France agrees to Nato NFZ command, as Gaddafi 'laughs at crusaders' missiles'

NATO agreed to enforce an arms embargo on Libya but appeared to have failed to resolve a bigger wrangle over who should run the military campaign against Muammar Gaddafi's forces once the United States steps back.

"The two presidents have come to an agreement on the way to use the command structures of NATO to support the coalition," the statement said, without giving additional details.

Meanwhile, Muammar Gaddafi has vowed to continue the fight against rebel insurgents despite the no-fly zone.

Gaddafi said that loyalists would win the battle regardless of whether it was fought over the short or long term.

defiant leader Muammar Gaddafi appeared at his recently attacked compound in Tripoli and rallied his supporters with a fiery speech.

"We shall not surrender and we shall not fear passers by. We jeer at their missiles. These are passing missiles," he said at the Bab al-Aziziya compound, which was targeted by allied forces Sunday, as reported in the BBC.

"In the short term, we will beat them. In the long term, we will beat them."

Gaddafi's speech, carried on state television, accused "crusader countries" of a battle on Islam.

"Long live Islam everywhere. All Islamic armies must take part in the battle, all free [people] must take party in the battle," he added. "We will be victorious in the end."

President Barack Obama has said the United States is days away from handing over control of the operation to its allies, but confusion remains as to the extent of the mission and the obligations and responsibilities of different countries involved.

Obama, British Prime Minister David Cameron and French President Nicolas Sarkozy intensified their efforts Tuesday to work out an agreement on who will be in charge of operations once the no-fly zone has been successfully established.

"When this transition takes place, it is not going to be our planes that are maintaining the no-fly zone. It is not going to be our ships that are necessarily enforcing the arms embargo. That's precisely what the other nations are going to do," Obama said at a news conference in El Salvador, reports the AP.

But Obama also acknowledged the difficulties of running a multilateral that was formed quickly without clear delineation of responsibilities, the New York Times reports.

“This is complicated,” Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said in Moscow, it states. “This command-and-control business is complicated. We haven’t done something like this, kind of on the fly before. So it’s not surprising to me that it would take a few days to get it all sorted out."

When asked how long Britain would be involved in the Libya campaign, British minister Nick Harvey said, as reported in the Independent: "How long is a piece of string? We don't know how long this is going to go on for."

Confusion over the management of the coalition comes as explosions and anti-aircraft fire rocked Libya's capital Tripoli, Al Jazeera reported.

Blasts were heard around the city and anti-aircraft fire shot through the sky Tuesday night, it states.

The strikes by allied forces have effectively created a no-fly zone across the northern part of the country, but do not appear to have given the rebels the edge needed to push back forces on the ground that are loyal to Gaddafi.

The opposition has so far failed to drive back Gaddafi’s heavy armor, tanks and weapons encircling the strategic oil town of Ajdabiya, which lies about 100 miles south of the rebel-held stronghold of Benghazi.

Yesterday, Gaddafi tanks and rockets repeatedly bombarded rebel positions just outside of Benghazi, a show of the leader’s fortitude as his forces continue to push toward this last-remaining base of opposition.

At one point during the fighting rebel soldiers sustained a direct hit to one of their makeshift ambulances. At least one man was dragged back in the bed of a pickup bleeding from the head. Two other civilians, who were shaken, were also picked up and returned to Benghazi to shouts of “Allah Akbar!”

The opposition has been unable to organize a push to advance directly toward the tank positions in Ajdabiya, which they say Gaddafi has strategically placed near civilians to protect them from allied air strikes.

According to CNN reports early this morning, coalition airstrikes were launched overnight near the city of Misrata, east of Tripoli while rebels claimed to have been under intense attack in the enclave which has been besieged by Gaddafi's forces for weeks.

Western air power has grounded Gaddafi's planes and pushed loyalists back from Benghazi but rebels have been unable to maintain the momentum and dislodge Gaddafi's forces from the key junction of Ajdabiyah in the east.

Analysts are warning of a stalemate on the ground which could leave Libya split into two.

Also early this morning, explosions were heard in the Libyan capital Tripoli with fighter jets above the city and a barrage of anti-aircraft gunfire lighting up the predawn sky.

US President Barack Obama said that he expected clarity on the future command structure of allied military operations over the next several days with a significant reduction in US military flights already taking place.

Obama said that Gaddafi may cling to power by bedding down and waiting it out. He said however that the coalition had other means besides the military to prompt his leaving.

Washington on Tuesday placed sanctions on 14 firms controlled by Libya's National Oil Corp, to cut off sources of funds for the regime.

Obama stressed however that Gaddafi remains a potential threat to his people unless he is willing to step down.

According to US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton Gaddafi is seeking an exit despite his public utterances.

She said that people close to Gaddafi have been contacting Libya's allies worldwide to see how they can extricate themselves from the current situation.

Notwithstanding Gaddafi forces continue to attack civilians.