Misrata, April 22: The United States has started using armed drones against Muammar Gaddafi’s troops, who battled rebels at close quarters on the streets of Misrata, despite Western threats to step up a month-old air war.
Rebels welcomed the deployment of US unmanned aircraft and said they hoped the move would protect civilians.
Doctors at the hospital in Misrata, the rebels’ last major bastion in the West of the country, said nine insurgents were killed in fighting on Thursday.
US Defense Secretary Robert Gates told a Washington news conference US President Barack Obama had authorised the use of Predator drones and they were already in operation.
General James Cartwright, vice chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the first two Predators were sent to Libya on Thursday but had to turn back because of bad weather.
The United States planned to maintain two patrols of armed Predators above Libya at any given time, Cartwright said.
The drones have proven a potent weapon in Pakistan and other areas where US forces have no troops on the ground. They can stay aloft nearly perpetually without being noticed from the ground and hit targets with missiles, with no risk to crew.
“There’s no doubt that will help protect civilians and we welcome that step from the American administration,” Rebel spokesman Abdel Hafiz Ghoga said on Al Jazeera television.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Gaddafi’s forces were carrying out “vicious attacks” on Misrata and might have used cluster bombs against civilians.
-Agencies