NATO may have no choice but to escalate its Libyan war effort and use helicopters or naval gunfire against Muammar Qaddafi’s forces to end bloodshed in Misrata and break the military stalemate, analysts say. Switching to low-level strikes from the current campaign involving high-flying aircraft would be more effective, but greatly increase the danger of casualties among NATO forces and carry significant political risks for Western leaders.
US President Barack Obama, French President Nicolas Sarkozy and British Prime Minister David Cameron declared last week they would continue military action until Qaddafi quits.
The need to escalate from a limited campaign of high altitude airstrikes becomes more likely the more the battering of Misrata goes on, given NATO’s UN mandate to protect civilians.
Hundreds of people are thought to have been killed in the seven-week siege of the port city, where thousands of foreign migrant workers are stranded. A rebel spokesman said Qaddafi’s forces bombarded Misrata with rockets and artillery on April 18 after 17 people were killed in the previous day’s shelling.