France and Britain, the two countries who initiated air attacks on Libya with the United States, called on NATO Tuesday to hasten the bombing of Gaddafi’s heavy weapons to protect civilians.

The alliance took over command from the three Western powers at the end of March but heavy bombardment by Gaddafi’s forces of Misrata were relentless resulting to the death of around a hundred civilians. British Foreign Secretary William Hague also called for an intensified attack and called out other members of the alliance to follow its lead of dispatching ground attack aircraft in Libya.

NATO, which stepped up air strikes in the cities of Misrata and Ajdabiyah during the weekend based on a UN mandate to protect civilians, rejected the call saying that it is conducting military operations within its mandate. Libyan state television reported that a NATO strike on the town of Kikla resulted to the killing of civilians and members of the police force.

Meanwhile, as the shelling of Misrata continued, the African Union peace initiative was rejected by the Libyan rebels as it did not provide for the ouster of the Libyan leader who was accused of indiscriminately attacking his own people. Considered as a hero by the rebels, French President Nicolas Sarkozy initiated calls for military intervention in Libya and was the first to launch airstrikes in Libya.

In contrast, NATO has been unpopular among the rebels because of its slow reaction to government attacks as well as the death of 20 rebels due to mistaken bombings. While it has received praise for breaking a major government assault on Ajdabiyah, most of the rebels still praised Sarkozy.

The border between Ajdabiyah and the oil port of Brega was silent Tuesday where action see-sawed between the government forces and the rebels. Humanitarian agency Red Cross said it is sending a team to the city of Misrata to help civilians trapped in the hostilities. Amnesty International accused the government of executing prisoners, killing protesters, and attacking refugees.

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