Allied forces attack Libya, Arab League response duplicitious
In accordance with a UN resolution backed 10-0 in the Security Council, with the support of the Arab League, NATO attacked Libya on Saturday night and Sunday.Let's go to the videotape (Hat Tip: Hot Air).
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The Arab League is about as duplicitous as can be. It has now decided to condemn the allied air strikes it authorized and supported.
The head of the Arab League has criticized international strikes on Libya, saying they caused civilian deaths.In the meanwhile, a second night of bombing has begun in Libya (Hat Tip: Memeorandum). The times in the article below are GMT - I believe Libya is GMT +1; here in Israel we are GMT +2 right now.
The Arab League's support for a no-fly zone last week helped overcome reluctance in the West for action in Libya. The U.N. authorized not only a no-fly zone but also "all necessary measures" to protect civilians.
Amr Moussa says the military operations have gone beyond what the Arab League backed.
Moussa has told reporters Sunday that "what happened differs from the no-fly zone objectives." He says "what we want is civilians' protection not shelling more civilians."
U.S. and European strikes overnight targeted mainly air defenses, the U.S. military said. Libya says 48 people were killed, including civilians.
8.54pm: Sporadic explosions and heavy gunfire could be heard in the streets of central Benghazi in the last hour, according to Reuters.Why not? What could go wrong?
The sound of fighting in the rebel-held city was heard between 2000 and 2020 GMT, some time after the Libyan regime said that it was starting its second ceasefire of the conflict.
Meanwhile, a spokesman for the rebel movement in the city has claimed that more than 8,000 Libyans aligned with the rebels have been killed in the revolt.
"Our dead and martyrs number more than 8,000 killed," Abdel Hafiz Ghoga told Al Jazeera.
8.48pm: Reports are coming in of a plume of smoke rising over an area where the compound of Muammar Gaddafi is located.
The smoke was seen in the area of Bab al-Aziziya, according to the BBC, which added that one of its reporters on the ground there believes that anti-aircraft weapons in the area may have been targeted, rather than the compound itself.
A Pentagon spokesman said earlier that Gaddafi himself was not on a list of targets.
Labels: Arab League, Libyan no-fly zone, Libyan regime change
posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 12:27 AM
1 Comments:
And how is this surprising? What did you expect. Of course they're going to condemn it - if they didn't they're own citizenry would be demanding their heads. It also gives them a convenient way of deflecting blame to the Western powers. They have no honor.
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