Tribes To Replace Army In Misratah - Sky News

The Libyan army will pull out of the rebel-held city of Misratah and will be replaced by armed tribesmen, a senior Government official has said.

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Deputy Foreign Minister Khaled Kaim did not say when the military would withdraw and under what conditions.

"We will leave it for the tribes around Misratah and the Misratah people to deal with the situation in Misratah," he said.

Earlier the most senior American military officer warned the conflict is heading towards a "stalemate".

Despite more than a month of allied air strikes, Admiral Mike Mullen's comments will stoke fears of protracted military engagement for British and other Nato forces.

The chairman of the US military's joint chiefs of staff said Colonel Gaddafi's ground forces had been degraded by 30% to 40%.

But he warned: "It's certainly moving towards a stalemate.

"At the same time we've attrited somewhere between 30% and 40% of his main ground forces, his ground force capabilities. Those will continue to go away over time."

He added that the allies would "put the squeeze" on the Libyan dictator "until he's gone". "Gaddafi's gotta go," he said.

Predators, and the larger Reaper drones, are used by the US and Britain

Rebels have welcomed the US announcement it was sending armed drones to Libya as forces loyal to Col Gaddafi continue to besiege Misratah.

Hundreds of people have been killed as Government forces have attacked the city of 300,000 people, with Nato's air campaign largely unable to strike at the attackers because of their proximity to civilians.

The deployment of the drones is expected to help.

But US Senator John McCain, on a visit to the rebel stronghold of Benghazi in eastern Libya, said the air campaign needed to be "urgently" stepped up.

He said the allies needed to provide rebels with training and weapons to "get this thing over with".

Mr McCain also echoed fears of a deadlock and warned that it may encourage Islamist extremists to get involved.

"I fear a stalemate that could lead to the emergence of radical Islamic extremists," he said.

And the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has warned the humanitarian situation in Misratah is rapidly deteriorating, and could turn critical.

"The humanitarian situation could rapidly deteriorate further and the lack of basic services such as water, electricity, food and medical care could turn critical," warned Simon Brooks, ICRC head of mission in Benghazi.

"The scarcity of fuel is affecting the energy supply for essential infrastructure and for domestic use.

"The health-care situation has deteriorated, with reported increases in the numbers of wounded and killed."