AJDABIYA, Libya -- International airstrikes forced Moammar Gadhafi's forces to withdraw tanks that were besieging a rebel-held western city Wednesday, residents said, while people fleeing a strategic city in the east said the situation was deteriorating amid relentless shelling.
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Western diplomats, meanwhile, said an agreement was emerging about NATO would take responsibility for a no-fly zone over Libya after the United States which has effectively commanded the operation until now - reiterated that it was committed to the transition.
NATO warships were to begin patrolling off Libya's coast Wednesday to enforce the U.N. arms embargo.
The international coalition continued airstrikes and patrols aimed at enforcing a no-fly zone and protecting Libyan civilians early Wednesday, but the report that Misrata was targeted could not immediately be confirmed.
U.S. Navy Adm. Samuel J. Locklear, the on-scene commander, said Tuesday the coalition was "considering all options" in response to intelligence showing troops were targeting civilians in the city, 125 miles (200 kilometers) southeast of Tripoli.
A doctor in Misrata said the tanks fled shortly after the airstrikes began around midnight, giving the city a much-needed reprieve after more than a week of attacks and a punishing blockade. The city is inaccessible to human rights monitors or journalists.
Read More: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/03/23/libya-forces-intensify-attacks_n_839415.html
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