The Pentagon expects to hand over control of allied military operations in Libya "in a matter of days", either to a UK-France coalition or to Nato, US Defence Secretary Robert Gates says. Meanwhile, witnesses in Tripoli reported hearing loud blasts and anti-aircraft fire on Sunday night. Smoke rose from near the compound of Libyan leader Col Muammar Gaddafi. The UK said it again launched Tomahawk missiles as part of a co-ordinated strike on Libyan air defences. Earlier, the Pentagon said Libya's air defences were effectively degraded. While the US will continue to play a part in military operations against Col Gaddafi's forces, Mr Gates says it "will not have the pre-eminent role". "I think there is a sensitivity on the part of the Arab League to being seen to be operating under a Nato umbrella," Mr Gates said. "And so the question is if there is a way we can work out Nato's command and control machinery without it being a Nato mission and without a Nato flag, and so on." Mr Gates also said a break-up of Libya would be a formula for instability. The east of the country, where the month-old revolt began, has historically been much more opposed to Col Gaddafi's rule, while the west and the area around Tripoli constitute his heartland.
The Pentagon expects to hand over control of allied military operations in Libya "in a matter of days", either to a UK-France coalition or to Nato, US Defence Secretary Robert Gates says.
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