Earlier on Saturday, France was the one to give the start of the Western-led military intervention in Libya to enforce a no-fly zone in the North African country approved two days ago by the UN Security Council as Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi is fighting a popular uprising.

The international military intervention is intended to prevent Gaddafi from using his aviation to strike on the rebels and on civilians. At the same time, it appears to have saved the rebels as the Gaddafi forces have been closing in on the rebel capital Benghazi.

The second air strike carried out by French fighter jets Saturday night has destroyed four tanks of the Gaddafi forces southwest of Benghazi, Al Jazeera reported, citing a source on the ground.

The French strike on military equipment of the Gaddafi loyalists indicates that the ceasefire on the ground declared on Friday by the dictator's regime as a counter-measure to the planned international intervention might not have been properly observed.

The announcement of the ceasefire by the Gaddafi regime was followed with numerous reports from the rebel lines that Gaddafi forces continue to attack them.

Meanwhile, reports citing anonymous US officials have indicated that the US plans to leave most of the air strikes on its partners such as France and the UK, and to focus on targeting Gaddafi's air defenses with cruise missiles.

Tags: Muammar Gaddafi, Libya, Benghazi, France, French, air strike, air strikes, rebels, UN Security Council