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Colonel Muammar Gaddafi's air force "no longer exists as a fighting force", the commander of British aircraft operating over Libya has said.

Air Vice Marshal Greg Bagwell said the allies could now operate "with near impunity" over the skies of Libya.

He said they were now applying unrelenting pressure on the Libyan armed forces.

Latest reports say government tanks are shelling the hospital in the rebel-held western city of Misrata.

Witnesses had earlier said the tanks encircling the city had pulled back from their positions under air assault from international forces.

Wednesday night also saw reports of loud explosions in and around the capital Tripoli.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has again urged Col Gaddafi to step down and leave Libya.

AVM Bagwell was speaking during a visit to RAF aircrew based at Gioia del Colle in southern Italy.
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Analysis
image of Ian Pannell, Ian Pannell, BBC News, Benghazi

Thousands of people gathered on the streets of Benghazi, Libya's second city and the rebels' stronghold, to thank Britain, France, America and others for what they see as their support for the revolution of the east and the protection of civilians from attacks by government forces.

There was condemnation of Russia and China for their abstention from the UN vote and their criticism of alleged civilian casualties.

A separate march by women joined the protest to show solidarity with the people of Misrata, the last city in the west to hold out against constant bombardment by Colonel Gaddafi's troops.

Fighting has continued in both Misrata and Ajdabiya in the east, and people here are calling for more targeted bombing of government troops.

The new authority in Benghazi is struggling to find its feet and their rebel forces are finding it hard to advance against government troops. They may welcome the support of the international community, but they've yet to use it to gain a major advantage against the government that's ruled them for the last four decades.

"We are watching over the innocent people of Libya and ensuring that we protect them from attack," he said.

"We have the Libyan ground forces under constant observation and we attack them whenever they threaten civilians or attack population centres."

His comments come as Nato members debate who should lead the intervention, with the US keen to hand over to Nato.

They were echoed by Rear Admiral Gerard Hueber, US chief of staff for the Libya mission, who said: "We are putting pressure on Gaddafi's ground forces that are threatening cities." Asked if that meant air strikes, he replied: "Yes."

Speaking to reporters by phone from the command ship USS Mount Whitney, in the Mediterranean, he insisted there had been no reports of civilian casualties caused by allied action.

"Our mission here is to protect the civilian populace and we choose our targets and plan our actions with that as a top priority."

He said allied aircraft had flown 175 sorties in the last 24 hours - 113 of them by US aircraft.
Naval blockade

Meanwhile, ships from Nato nations have started patrolling off the Libyan coast to enforce a UN arms embargo against Col Gaddafi's regime.

A spokesman for the Western military alliance, Canadian Brig Gen Pierre St Amand, said six vessels were taking part in the first day of patrols.

They aim to intercept and board ships suspected of ferrying arms to the Libyan government.

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The BBC's Mark Mardell on the role of the USS Bataan

"If, after inspection, doubts remain as to the legitimacy of the cargo, the vessel will be diverted to a designated port for further inspection," Gen St Amand said.

Nato members have been holding talks about assuming responsibility for the no-fly zone over Libya, so far without agreement.

Turkey is an integral part of the naval blockade but expressed concern about the alliance taking over command of the no-fly zone from the US.

US Defence Secretary Robert Gates has arrived in the Egyptian capital Cairo for talks on both Libya and Egypt's hoped-for transition to democracy following the fall of Hosni Mubarak.

He was previously in Moscow, where President Dmitry Medvedev criticised what he called the "indiscriminate use of force" by coalition aircraft in Libya.

Mr Gates rejected the criticism of the air strikes, saying Col Gaddafi was lying about civilian casualties.

Russia abstained from last week's UN Security Council resolution that authorised armed intervention in Libya to protect civilians.

frigidmagi wrote:I was, I just find it humorous that this went from us dragging our feet to us flying the most sorties, especially with Obama repeatedly saying that this would be mostly a European Show.