Libya: Qaddhafi Violates Ceasefire, Foreign Forces Mount Attack

[Lankan Ranger]

Pro-Gaddafi forces bombs Misrata city

Pro-Gaddafi forces bombard Misrata city using tanks, artillery and cannons, while International coalition air operations continued in Libya, informs CNN . It all began on Saturday, when a series of French military aircraft Rafale and Mirage 2000 were spotted over the territory of Libya, attacking tanks and armored Gaddafi's forces.

According to Chief of Staff U.S. inter arm, Michael Mullen, the coalition will attack the supply lines of Gaddafi's forces, to limit the capacity to fight, informs AFP .

In a television channel broadcast of ABC, Mullen said the first phase of air strikes conducted against Libya is "successful" by allowing the establishment of an aviation ban areas.

Forces loyal to the Libyan leader began bombing the city Misrata at around 15.00 , using tanks and guns, but the rebels have retaliated in the city.

According to a spokesman of the rebels in Misrata, quoted by BBC News Online, the situation in town is "appalling", downtown being destroyed almost completely.

It is being said that many casualties by Gaddafi's tanks were civilians after the force entered the city center. 40 people were wounded and another 10 killed .

At around 14.30, 19 military aircraft, including three stealth B2 bombers, invisible to radar, attacked several military targets in Libya, including air defense systems.

Air raids were led by "three U.S. Air Force B2, and F-15 and F-16 Air Force and AV8-B plane of the Navy," said the spokesperson of the U.S. Africa Command in Stuttgart. No aircraft of U.S. forces has been aimed by Gaddafi's forces.

Four F-18 aircraft of the Spanish Air Force arrived on Saturday night in Torrejon in Group 47.

Aircraft movements took place on Saturday in several air bases in northern and southern Italy. Three radar planes with AWACs (Airborne Warning and Control System) have been stationed in Trapani, west of Sicily, where not only Tornado ECR Italian planes, specialized in destroying of air-defence systems and radars, have been brought , but also Tornado IDS planes. Attack and fighter aircraft Eurofighter will be coming from Grossetto.

In addition, six Danish F-16 aircraft arrived on Saturday at the Sigonella (south-eastern Sicily), whereas American planes have been stationed at the base of Aviano (Venice, North). Eight Canadian aircrafts are also now stationed at the Sicilian Trapani.

On the other hand, Turkey has announced that it offers "contribution" to resolving the Libyan crisis, with "respect for the Libyan people's security," in a statement broadcast on Saturday night.

Dozens of Muammar Gaddafi's tanks were destroyed in air strikes Sunday morning west of Benghazi, according to rebels and journalists.

Gaddafi Attacked City of Misrata; US to Bomb More | The World Reporter: News Opinion and Analysis

 

[hembo]

Armed forces minister Nick Harvey has refused to rule out the deployment of British ground troops in Libya.

But he did stress that there was a huge difference between a limited intervention and a full-scale occupation force, which is banned under the terms of the UN mandate.

Asked whether British ground troops could be deployed in a defensive role to protect civilians, the armed forces minister did not discount the possibility, although he said he did not believe that any deployment would be on a "significant scale".

He told BBC1's Breakfast programme: "I don't think we would at this stage rule anything in or rule anything out but I agree with the distinction that you draw between landing an occupying force and the use of anybody on the ground."

 

[hembo]

Megan Scully has a thorough article on the National Journal website looking into the massive cost of maintaining a no-fly zone and attacking Gaddafi's ground troops. The first day cost the United States around $100 million alone, she estimates.

Meanwhile, it generally costs $10,000 per hour, including maintenance and fuel, to operate F-15s and F-16s. Those costs do not include the payloads dropped from the aircraft. The B-2s dropped 45 Joint Direct Attack Munitions, or JDAMS, which are 2,000-pound bombs that cost between $30,000 and $40,000 apiece to replace

Link to the article

 

[hembo]

5:05pm Libya Time
Western warplanes attacked a military aircraft belonging to Muammar Gaddafi's armed forces that was flying towards the rebel-held city of Benghazi.

al-Jazeera update

 

[hembo]

Looks like Nato will finally take command after all the debates:

1451 GMT: Here are the key excerpts from the Nato statement on the no-fly zone: "Nato has now decided to launch an operation to enforce the arms embargo against Libya... [Nato ships and aircraft] will conduct operations to monitor, report and, if needed, interdict vessels suspected of carrying illegal arms or mercenaries... At the same time, Nato has completed plans to help enforce the no-fly zone - to bring our contribution, if needed, in a clearly defined manner, to the broad international effort to protect the people of Libya from the violence of the Gaddafi regime." However, there is no specific mention of using Nato's command-and-control structure to direct operations.

1427: The backing of the Arab League was crucial for getting the UN resolution on the Libya no-fly zone, but some Arab countries are watching developments with unease. Algeria's foreign minister says Western military intervention in Libya is "disproportionate" and must end immediately, Reuters reports, quoting the Algerian state news agency. Algeria has seen small-scale protests since the wave of uprisings in the Arab world began three months ago but the demonstrations have usually been broken up by the security forces.

1420: Spain has voted overwhelmingly in favour of taking part in the coalition to enforce the no-fly zone over Libya. Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero's request for formal approval of the move was adopted by 336 votes to 3, with one abstention. Spanish planes have already been patrolling Libyan airspace. Madrid has also sent a frigate and a submarine to join coalition forces.

1415: More on the debate over who should lead the mission in Libya: France is not the only country opposed to a joint Nato command, Yves Boyer, deputy director of the Paris-based Foundation for Strategic Research tells the BBC World Service. Like the French Foreign Minister, Alain Juppe, Mr Boyer pointed out that the operation was not initiated by Nato but by individual countries forming a coalition. Given that the operation was "relatively limited in scope", he said it could "be led by a Franco-British team, or by a European command, either the British or the French taking the lead".

 

[hembo]

3.42pm: According to AP, Spain has become the latest country to join the US-led coalition:

The Spanish parliament approved Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero's request 336-3, with one deputy abstaining. The country is contributing four F-18 fighter jets, a Boeing 707 refueling plane, a submarine, a frigate and a maritime surveillance plane. As many as 500 Spanish soldiers will take part in the operation

 

[Unbeliever]

After a US warplane has crashed in eastern Libya, the 2 pilots were met & thanked by locals for their role in the air strikes which saved lives of many Libyans. One Libyan man said: "I hugged him & said don't be scared, we are your friends". The intervention & No Fly zone were requested by Libyans & there is no indication of any plan by any country to send ground troups or occupation. So lets respect Libyans choice (from the We are all Khaled Said Facebook group aka the Egyptian Revolution group)



BBC News - Libya crisis: US warplane crashes in east

 

[monitor]

Military action against Libya

Barrister Harun ur Rashid

The UK, US and France, on March 19, attacked Libyan leader Col. Muammar Gaddafi's forces in the first action to enforce a UN-mandated no-fly zone.

Pentagon officials say the US and the UK have fired more than 110 missiles, while French planes struck pro-Gaddafi forces attacking rebel-held Benghazi. Missiles struck air defence sites in the capital, Tripoli, and Misrata.

Col. Gaddafi has vowed retaliation and said he will open arms depots to the people to defend Libya.

The UN Security Council resolution (number 1973) was adopted on March 17, authorising military intervention to protect civilians in Benghazi, the rebels' headquarters, from the advancing columns of Libyan forces loyal to the Libyan leader in response to the blood-curdling threat by Col. Gadhafi to the rebels.

The UN resolution demanded an "immediate ceasefire," but most importantly it authorised nations "to take all necessary measures … to protect civilians … and civilian populated areas … including Benghazi."

"All necessary measures" were approved to enforce a no-fly zone over Libya and protect the civilian population. They are the key words. They amount to a mandate for bombing runs to destroy tanks and artillery bearing down on the rebel-held cities of Benghazi and Tobruk.

The resolution was sponsored by Lebanon on behalf of Arab League, a member of the Security Council. There were 10 votes in favour, (Bosnia Herzegovina, Colombia, Gabon, Lebanon, Nigeria, Portugal, South Africa, the US, UK and France), no votes against, and five abstentions, including veto-wielding China and Russia as well as Brazil, Germany and India.

On March 19, France hosted what it called a "decisive" summit with the European Union, Arab League and African Union, as well as UN chief Ban Ki-moon, on taking UN-sanctioned military action in Libya. France's Ambassador to the UN, Gerard Araud, said he expected military intervention within hours of the summit.

The UN Security Council resolution is a victory for the rebels and France, which, became the first country to recognise -- on March 10 -- the rebel leadership in the eastern city of Benghazi, and said that it would exchange ambassadors with the Libyan National Council

The military operation in Libya is different from that undertaken in Iraq in the following ways:

* The UN resolution was sponsored by Lebanon on behalf of the 22-member Arab League. Earlier, the Arab League suspended Libya from the organisation, which is unprecedented in the history of the Arab League;

* It is authorised by the UN Security Council under Chapter VII of the UN Charter, which relates action with respect to threats to the peace, breaches of peace and acts of aggression. No such resolution was adopted for the Iraqi war;

* The support of the Arab League for military action has provided the Western powers enough justification for military operations which, according to them, are necessary, legal and right;

* All member of the UN including Bangladesh are obliged to join in affording mutual assistance in carrying out the measures decided by the Security Council (Article 49 read with Article 25 of the UN Charter).

So far Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Italy, Norway, Qatar, Spain, and Sweden have decided to join the military action.

Warplanes from one or two Arab countries are expected to join the military operations in a symbolic, but important, effort to deny Col. Gaddafi the claim that he is under attack by Western powers. Egypt is shipping small arms and ammunition to the Libyan rebels, The Wall Street Journal reported.

In Benghazi, the eastern city where the Libyan uprising was born, joyous residents thronged the main square, cheering the protection of a Western-led air armada capable of wreaking immense destruction on the Libyan forces.

But shortly after the United Nations resolution was passed, Tripoli executed a remarkable about-face on March 18, saying it would call an "immediate ceasefire and the stoppage of all military operations" against the rebels because, as a UN member, it is "obliged to accept" Security Council resolutions." The announcement came from the Foreign Minister of Libya Moussa Koussa.

However, the next day, a Libyan government spokesman called the resolution illegal as the UN had no right to intervene in its internal matter and, obviously, the ceasefire declared by the Gaddafi regime did not hold on the ground. Pro-Gaddafi forces attacked Benghazi despite declaring a ceasefire a day earlier. Reports from the city said that government tanks and artillery had bombarded the city and there was fighting around the university.

US President Barack Obama, who has talked about a no-fly zone for several weeks, said: "We cannot stand idly by when a tyrant tells his people there will be no mercy."

Col. Gaddafi warned: "Any foreign military act against Libya will expose all air and maritime traffic in the Mediterranean Sea to danger and civilian and military facilities will become targets of Libya's counterattack."

But the Libyan air force is reportedly aging, ill-maintained and no match for modern warplanes. The last time Col. Gaddafi sent a pair of his fighters against a U.S. naval battle group -- in 1986 -- they were shot down before even coming close to the U.S. warships.

The UN resolution imposes a no-fly zone with exceptions for humanitarian flights. It also bans all flights by all Libyan aircraft anywhere, adds a number of Libyans to the list whose assets are frozen, and calls for tougher enforcement of the arms embargo.

All across the Arab world, simmering unrest has bubbled into uprisings, sometimes met with violence by existing regimes. In Yemen as well as Bahrain, government crackdowns have left protesters dead in recent days, although nowhere has the scale of violence matched the brutality of the Libyan regime's response.

It may be recalled that in 2005, at the UN World Summit, more than 150 heads of state and government unanimously adopted a declaration on the responsibility to protect civilian population of a state by international collective action from genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity, if that state is unable or unwilling to protect its civilians or worse, as in the case of Libya, if that state is the author of such criminality. The resolution of military action against Libya is to protect the civilians and aims at global justice.

 

[r3alist]

Libyan rebellion has radical Islamist fervor: Benghazi link to Islamic militancy:U.S. Military Document Reveals | Asian Tribune




in a few weeks will the US be fighting alqaeda - ofcourse, they planned it that way!

 

[LeGenD]

Libya revolt: French jets strike Gaddafi aircraft

French fighter aircraft have destroyed five Libyan air force planes and two helicopters in an attack on the forces of Col Muammar Gaddafi.

A French spokesman said the aircraft were caught on the ground at Misrata air base preparing to launch attacks in the area of the rebel-held town.

France is one of the coalition countries enforcing a UN no-fly zone aimed at protecting civilians.

Rebels have captured the eastern town of Ajdabiya and have pushed westwards.

Libyan TV reported more air strikes overnight at Sabha in central Libya.

Libyan state television said military and civilian areas had been hit, but there was no independent confirmation.

The TV also said there had been air strikes near Col Gaddafi's power base of Sirte, on the Mediterranean coast east of Tripoli.

Cut off

Reports from besieged rebel-held Misrata said shelling ceased when coalition planes flew overhead on Saturday.

"The shelling has stopped and now the war planes of allies are above the sky of Misrata. The shelling stopped when the planes appeared in the sky," one rebel told Reuters news agency.

Misrata has become a key focus for the battle in western Libya: it is the only significant rebel-held city left, and has been under heavy bombardment for days.

The rebels in Misrata are cut off from those in the east, who have Libya's second city of Benghazi as their stronghold.

The rebellion against Col Gaddafi's four decades in power began in mid-February, inspired by uprisings in neighbouring Egypt and Tunisia which saw the leaders there overthrown.

The eastern towns along the coast had been lost one-by-one to advancing pro-Gaddafi forces before coalition airstrikes started last week.

Libyan officials said the strikes have killed nearly 100 civilians.

US Defence Secretary Robert Gates said there are intelligence reports that Col Gaddafi's forces have taken the bodies of people killed in their own attacks and placing them at the site of air strikes so they can blame the coalition for their deaths.

Rebels in eastern Libya entered Ajdabiya on Saturday after coalition strikes left wrecked tanks, armoured vehicles and artillery pieces at both the eastern and western gates to the town.

Reports said they later seized the town of Brega, 70km (45 miles) to the west.

In his weekly address, US President Barack Obama said that the "clear and focused" military mission in Libya was succeeding.

"Make no mistake, because we acted quickly, a humanitarian catastrophe has been avoided and the lives of countless civilians - innocent men, women and children - have been saved," he said.

Libyan rebels began their uprising in mid-February, seeking to end Col Gaddafi's four decades in power.

At the scene

Ben Brown

BBC News, Ajdabiya

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
There have been wild celebrations in Ajdabiya. Rebel fighters firing their guns into the air, blaring their car horns, hugging each other and waving flags. They say Ajdabiya is a town that has been terrorised by Gaddafi loyalists but that now it has been liberated.

And there's huge military significance to this too. Ajdabiya is seen by the rebels as the gateway to the west and with this victory they have been given, they say, much needed momentum in their campaign to topple Col Gaddafi.

But the liberation of Ajdabiya has been a strange affair. The rebels more or less walked into the town after coalition war planes including British RAF Tornadoes, carried out wave after wave of devastating air strikes against Gaddafi forces on the ground. We counted more than two dozen burned-out or abandoned tanks around the town's east and west gates.

In Tripoli, the government has admitted that its fighters retreated in the face of overwhelming air power. Those fighters have now pulled back, it's thought, to Brega. The rebels say they're in hot pursuit.

Source: BBC News - Libya revolt: French jets strike Gaddafi aircraft

 

[Luftwaffe]

 

[LeGenD]

Libyan rebels in westward push

Opposition fighters are advancing, claiming control of the key oil towns of Ras Lanuf, Brega and Uqayla.

Libyan rebels are advancing further westwards, having taken control of the key towns of Ras Lanuf, Uqayla, Brega and Ajdabiya, our correspondents reported.

"It is pretty clear to me, and I am at the main refinery in Ras Lanuf, that here it is the opposition who are in control," Al Jazeera's James Bays reported on Sunday, after rebels had taken over the major oil exporting terminal.

Earlier on Sunday, Al Jazeera correspondents reported opposition forces advancing on the towns of Brega and then Uqayla, which they retook from Gaddafi forces.

"[There are] no signs of Gaddafi's forces here," Bays reported from Ras Lanuf.

"What they left behind is here, some of their weaponry is here, some of their armourments are here.

"But they have not left their tanks behind or any of their heavy armour, just some of the ammunition has been left behind, suggesting it was a pretty speedy retreat."

Earlier reports said that the rebels were not facing much resistance from pro-Gaddafi forces in the area.

The rebels had pushed westwards after making it to Brega late on Saturday. This came after they recaptured Ajdabiya from government controls with the help of western coalition air strikes.

Spurred on by the air strikes, the rebels were now headed towards Bin Jawad, another town west of Ras Lanuf, where fighting continued.

"The opposition forces have certainly pushed forward since they took control of Ajdabiya, after those air strikes on Ajdabiya, pushing along the coast heading westward towards Tripoli," Bays reported from near Uqayla earlier on Sunday.

Uqayla, about 110 kilometres west of Ajdabiya, is "important for its oil infrastructure, like many of these places along the coast" including Ras Lanuf, Bays said.

These key towns are on the road travelling westward towards Gaddafi's stronghold of Sirte.

Earlier, there were conflicting reports about who held control of Brega, which lies 80 kilometres to the west of Ajdabiya. Gaddafi's forces were said to be holding onto strategic sites in the nearby oil port, while the rebels said they were in control.

Elsewhere, shelling by Gaddafi's forces stopped in Misurata on Saturday when western coalition planes appeared in the sky, a rebel said.

Air strikes

The French armed forces said around 20 French aircraft supported by an AWACS surveillance plane struck targets during the day on Saturday, including five Galeb fighter jets and two MI-35 helicopters on the ground outside Misurata.

British missile strikes also destroyed three armoured vehicles in Misurata and two more in Ajdabiya, the Royal Air Force said in a statement.

Misurata is still under government control.

Ahmed Al Misrati, a pro-democracy activist, speaking from Misurata on Saturday, told Al Jazeera that the town was "besieged from all sides".

"Since morning [Misurata] has been under heavy gunfire and heavy bombardment ... by tanks or mortar shells," said Al Misrati. "They [Gaddafi troops] are also stationed in other rooftops, especially the high buildings."

On Saturday, fresh coalition air strikes were reported on the road between Gaddafi's home town of Sirte and Ajdabiya.

Moussa Ibrahim, a Libyan government spokesman, said that the strikes killed soldiers and civilians alike.

"Tonight the air strikes against our nation continue with full power," said Ibrahim.

"We are losing many lives, military and civilians.

"The road between Ajdabiya and Sirte includes many towns," he added, repeating a call for an immediate end of the air strikes and an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council.

Meanwhile, NATO ambassadors will meet on Sunday, as the 28-nation alliance looks set to agree to take command of military operations against Gaddafi.

Pressed by western powers, notably the United States and Italy, to take the helm as swiftly as possible, the alliance was expected to give a thumbs up, possibly approving and activating immediate engagement, NATO sources said.

At present, the transatlantic organisation is manning naval operations to enforce an arms embargo against the Tripoli regime, and has agreed to take to the air to enforce a no-fly zone to protect civilians against bombings.

Elsewhere, Pope Benedict called for the "suspension of the use of arms" in the Libya crisis.

"I appeal to international organisations and those with political and military responsibilities to immediately launch a dialogue to suspend the use of arms," he told pilgrims in the Vatican on Sunday.

Tipping the balance

Rebel fighters further east were celebrating on the streets of Ajdabiya on Saturday after driving pro-Gaddafi forces out of the town.

But Libyan government officials said that the army had withdrawn to save residents from more bloodshed.

Rebel forces had initially captured Ajdabiya during an advance along Libya's east coast that was halted and reversed in a counter-offensive by government forces backed by superior air power earlier this month. But coalition airstrikes which have destroyed Libya's air force have tipped the balance back towards the rebels, Bays said.

Many fighters belonging to forces loyal to Gaddafi were also taken hostage by rebels. Among them, according to reports in the rebel stronghold of Benghazi, is one of Gaddafi's most senior soldiers, General Bilgasim Al-Ganga, said Al Jazeera's Turton.

"We're hearing reports that the number three in Gaddafi's army, Bilgasim Al-Ganga, has been captured overnight in fighting in Ajdabiya. He has a fierce reputation among the opposition who accuse him of committing many atrocities under the Gaddafi regime," our correspondent said.

On Friday, western warplanes bombed Gaddafi's tanks and artillery outside the town to break the battlefield stalemate and help rebels retake the town.

Plumes of smoke filled the sky as the pace of coalition air strikes escalated, forcing terrified residents to flee Ajdabiya, which is 160km south of the rebel stronghold of Benghazi.

Meanwhile, Barack Obama, the US president, said on Saturday that the military mission in Libya was succeeding.

"Because we acted quickly, a humanitarian catastrophe has been avoided and the lives of countless civilians - innocent men, women and children - have been saved," Obama said.

But Obama reiterated that the military mission was clear and focused and that the role of American forces had been limited. "Our military has provided unique capabilities at the beginning, but this is now a broad, international effort," he said.

Last week Libyan officials said nearly 100 civilians had been killed in the coalition strikes.

US Defence Secretary Robert Gates dismissed the assertion on Saturday, saying: "The truth of the matter is we have trouble coming up with proof of any civilian casualties that we have been responsible for."

"We do have a lot of intelligence reporting about Gaddafi taking the bodies of the people he's killed and putting them at the sites where we've attacked," Gates told CBS News' "Face the Nation with Bob Schieffer".

Source: Libyan rebels in westward push - Africa - Al Jazeera English

 

[Hussein]

why you think RT choosed to remove the second video ?
about the first one it is from 1st march

the fact is that the russian media discovered it was true Kadhafi was killing its own people

 

[ovarel]

Paris is sidelined in Libya: Erdogan

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Friday Paris was sidelined in Libya after NATO took over the command, which was a “positive” development, Anatolia news agency reported.

“Paris has started to be sidelined. I found this pretty positive especially for the current process in Libya,” Erdogan told reporters in response to questions on Libya, Anatolia reported.

France’s leadership in the UN-mandated air campaign in support of Libyan civilians and its failure to invite Turkey to last Saturday’s Paris summit on Libya that preceded the raids had irked Ankara.

This further soured bilateral ties, already strained over President Nicolas Sarkozy’s vocal opposition to Turkey’s EU membership bid.

Turkey’s parliament Thursday approved sending a naval force off Libya as the Islamist-rooted government moved reluctantly to join military action in the conflict-torn country despite anger at Western-led air raids.

Erdogan said NATO also agreed with Turkey’s concerns that NATO should not intervene in the situation on its own but have the Arab League and African Union on its side, Anatolia reported.

Turkey, NATO’s sole predominantly Muslim member and a key regional player, has slammed the air strikes on Libya, led by France, Britain and the United States, ruling out any combat mission and vowing to “never point a gun at the Libyan people”.

AA/AFP

Paris is sidelined in Libya: Erdogan | TRDEFENCE

 

[nightcrawler]

Libya: Qaddhafi Violates Ceasefire, Foreign Forces Mount Attack

I think the bold word must not be used by the WEST anymore