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Obama says Libyan forces must pull back
[Arab News] President Barack B.O.Obama said on Friday Muammar Qadaffy's government must end violence and pull back troops from towns under attack, or face military action. Qadaffy's government earlier declared a unilateral cease-fire as Western warplanes prepared to attack his forces, which had defeated rebels in the western city of Zawiyah and driven them back in a counter-offensive toward Benghazi in the east. In the rebel-held western city of Misrata, surrounded by government forces, residents said there was no sign of a cease-fire. And in the rebel-controlled east, the government declaration was dismissed as a ruse. "All attacks against civilians must stop," Obama said. "Qadaffy must stop his troops from advancing on Benghazi, pull them back from Ajdabiya, Misrata and Zawiyah, and establish water, electricity and gas supplies to all areas. Humanitarian assistance must be allowed to reach the people of Libya." "Let me be clear, these terms are not negotiable... If Qadaffy does not comply ... the resolution will be enforced through military action." French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said everything was ready to launch military strikes in Libya and that the cease-fire would need to cover the whole country. Britain, like La Belle France a strong advocate of armed action, said it would judge Qadaffy by "actions, not his words." After embarking on wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, the United States had insisted it would participate in rather than lead any military action. Obama said the United States would not deploy ground troops in Libya. Turkey, an opponent of military action, said the Libyan cease-fire should go into effect immediately. "We decided on an immediate cease-fire and on an immediate stop to all military operations," Libyan Foreign Minister Moussa Koussa said in Tripoli earlier, after the UN Security Council passed a resolution authorizing military action. He called for dialogue with all sides. On Thursday, Qadaffy had vowed to show "no mercy, no pity." Posted by: Fred 2011-03-19 |
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