NATO ships patrolling Libyan waters

BENGHAZI, Libya -- NATO ships patrolled off Libya's coast yesterday as airstrikes, missiles and energized rebels forced Moammar Gadhafi's tanks to roll back from two key western cities, including one that was the hometown of army officers who tried to overthrow him in 1993.

Libya's opposition took haphazard steps to form a government in the east, as they and the U.S.-led force protecting them girded for prolonged and costly fighting.

Despite disorganization among the rebels -- and utter confusion over who would ultimately run the international operation -- the airstrikes and missiles seemed to have their intended effect in Libya, at least for now.

But the United States made clear that others would have to lead the way: Defense Secretary Robert Gates said the United States could relinquish control as soon as Saturday.

He had no answer when asked about a possible stalemate if Gadhafi hunkers down, and the coalition lacks United Nations authorization to target him.

Meanwhile, President Barack Obama told the Spanish-language network Univision that a land invasion was "absolutely" out of the question.

Rear Adm. Gerard Hueber, a top U.S. officer in the campaign in Libya, said international forces were attacking government troops that have been storming population centers.

Wednesday evening, Libyan state television reported a "Crusader colonialist bombing targeting certain civil and military locations" in Tripoli's Tajoura district -- scene of some of the heaviest past protests against Gadhafi.

From Ajdabiya in the east to Misrata in the west, the coalition's targets included mechanized forces, mobile surface-to-air missile sites and lines of communications that supply "their beans and their bullets," Hueber told Pentagon reporters by phone from the U.S. command ship in the Mediterranean Sea.

A doctor in Misrata said Gadhafi's tanks fled after the airstrikes, giving a much-needed reprieve to the besieged coastal city, which is inaccessible to human rights monitors or journalists. The airstrikes struck the aviation academy and a vacant lot outside the central hospital, the doctor said.

"Today, for the first time in a week, the bakeries opened their doors," the doctor said, speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals if Gadhafi's forces take Libya's third-largest city, 125 miles southeast of Tripoli.

He and rebel leaders said pro-Gadhafi snipers continued to fire on civilians from rooftops yesterday. Abdel-Hafidh Ghoga, a spokesman for the opposition forces, said 16 people were killed Thursday, including five children.

Ghoga said people are being treated "in the hallways of buildings" because they did not dare go outside.