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Washington (AFP) March 27, 2011 Allied forces in Libya are not coordinating with the rebels and the mission remains simply to protect civilians from attack or threat of attack, a senior US official said Sunday. Briefing journalists in Washington after NATO agreed to take the helm of Libyan military operations, the official was asked several times to clarify the mandate as coalition air strikes helped to rout Moamer Kadhafi's forces. "The mandate is very simple, it is to protect civilians and civilian-populated areas from attack, and any forces that are attacking or threatening to attack civilians will be subject to targeting by NATO in exactly the same way," the official said. UN Security Council resolution 1973 -- the fruit of intense diplomacy to avoid Russian and Chinese vetoes while winning Arab support -- allows for "all necessary means" to support the limited aim of protecting Libyan civilians. But coalition air strikes have struck Kadhafi's ground forces as well as targets in the capital Tripoli and the strongman's hometown of Sirte, prompting accusations that the alliance is over-reaching its mandate. Pressed on whether the coalition was liaising with the rebels on the ground, the senior US official said: "In terms of coordinating with rebel forces, no. Our mission is to protect civilians. "It's not about the rebels, it's about the protection of civilian populations. That's what UNSC 1973 has mandated and that's the mandate that NATO is now taking on." Questioned on the apparent contradiction in rebels now attacking towns held by Kadhafi forces and perhaps putting civilian lives at risk, the official demurred. "It's been very clear up to this point that it is the regime of Colonel Kadhafi that is engaged in horrendous acts against civilians and therefore it is those forces that are being targeted," the official said. Asked if civilians in Sirte, which Libyan state television said came under attack from coalition air raids late Sunday, were currently being threatened or attacked, the official said: "I don't follow the operational details so I don't know exactly where we are on this." The official said it was "open to the commanders, they've got a clear mission and they now need to execute it. Right now all the threatening and striking of civilians is being done by Kadhafi forces and that's the focus."
earlier related report Three patrols on a "reconnaissance mission" had carried out "strikes on armoured vehicles and a major munitions depot in the regions of Misrata and Zintan" east of Tripoli, it said on its website. Qatar completed its promised aerial contribution to the coalition forces with the arrival of three Mirage 2000-5 warplanes at the Souda base in Crete, bringing to six the number of Qatari planes stationed there, alongside three French Mirage 2000-5 fighters, it added. It said the planes from Qatar, one of two Arab countries supplying aircraft to the coalition, and from France had carried out a mission to enforce the no-fly zone over Libya under the terms of UN Security Council Resolution 1973. French fighter jets destroyed at least five warplanes and two helicopters from forces backing Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi in the same area on Saturday, the military announced. French jets "carried out several strikes in the Zintan and Misrata regions," it said on the French armed forces website.
earlier related report The six F-16s and six Mirage planes, which were committed by UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed al-Nahayan on Thursday, could be seen landing at the Decimomannu base on the island of Sardinia. A former UAE air force commander said last week that his country had delayed its military deployment because of disagreements with the West over the unrest in Bahrain, where there is a Shiite-led revolt against the Sunni royal family. Two Mirage fighter planes carried out Qatar's first mission over Libya accompanied by two French jets, the French military said Friday.
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Libyan rebels advance as Kadhafi forces flee strikesBenghazi, Libya (AFP) March 27, 2011 Libyan rebels were pushing their advance on Sunday after recapturing two key towns from Moamer Kadhafi's forces in their first major victories since the launch of Western-led air strikes. The rebels, who were in danger of losing their eastern stronghold city of Benghazi before the strikes were launched on March 19, on Saturday seized back Ajdabiya and Brega, 160 and 240 kilometres (100 and 1 ... read more |
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