NATO conceded Friday it may have mistakenly struck Libyan opposition forces during a deadly airstrike a day earlier -- but refused to apologize.
British Royal Navy Rear Adm. Russell Harding told reporters that NATO forces "may" have hit rebel tanks during the airstrike Thursday.
"I'm not apologizing," said Harding, the deputy commander of the NATO operation. "The situation on the ground is fluid and we had no information the opposition forces were using tanks."
Harding said NATO had only recently learned that opposition forces were using tanks. In the past, forces loyal to Moammar Gadhafi forces had used tanks to harm civilians, he said.
"There's a lot of vehicles going back and forth," he said. "It is very difficult to distinguish who is operating the vehicles."
Two rebel fighters and two doctors were killed when aircraft fired missiles on a rebel formation between al-Brega and Ajdabiya on the eastern Libyan battlefront Thursday.
There haven't been Libyan air force planes in the skies for some time since NATO established a no-fly zone.
The airstrikes also injured 14 people and six are missing, said Gen. Abdul Fattah Yunis, commander of the rebel forces.
Moods flashed from sorrow to anger quickly at a nearby hospital where the wounded were taken. The fighters, already demoralized by the superior firepower of the Libyan army.
"NATO, NATO, NATO! They shouldn't hit the revolutionaries. We're helpless," one person screamed.
Ahmed Abu Bakr, a doctor who came to Libya from Germany to volunteer, said he never thought that he would be patching up the wounded from friendly fire.
"I am very unhappy," he said. "They came here to help us, not injure us."
This may be the second NATO airstrike in less than a week that killed and wounded men on the wrong side, rebels say.
Last week, airstrikes hit rebel vehicles and killed at least 13 fighters in the al-Brega area, a spokesman for the Libyan opposition said. NATO is investigating that strike as well.
After the aerial attack Thursday morning, Gadhafi's troops moved forward, causing the opposition to pull back, Yunis said.
He added that the rebels had notified NATO of their tank movement and of their presence.
"There is no tension between us and NATO; this is a war situation and we understand that mistakes are made," Yunis said.
Harding said Friday he did not feel NATO needed to strengthen communications with rebels.
"I have to be frank, it's not for us to improve communications. We have to see where civilians are being attacked and see if we can take action," Harding said.
A few hours after the strikes, civilians and rebels, fearing an approach by pro-Gadhafi forces, retreated from Ajdabiya, with hundreds of civilian cars and trucks loaded with rocket launchers and ammunition headed out of town in the direction of the opposition headquarters in Benghazi.
The strikes come amid a deadly stalemate between pro-Gadhafi forces and rebel fighters -- and diplomatic maneuvering to end the conflict.
As the battle continues, some wonder if the outgunned rebel forces can prevail and if NATO has the correct strategy to help.
Robert Baer, a former CIA operative, said NATO will have to put troops on the ground to assist the planes making airstrikes.
"First of all, the no-fly zone is not working," Baer said on "AC360" Thursday night. "Not a surprise to me that NATO bombed the rebels force. We sort of got one foot in this but not completely. The logic of this conflict is you have to put people on the ground."
On the diplomatic front, a former U.S. lawmaker who has been trying to meet with Gadhafi told CNN "The Situation Room" that Friday will be his last opportunity.
Curt Weldon has said he will tell the leader to step aside and take other measures to end the bloodshed.
A former Republican U.S. House member from suburban Philadelphia, Weldon has been to Libya before in his work as a congressman. He said he came to the country this time with "a small private delegation."
Weldon said he has met with other Libyan officials, including the prime minster and Gadhafi's son, Saadi, conveying the Obama administration's stance on the crisis and reinforcing the importance of an immediate cease-fire monitored by the United Nations to protect civilians.
"I'm here only because I want to avoid war," Weldon told CNN's Wolf Blitzer. "I don't want to see American soldiers killed, and I don't want to see more innocent Libyans killed."
Meanwhile, the World Food Programme said one of its humanitarian vessels loaded with food, medical supplies and doctors has reached the port of Misrata, providing what it called a "lifeline" for trapped civilians.
Misrata has been one the hardest hit cities during the war.
"This is a breakthrough for the U.N. humanitarian operation in Libya and allows us to reach tens of thousands of people who are caught in one of the fiercest areas of conflict," said WFP Executive Director Josette Sheeran. "It is vital that we get these relief supplies to the vulnerable."
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