Rebel fighters push cars burnt in what they say was a coalition airstrike on a group of vehicles killing around ten on the road between Ajdabiyah and Brega
NATO said Saturday it is investigating claims that a coalition airstrike hit a convoy of rebel fighters in Libya near the eastern oil town of Brega, killing at least 10 people.
Witnesses say someone in the group of fighters had fired an anti-aircraft gun into the air before the strike late Friday, although it is unclear if the shots were fired by celebrating rebels or forces loyal to Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi that had infiltrated the group.
The witnesses say they saw at least four burning vehicles after Friday's strike.
The convoy was heading into Brega, one of several oil towns along the Mediterranean coast that has changed hands from rebel to regime control numerous times since fighting broke out in mid-February.
The poorly trained rebel fighters have been trying to organize themselves into a more disciplined force, and have been sending former military commanders to the front lines to lead the fighting.
On Friday, an opposition leader in the eastern rebel stronghold of Benghazi proposed a cease-fire. Mustafa Abdul-Jalil, a former Libyan justice minister, said government troops must first withdraw from cities they now control while ending their siege of those under control of the rebels. He also said Libyans living in western cities must be given the freedom to determine their fate.
The cease-fire offer was rejected by the Gadhafi government as a "trick." A government spokesman, Mussa Ibrahim, told reporters in the capital, Tripoli, that the rebels' demands are "impossible" and "never offered peace."
The Libyan government has labeled the Western coalition air attacks in support of a U.N. resolution as "crimes against humanity." It said at least six civilians were killed in an air attack Thursday on a village near Brega.
Some information for this report was provided by AP and Reuters.