OTTAWA—Warships, aircraft and hundreds of international soldiers are en route to Libya in support of a massive aid mission aimed as much at hastening Col. Moammar Gadhafi’s exit from power as relieving the thousands of refugees who are fleeing the country.

But as the two-week-old anti-government rebellion shifts increasingly toward a civil war, foreign leaders expressed reluctance Tuesday to come between the armed factions and even showed division over the possibility of enforcing a no-fly zone over Libya.

Three American warships are scheduled to enter the Mediterranean Sea on Wednesday, U.S. Defence Secretary Robert Gates said Tuesday, and 400 U.S. Marines are being sent to join them.

The ships are intended to give the Americans “the full range of options” in their bid to pressure Gadhafi into stepping down, though the most likely immediate use will be removing foreign nationals from the oil-rich North African country.

“We are looking at a lot of options and contingencies,” Gates said. “No decisions have been made on any other actions.”

The no-fly zone seems to have been parked for the moment.

Gen. James Mattis, commander of U.S. Central Command, told a Senate hearing that imposing a no-fly zone would be a “challenging” operation that would mean actual attack.

“You would have to remove air defence capability in order to establish a no-fly zone, so no illusions here,” Mattis said. “It would be a military operation — it wouldn’t be just telling people not to fly airplanes.”

Canada, which has three military aircraft in nearby Malta and one in Germany, will dispatch one frigate to the region, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said Tuesday.

“In light of the trouble and likely ongoing concerns in the region, the HMCS Charlottetown will depart Halifax (Wednesday) to take part in Canadian and international evacuation operations that are already underway in Libya,” he said in the House of Commons.

The frigate’s voyage to the region will take about a week. Once there, the ship, 240-sailor crew and Sea King helicopter on board will also be able to enforce sanctions and help deliver aid, said Defence Minister Peter MacKay.

“If sanctions deal with certain blockades or certain military, for example, going into the region, we are there for all inevitabilities,” he said.

It is believed that members of Canada’s elite special forces are also involved in the rescue missions, some of which involve military airplanes landing without Libyan authorization near remote oilfields.

The Canadian Forces never comments on the operations of the commando unit, Joint Task Force Two, but MacKay confirmed the flights so far have been carrying armed soldiers “to ensure that these operations happen smoothly.”

A British naval vessel, docking in the opposition-held city of Benghazi, has been shuttling foreigners to safety for several days already.

Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading...

More than a week into the rescue efforts, the Tripoli airport is said to remain chaotic and overcrowded. The Canadian Forces had one of its C-130 Hercules evacuation flights turned back to Malta when the aircraft was denied access to Libyan airspace Tuesday.

“The reason for the denial is apparently due to a shortage of ramp space at Tripoli International Airport,” a military spokesperson in Malta said, adding that another flight was scheduled for Wednesday.

Read more about: