Coalition air strike hits Libya rebels, 13 dead

A Nato-led air strike killed 13 Libyan rebels in a "regrettable incident", a rebel spokesman said on Saturday, in an increasingly chaotic battle with Muammar Qadhafi's forces over the oil town of Brega. Despite the deaths on Friday night, the rebel leadership called for continued air strikes against Qadhafi's forces, who have reversed a rebel advance on the coastal road linking their eastern stronghold with western Libya.
Hundreds of mostly young, inexperienced volunteers were later seen fleeing east from Brega towards the town of Ajdabiyah after coming under heavy mortar and machinegun fire. A contingent of more experienced and better organised rebel units initially held their ground in Brega, but with most journalists forced east, it was unclear whether they had remained inside the town or had pulled back into the desert. A Reuters correspondent visiting the scene of the air strike saw at least four burnt-out vehicles including an ambulance by the side of the road near the eastern entrance to the town.
Men prayed at freshly dug graves covered by the rebel red, black and green flag nearby. "Some of Qadhafi's forces sneaked in among the rebels and fired anti-aircraft guns in the air," said rebel fighter Mustafa Ali Omar. "After that the Nato forces came and bombed them."
The strike killed 13 rebels and wounded seven, rebel leadership spokesman Hafiz Ghoga said, calling it a "regrettable incident". "The military leadership is working on ways to prevent a recurrence," Ghoga told reporters at the rebel headquarters in the eastern city of Benghazi. Rebels at the scene said the bombing happened around 10 pm local time (2000 GMT) on Friday.
Another rebel spokesman, Mustafa Gheriani, told Reuters the leadership still wanted and needed allied air strikes. "You have to look at the big picture. Mistakes will happen. We are trying to get rid of Qadhafi and there will be casualties, although of course it does not make us happy."
In Brussels, a spokeswoman for Nato, which this week assumed command of the military operation launched on March 19, said the alliance was looking into the reports. Qadhafi forces fired rockets on Brega overnight and fighting continued further west around the town's university early on Saturday, rebels said.