Forces loyal to Libyan leader Col. Muammar Gaddafi continue to advance on rebel-held towns despite a fifth day of U.S.-led air strikes. The Pentagon says 162 Tomahawk missiles and more than 100 satellite bombs have been fired since the campaign began. But the strikes appear to have done little to slow Gaddafi’s assault on the opposition. Over the past 24 hours, Gaddafi forces have pressed ahead with attacks on the towns of Misurata, Ajdabiya and Zintan. A doctor at a Misurata hospital told the Washington Post around 80 people have been killed since the U.N. Security Council authorized international intervention last week. The doctor says he has stopped counting the wounded, patients are being treated on the floor, and the hospital is running out of supplies. The doctor said, “This no-fly zone doesn’t mean anything to us because Gaddafi only had a few planes and they were doing nothing. We need a no-drive zone because it is tanks and snipers that are killing us.” The number of civilians killed or injured by international forces remains unknown. Britain’s Channel 4 network reports U.S. strikes injured six Libyan villagers during the rescue of two U.S. crew members who ejected from their fighter jet over eastern Libya. The wounded included a young boy who is expected to lose a leg because of his injuries.
