Explosions rocked Tripoli as Western forces staged fresh air strikes to halt Muammar Gaddafi’s attacks on civilians, with one raid flattening a building in the strongman’s heavily-fortified residence, as U.S. defense chief described any attempt by the coalition forces to kill Gaddafi as “unwise”.
“The coalition is actively enforcing UNSCR (U.N. Security Council Resolution) 1973, and that in keeping with that mission, we continue to strike those targets which pose a direct threat to the Libyan people and to our ability to implement the no-fly zone,” the official told AFP.
“Barbaric bombing”
The building, which was about 50 meters (165 feet) from the tent where Gaddafi generally meets guests, was flattened.
Smoke was seen on Sunday billowing from the residence and barracks at Bab al-Aziziya in the south of the Libyan capital as anti-aircraft guns fired shots.
“It was a barbaric bombing,” said government spokesman Mussa Ibrahim, showing pieces of shrapnel that he said came from the missile. “This contradicts American and Western (statements) … that it is not their target to attack this place.”
Ibrahim said no one had been hurt in the attack. He declined to say whether Gaddafi was still inside the compound.
Nearby, crowds of Gaddafi loyalists, allowed into the compound as a human shield against possible air strikes, shouted anti-Western slogans including “Obama should be slaughtered.”
As warplanes took off from Italian bases and anti-aircraft guns roared in the Libyan capital, Gaddafi’s army announced a new ceasefire Sunday, saying it was heeding an African Union call for an immediate cessation of hostilities.
But the United States accused Tripoli of lying about the ceasefire or breaching it immediately.
And United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said in a swift reaction: “I sincerely hope and urge the Libyan authorities to keep their word.
The U.S. military earlier Sunday said Allied strikes had crippled the air defenses of Gaddafi’s embattled regime and a no-fly zone had been successfully enforced over the country.
“Unwise” to kill Gaddafi
Defense Secretary Robert Gates and top brass indicated that the American military would now look to take a back seat and warned the coalition against mission-creep, in particular against directly targeting Gaddafi.
“We judge these strikes have been very effective in significantly degrading the regime air defense capability,” Vice Admiral Bill Gortney told a Pentagon briefing. “The no-fly zone is effectively in place.”
French, American and British forces have launched the biggest intervention in the Arab world since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, firing more than 120 Tomahawk Cruise missiles and conducting bombing raids on key Libyan targets.
Gates said it would be “unwise” to have coalition forces try to kill Gaddafi in military strikes in Libya.
Asked about remarks by British counterpart Liam Fox suggesting targeting Gaddafi himself, Gates said the allied operation should stick to the parameters as authorized by the U.N. Security Council.
“I think that it’s important that we operate within the mandate of the U.N. Security Council resolution,” he said.
Gates, who was speaking on a U.S. military plane en route to Russia, said the intervention was backed by “a very diverse coalition” and warned that expanding its goals could divide that consensus.”
He also expressed caution about providing direct support to revolutionary forces and referred to a long term “process” that could see Gaddafi toppled.
“The key is to first of all, establish the no-fly zone, to prevent him from using his military forces to slaughter his own people,” he said.
Arab League support
Asked about criticism about the air strikes from the head of the Arab League Amr Mussa, Gates said he was reassured by renewed support for the operation by the bloc.
“The Arab League voted again to reassert its support. So I think we’re OK,” he said.
Gates said governments were discussing how best to organize the military command of the operation, with Arab states reluctant to have a NATO flag over the intervention.
“I think there is a sensitivity on the part of the Arab League to being seen to be operating under a NATO umbrella. And so the question is, if there’s a way we can work out NATO’s command and control machinery without it being a NATO mission and without a NATO flag and so on,” he said.
“There are a lot of players in this. And I think our first objective is to accomplish the mandate set forth in the Security Council resolution and I think we’ve made good progress in doing that.”
The Pentagon chief also said he was satisfied about the role of Arab militaries in the coalition, saying the countries needed time to prepare for a groundbreaking step.
Gaddafi’s regime had declared a ceasefire on Friday after U.N. Security Council resolution 1973 authorized any necessary measures, including a no-fly zone, to stop his forces harming civilians in the fight against the rebels.
But his troops continued attacking the protesters stronghold of Benghazi, sparking action by U.S., British and French forces from Saturday in line with the resolution.
In the West’s biggest intervention in the Arab world since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, U.S. warships and a British submarine fired more than 120 Tomahawk cruise missiles into Libya late on Saturday, U.S. military officials said.
The first round of strikes by aircraft and cruise missiles prompted a defiant Gaddafi to warn of a long war in the Mediterranean “battlefield”.
U.S. President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, as well as other Western leaders, had been saying Gaddafi must go.
The Pentagon dismissed reports from Gaddafi officials that the allied strikes had claimed innocent lives, saying there was no indication of any civilian casualties but confirming dozens of regime forces had been killed.
Cutting off logistical support
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen said the strikes had stopped Gaddafi’s forces in their tracks and the aim now was to cut off their logistical support.
Mullen admitted the next steps in the process were murky, providing fresh fodder for Obama opponents who accuse him of failing to adequately set out the goals of the Libya mission.
“What we do will depend to some degree on what he (Gaddafi) does,” Mullen told Fox News Sunday.
The opening phase of the military strikes had a pretty significant effect very early and Qaddafi’s forces have been pushed back from the rebel stronghold of Benghazi, Mullen, said on CNNs State of the Union program on Sunday.
“The initial operations have been very effective, taking out most of his air-defense systems, some of his air fields,” Mullen said. “There is still, I think, a great deal to be done.”
Asked in an NBC “Meet the Press” interview if the mission could be accomplished with Qaddafi still in power, Mullen said: “That’s certainly potentially one outcome.”
Pressed on CBS’s “Face the Nation” about the endgame, he said that was “very uncertain” and indicated it would ultimately be up to other members of the coalition, rather than the United States, to decide what action to take.
“It’s hard to know exactly how this turns out. He’s a thug; he’s a cagey guy; he’s a survivor. We know that,” Mullen said.
“I can’t say exactly how long… the military part of this will be in effect and I think it’s for others to determine where this goes long-term.”
“More expected from Middle east states”
Italy made eight warplanes available for action in Libya, Italian Defense Minister Ignazio La Russa told RAI television. The government in Rome has frozen more than 6 billion euros ($8.5 billion) of Libyan assets, an Italian official said, speaking on the condition of not being further identified.
Talks are under way for an emergency meeting of Arab League nations to discuss the situation in Libya, the Egyptian government-owned Middle East News Agency cited Secretary General Moussa as saying.
Clinton said in Paris that Arab participation was extraordinarily important. “More can be expected from the Middle East states,” she said.
The U.K.s Foreign Office said in a statement that “we will continue to work with our Arab partners to enforce the resolution for the good of the Libyan people.”
Obama called Odyssey Dawn a “limited military action,” unlike the regime change aims of the war against Iraqi president Saddam Hussein.
Obama has vowed that U.S. troops will not be deployed on the ground but leading Republican critic John Boehner, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, called for further clarity.
“The president is the commander-in-chief, but the administration has a responsibility to define for the American people, the Congress, and our troops what the mission in Libya is, better explain what America’s role is in achieving that mission, and make clear how it will be accomplished,” he said.
Source: AlArabiya.net
Comments