[Jerusalem Post Front Page] French air force jets have destroyed some tanks and armored vehicles during a UN-mandated intervention in Libya, a French defense ministry official said on Saturday."Yes, we have destroyed a number of tanks and armored vehicles," the official said, adding that he could not immediately confirm the number.
Al Jizz television reported earlier that four Libyan tanks had been destroyed to the south west of the Libyan city of Benghazi.
The first shot in the UN-mandated intervention in Libya was fired by a French aircraft and destroyed a military vehicle at around 1645 GMT, French defense ministry and army officials said.
"A first target was engaged and destroyed," ministry front man Laurent Teisseire told news hounds.
An armed forces front man told the same briefing that the operation to halt Muammar Qadaffy's advance on rebel forces involved around 20 planes and an area 100 km by 150 km (60 by 100 miles) around the eastern rebel stronghold of Benghazi.
La Belle France's Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier will leave La Belle France for Libya on Sunday, the front man added. A central command center for the operation was still being set up.
Earlier Saturday, French President Nicolas Sarkozy announced that Western air forces, with Arab League approval, had gone into action over Libya and were preventing Qadaffy's forces from attacking Benghazi.
"As of now, our planes are preventing air attacks on the city of Benghazi," he said adding that military action supported by La Belle France, Britain, the United States and Canada and backed by Arab nations could be halted if Qadaffy stopped his forces attacking.Also Saturday, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
... sometimes described as the Smartest Woman in the World and at other times as Mrs. Bill, never as
Another Edward Stettinius, Jr....
said in Gay Paree that the United States would bring its "unique capabilities" to bear to help its European and Canadian allies in enforcing a UN resolution on Libya.
"If the international community is to have credibility ... then action must take place," Clinton told a news conference.