NATO has accused Colonel Muammar Gaddafi’s regime of using civilians as human shields to safeguard their heavy weapons from being targeted by international air strikes in Libya.
CBS News quoted the alliance as saying that Gaddafi’s forces have changed their tactics in the western city of Misrata by moving tanks and other heavy equipment into civilian areas to prevent pilots from targeting them.
NATO has said that the international air forces had to abandon their scheduled strike missions in Misrata, and returned back without dropping their bombs or launching their missiles on Tuesday because the loyalists of the dictator had made it too difficult for pilots to distinguish between civilians and regime troops.
NATO’s claims have been backed by a doctor in the town who said that anti-aircraft guns and tanks have been stationed "between the apartment buildings and the trees." He further claimed that military equipment is being disguised on the big agricultural trucks that Libyan farmers use, and that mortars are being brought into the city in civilian cars.
Misrata is one of two major cities in western Libya that have risen up against the Libyan government.