Reply #50: NATO says extent of resistance in Libya surprising

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By CHRISTOPHER GILLETTE and SLOBODAN LEKIC - Associated Press | AP – 11 mins ago.


SIRTE, Libya (AP) — NATO expressed surprise Tuesday at the determined resistance by forces defending Moammar Gadhafi's hometown as heavy fighting persisted more than two months after the fall of the capital, Tripoli.

The comments by Col. Roland Lavoie appeared aimed at pressuring the former strongman's troops to lay down their weapons and engage in talks with one-time rebels who now rule the country, thanks largely to NATO firepower.

Instead, in places such as Sirte, Gadhafi loyalists are still fighting, even though they can no longer be resupplied after the new government's units won control of key parts of the town's center, Lavoie said.

"So from that perspective, it just does not make sense to see what these few remaining forces are doing," he said. "This could certainly be qualified as surprising both from military and political point of view."

More: http://news.yahoo.com/nato-says-extent-resistance-libya-surprising-190755215.html