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Britain pressured other NATO members to step up
ground attacks in Libya on Wednesday but cracks appeared in the
alliance as foreign ministers met in Qatar to try to break the deadlock
in the civil war.

NATO divisions surfaced at the international “contact
group” meeting, not only over arming the rebels and increasing air
strikes but also on creating a fund from frozen Libyan assets to help
the opposition trying to overthrow Muammar Gaddafi.

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon
underlined the humanitarian disaster caused by the war, telling the
meeting that up to 3.6 million people, or more than half the
population, could need assistance.

Paris and London are increasingly frustrated that air
strikes have neither tipped the balance of the war in favour of rebels
trying to end Muammar Gaddafi’s 41-year rule nor even ended devastating
shelling of the besieged city of Misrata.

French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe criticised NATO
on Tuesday for not doing enough to stop the bombardment of the
rebel-held port town, where hundreds of civilians are said to have died
in more than six weeks of siege.

Libyan state television said on Wednesday that NATO
planes had bombed Misrata’s main Tripoli street, scene of repeated
battles between rebels and government troops. It said people were
killed, without giving details.

It said alliance planes also attacked Gaddafi’s birthplace of Sirte, east of Misrata, and Aziziyah, south of Tripoli.

British Foreign Minister William Hague told Reuters that other coalition aircraft must join ground attacks.

“There are many other nations around Europe and indeed Arab nations who are part of this coalition.

There is scope for some of them to move some of their aircraft from air defence into ground-strike capability,” he said.

Rebels call for more NATO strikes

NATO said it destroyed 16 tanks, an anti-aircraft gun and a pickup truck in operations on Tuesday.

Rebels attending the Doha meeting said they expected
more support, saying NATO was using “minimum” power and needed to step
up attacks on Gaddafi’s heavy weapons.

Britain and France, western Europe’s two main
military powers, are delivering most of the air strikes on Gaddafi’s
armour since President Barack Obama ordered U.S. forces to take a back
seat.

Other NATO countries are either keeping their distance from the campaign or enforcing a no-fly zone but not bombing.

A wide gap appeared at once between NATO hawks and doves.

Belgian Foreign Minister Steven Vanackere said the
March 17 U.N. resolution authorising NATO action in Libya — to protect
civilians from Gaddafi’s government forces — ruled out arming
civilians and he saw no need to boost forces there.

In another disagreement, German Foreign Minister
Guido Westerwelle voiced reservations about an Italian call to create a
fund from frozen assets to aid the rebels. “The question is, is it
legal? The answer is we don’t know,” he said.

Britain’s Hague called for a temporary financial
mechanism to fund rebel government in the eastern territory they
control. The rebels said they needed $1.5 billion in aid for civilians.

A spokesman for the rebel national council at the
Doha talks said the coalition was considering supplying arms which
should go to soldiers who have defected from the army. The rebels only
had “primitive weapons” taken from Gaddafi’s troops, he said.

Hague also sought a clear statement from the ministerial group that
Gaddafi must go, a demand reiterated in Doha by the rebels. The group
of international powers has struggled to reach a consensus on calling
for regime change.