Nato is running short of attack aircraft for its bombing campaign against Muammar Gaddafi only days after taking command of the Libyan mission from a coalition led by the US, France, and Britain. David Cameron has pledged four more British Tornado jets on top of eight already being used for the air strikes. But pressure is growing for other European countries, especially France, to offer more after the Americans withdrew their attack aircraft from the campaign on Monday.
"We will need more strike capability," a Nato official said.
Since the French launched the first raids on Libya 16 days ago, the coalition and Nato have destroyed around 30% of Gaddafi's military capacity, Lieutenant-General Charles Bouchard, the Canadian officer leading the air campaign, told Nato ambassadors. But attempts to "degrade" the Libyan leader's firepower further were being complicated by a shift in tactics by Gaddafi, said Brigadier-General Marc van Uhm, a senior Nato military planner.
Six countries are believed to be engaged in the bombing campaign — France, Britain, Canada, Denmark, Belgium, and Norway — with many others involved in policing an arms embargo and enforcing a no-fly zone.
For more: Nato lacking strike aircraft for Libya campaign | World news | guardian.co.uk
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