of the air strikes, which they say are aimed at his armed forces and air defence systems.
On Sunday night anti-aircraft fire rose over Tripoli and several explosions were heard. A reporter saw a column of smoke rising from the direction of Bab al-Aziziya, where Col Gaddafi has his military base and compound.

Before Western air strikes began, it was the fate of the revolution against Muammar Gaddafi which hung in the balance.  But now it is his own fate, and that of his regime.  The power and precision of the modern weapons of the West have halted pro-Gaddafi forces in their tracks in the east.  The remnants of at least one armoured column have been seen smashed and burning on a road outside Benghazi. American officials, though, say this operation is not about providing the rebels with close air support, and have said explicitly that Col Gaddafi himself is not on the target list.

Unanswered questions remain about what happens if Col Gaddafi remains after the UN force has met its objectives, or about what will happen if his soldiers continue to terrorise such cities as Misrata using lighter weapons like machine guns that cannot be hit from the air. Western journalists taken by Libyan officials to the compound were shown a ruined three or four-storey building that the Libyans said had been bombed by the allied forces. An official from one of the coalition countries, who asked not to be named, told journalists the strike destroyed Col Gaddafi's "command and control capability".

Earlier at the Pentagon, Navy Vice Adm William Gortney said the military action, which began on Saturday, had been "very effective in significantly degrading the regime's air defence capability". He said ground forces moving on rebel positions were also open to attack. But he added that neither Col Gaddafi nor his residence would be targeted. A US official cast doubt on a Libyan government claim that its armed forces were observing a ceasefire, despite claims to that effect on Friday and Sunday.

 Allan Little in Tripoli says pro-Gaddafi troops have tried to enter Benghazi and have been in action at Misrata. A rebel spokesman in Misrata claims that pro-Gaddafi forces  launched fresh attacks on Sunday with heavy shelling.  And heavy gunfire and sporadic explosions were heard in the streets of the rebel stronghold of Benghazi on Sunday night, a witness told Reuters. There were also unconfirmed reports of pro-Gaddafi fighters opening fire from cars in the city. "Benghazi is not completely safe from attack but it is certainly under less threat than it was yesterday," he said.

US Defence Secretary Robert Gates has said that while the US will continue to play a part in military operations against Col Gaddafi's forces, it "will not have the pre-eminent role". The build-up of forces to enforce the no-fly zone continues. Qatar is to send four planes to join the coalition enforcing the UN-mandated no-fly zone, the US and France have said. The move would make Qatar the first Arab country to play an active part in the campaign against Col Gaddafi, who has been battling a month-long revolt.
Other Arab countries are also preparing to join the campaign against Col Gaddafi, Vice Adm Gortley said, adding that those governments would make their own announcements in due course.

The French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle has left the Mediterranean port of Toulon for Libya, while Denmark and Norway are each sending six planes. Spain has sent at least three planes, plus a refuelling aircraft, while Italy also has jets ready to deploy. Canada has deployed six jets to Sicily and is preparing them for action.
The head of the Arab League, who supported the idea of a no-fly zone, has criticised the severity of the bombardment. "What is happening in Libya differs from the aim of imposing a no-fly zone, and what we want is the protection of civilians and not the bombardment of more civilians," said Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa.  Arab League support was a key factor in getting UN Security Council backing for the resolution authorizing the move.