Brussels/Benghazi: The launch of a Scud missile on rebel positions in Libya by forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi represents a ‘desperate gesture' by the regime in the face of territorial gains by the opposition, a Nato spokesman said yesterday.
The unguided short-range, surface-to-surface weapon ‘of Scud type' was fired from some 80km south of the Gaddafi-loyal stronghold of Sirte, Canadian colonel Roland Lavoie told a news conference relayed by video from campaign headquarters in Naples, southern Italy.
It landed about 5km east of rebel-held territory near Brega, in, ‘an area currently under the control of anti-Gaddafi forces,' but did not leave any victims, Lavoie said.
Libya has an estimated 240 of the ballistic missiles in its arsenal, and its ‘Scud B' model has a range of about 300km, according to the Jane's Defence military journal.
Direct threat
"The use of such missiles presents a direct threat to innocent people," Lavoie said.
He labelled the missile, ‘a weapon of terror,' and said its use against an urban or industrial area is ‘utterly irresponsible.'
Questioned further, he said such firing amounted to little more than, ‘desperate gestures,' comparable to, "throwing dishes against a wall: it makes a lot of noise, but that's all."
While Lavoie said forces loyal to Gaddafi were retreating ‘often hurriedly,' he also admitted that Nato's Libya mission remains, ‘far from over.'
Little options
Meanwhile, rebels fighting to end Gaddafi's 41-year rule seized two strategic towns near Tripoli over the past two days, cutting the city off from its supply lines and leaving the Libyan leader with a dwindling set of options if he is to stay in power.
However, pro-Gaddafi forces were encountering a fight-back in one of those towns, Zawiyah, west of Tripoli.
A Reuters reporter nearby said he heard a salvo of four Russian-made Grad rockets landing in the town yesterday.
