President Obama Weighs 'Military Options'
By:
News Desk
Updated 2 p.m. ET
President Obama said Monday that the U.S. and its NATO allies are still considering possible military action as Gadhafi's forces continue airstrikes and other retaliatory measures to try to beat back rebel advances. Anti-government forces have asked for a no-fly zone to protect them from the new round of airstrikes.
"We've got NATO as we speak consulting in Brussels around a broad range of potential options, including potential military options in response to the violence that continues to take place inside of Libya," President Obama said, adding that the U.S. is stepping up aid money for groups helping refugees.
"We stand for democracy, we stand for an observance of human rights," he said. "We send a very clear message to the Libyan people that we will stand with them in the face of unwarranted violence."
The rebel groups advancing west are short on supplies and ammunition, as they've been met with harsh fighting and are further from the opposition stronghold of Benghazi.
Fighting continues in rebel-held Misrata and Zawiya and government-held Bin Jawwad.
Posted 9:30 a.m. ET
Libyan rebel fighters take cover as a bomb dropped by an airforce fighter jet explodes near a checkpoint on the outskirts of the oil town of Ras Lanouf on March 7, 2011. (Marco Longari/AFP/Getty Images)
Moammar Gadhafi's forces have launched new airstrikes on
rebel positions in an attempt to block their advance westward, putting them at a disadvantage in comparison to ground fighting that has afforded the opposition territorial gains in recent weeks. Anti-government forces hold much of the eastern part of the country, Gadhafi is still in control of the capital, Tripoli, his hometown of Sirte and other areas in the west.
The lines have been hardened after initial protests have turned into a territorial stalemate. The airstrikes Monday targeted areas around the oil port of Ras Lanouf, the site of heavy fighting over the weekend. The oil port of Brega is currently under opposition control. There are
reports that the town of Bin Jawad, 30 miles from Ras
Lanouf, is under rebel control. The incremental battle for cities has taken a heavy toll, although the number of casualties is still unknown. There are growing fears of civil war as the battles stretch into a third week. An estimated 200,000 refugees have fled the fighting, creating a massive humanitarian emergency on the Tunisia border.
Gadhafi's forces have also
launched a counter-attack on the city of Misrata, a rebel-controlled city. Local hospitals reported heavy casualties.
ongoing story 
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2:41pmMar 2, 2011
