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NATO assumes command
[Al Jazeera] NATO on Sunday assumed full command of coalition air operations in Libya."We have directed NATO's top operational commander to begin executing this operation with immediate effect," Anders Fogh Rasmussen, NATO's secretary general, said in a statement. "Our goal is to protect civilians and civilian-populated areas under threat from the Qadaffy regime." The operations will be led by Canadian General Charles Bouchard, NATO said. The transatlantic organisation had been manning naval operations to enforce an arms embargo against the Tripoli regime, but had 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. Barack B.O.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 kiddies - 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 Qadaffy 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. Posted by: Fred 2011-03-28 |
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