BRUSSELS, Belgium - The Canadian commander in charge of NATO operations in Libya says the alliance had no idea it had Moammar Gadhafi in its sights when pilots opened fire on a convoy that was speeding away from the dictator's besieged hometown.
Commanders were merely trying to keep the convoy from linking up with other pockets of resistance in the west, said Lt. Gen. Charles Bouchard, a 37-year veteran of the Canadian Forces from Chicoutimi, Que.
"We saw a convoy and we had no idea that Gadhafi was on board," Bouchard told a video news conference Monday from his headquarters in Naples, Italy, as he explained for the first time why Thursday's airstrikes were ordered.
"In fact, I was surprised that Gadhafi was in the Sirte area."
Gadhafi survived the initial attack, only to be killed later Thursday along with several other followers. The circumstances of his death remain unclear.
Bouchard said NATO air surveillance had detected about 175 vehicles assembling in Sirte early Thursday, preparing to transport remaining loyalists out of the besieged coastal town as forces of the new government mounted their final assault.
"The vehicles started to make their way out, and one of the outcomes of this was the concern (that forces) from Sirte would join with the remnants of forces from Bani Walid and move into another desert area," Bouchard said.
Sirte and Bani Walid, about 250 kilometres to the northwest, were the last two stronghold's of Gadhafi's supporters.
"We went on from there to first of all attempt up to break up the convoy, to break it into manageable chunks and to slow it down (and) that's what we did," Bouchard said. The presence of rockets and machine-guns in some vehicles made them a legitimate target.
"We brought to bear our weapons systems on the convoy twice, and we achieved the aim of stopping the convoy."
The airstrikes were among the 26,000 sorties and 9,600 strike missions flown by NATO warplanes in the past seven months, during which around 5,900 military targets were destroyed. These included Libya's air defences and more than 1,000 tanks, vehicles and guns, as well as Gadhafi's command and control networks.
Canada was put in charge of the overall mission, which began on the eve of this past spring's federal election campaign, primarily to ensure trust and co-operation among NATO allies, sources have said.
Before his current job, Bouchard was deputy commander of NORAD, reporting to an American general. He studied at the University of Manitoba and joined the Canadian Armed Forces in 1974, graduating in 1976 as a helicopter pilot.
NATO's daily airstrikes in Libya enabled ragtag rebel forces to advance and take Tripoli two months ago. On Sunday, Libya's interim rulers declared the country liberated, launching the oil-rich nation on what is meant to be a two-year transition to democracy.
The alliance on Friday announced preliminary plans to phase out its campaign at the end of this month. Air patrols over Libya would continue in the meantime to make sure there is no return to violence.
A spokeswoman said Monday that NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen was consulting with Libya's interim government and the United Nations about winding down the mission.
The alliance's governing body was expected to decide for good on Wednesday to end all operations on Oct. 31, an official accredited to NATO said. He spoke on condition of anonymity in order to divulge confidential information.
Meanwhile, a spokesman for the fighters holding Gadhafi's body said the slain dictator will probably be buried on Tuesday in an unmarked grave in a secret location.
Ibrahim Beit al-Mal, a spokesman for the Misrata military council, told The Associated Press Monday that he's "90 per cent sure the bodies will be buried tomorrow." The report could not immediately be confirmed.
The bodies of Gadhafi, one of his sons and a former government minister were on public display for a fourth day in a commercial freezer in the port city, where Misrata residents have been lining up to see them.
Libya's leader Mustafa Abdul-Jalil said Monday the decisions on what to do with Gadhafi's body will be governed by a fatwa, or religious edict.
-- With files from The Canadian Press
