Britain to stay in Libya fight as long as needed

Britain to stay in Libya fight as long as needed

British Prime Minister, David Cameron, has brushed aside doubts over how long Britain could maintain its role in Libya, saying it could stay in the fight for as long as needed.

The assurance comes as senior British military officers complain about the strain on defence resources as the NATO bombing campaign enters its fourth month, with rebels seeking to oust Libyan leader, Muammar Gaddafi, sustaining new losses.

Addressing a news conference in London after British media cited a leaked note from an air chief marshal warning of low morale in the force, Cameron said: "I'm absolutely confident that we can keep this pressure up, we can maintain this mission for as long as is necessary,."

"Time is on our side, not on Gaddafi's side," he said.

Libya battle

The alliance for the first time admitted killing civilians in an aerial attack last week and Libya's accusation on Monday that a further 19 died in a separate NATO air strike has raised further questions about the operation.

Rebels have made slow progress since NATO countries joined the fight in March but are now inching towards Tripoli from a bastion in Misrata east of the capital and from the Western Mountains region to its southwest.

However the going has been tough and a medical official said on Tuesday 11 rebel fighters were killed and 36 were wounded in fighting around Misrata on Monday.

"Gaddafi's forces have moved forward about a kilometre (half a mile)," Dr Mohammed Grigda told reporters at the field hospital in Dafniya just outside Misrata.
Losing grounds

Reports form Dafniya say the rebel mortar positions have edged back slightly.

Separately, NATO said it lost an unmanned helicopter drone over Libya on Tuesday but denied a Libyan state television report that it was a manned Apache aircraft.

"NATO confirms it has not lost any attack helicopter," NATO military spokesman Wing Commander Mike Bracken said in a statement. An "unmanned autonomous helicopter drone" had lost contact with its command centre,” it said.

Gaddafi allies denounce the bombing campaign as a foreign attempt to force a change of government and seize the North African state's oil, while NATO states defend the operation as a UN-mandated mission to protect the Libyan people.

REUTERS/Williams