Tanks of Muammar Gaddafi's forces today broke into the embattled western Libyan city of Zawiyah. His fighters pounded the oil port of Ras Lanuf in the east as the US and its western allies appeared to be firming up plans to impose a no-fly zone over the country.The tanks rolled into Zawiyah after days of pitched battle between the loyalists and rebels, which according to residents have reduced large parts of the town to rubbles with unclaimed bodies strewn all over, Al-Jazeera reported.Britain and France worked on a draft resolution for consideration of the UN Security Council on a potential no-fly zone in the strife-torn North African nation, New Delhi also said that deliberations on the issue were at a "very preliminary" stage.
"Consideration for imposing a new-fly zone is still at a very preliminary stage," Hardeep Singh Puri, India's ambassador to the UN told a news agency. India is a non-permanent member in the UN Security Council."There has been some mention but without clarity on what the objective would be. There is even less clarity on where assets for imposing a no-fly zone would come from," he said, stressing that no "formal proposal" was in front of the Security Council yet.
Puri, however, said that "it is clear to most people that implementing a new fly zone would involve military action including neutralising ground installations such as air defence systems like radars. This would be viewed as military intervention."
The Indian envoy noted that the meetings of the Arab League on Saturday "would be critical for firming opinion" on the no-fly zone issue."The no-fly zone is now the objective of the international community," Arab League envoy to the US Hussein Hassouna said.
Britain's Foreign Secretary William Hague had said, "It is a realistic possibility and it is a practical possibility. It has to have a clear legal base, it has to have the necessary international support, broad support in the region itself,"
The Security Council was briefed on Tuesday on Middle East and North Africa in a closed-door session by the UN's top political official Lynn Pascoe."As we see in the battles that have been going on, clear actions are being taken against the people there, both in Tripoli and other cities," he told journalists after the meeting."This is a matter of huge concern for all of us in the secretariat, certainly for the Security Council," he said.Responding to whether a no-fly zone was discussed at the meeting, Pascoe said it was among the several issues that were part of a "serious and interactive discussion" on the role of the Security Council and Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's office in the face of the Libyan crisis.
Last month, the Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution slapping sanctions on the Libyan regime, which includes a complete arms embargo, an asset freeze and a travel ban on strongman Muammar Gaddafi and his loyalists, and a referral to the Hague-based International Criminal Court.US President Barack Obama on Tuesday had discussed about the creation of a no-fly zone with UK Prime Minister David Cameron during a telephonic conversation.
The two leaders "agreed to press forward with planning, including at NATO, on the full spectrum of possible responses, including surveillance, humanitarian assistance, enforcement of the arms embargo, and a no fly zone," a statement from the White House said.The UN is set to take a stand on the no-fly zone issue next week, while NATO has already launched a 24-hour air and sea surveillance of Libya.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton meanwhile said any decision to impose a no-fly zone over Libya should be taken by the UN and "not the United States",
"I think it's very important that it is not a US-led effort because this comes from the people of Libya themselves," Clinton said on Tuesday."We think it is important that the United Nations make that decision."This doesn't come from the outside. This doesn't come from some Western power or some Gulf country saying: 'This is what you should do.'"
The US had come in for severe international criticism when it invaded Iraq in 2003, an action which Kofi Annan, the then secretary general of the United Nations, said "was not in conformity with the UN Charter"."We'd like to see this resolved peacefully, we'd like to see him (Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi) go peacefully and we'd like to see a new government come peacefully," Clinton said.Fighting was reported to have intensified in the oil-rich nation as pro-Gaddafi forces launched air and rocket attacks on rebels in Zawiya.
"Consideration for imposing a new-fly zone is still at a very preliminary stage," Hardeep Singh Puri, India's ambassador to the UN told a news agency. India is a non-permanent member in the UN Security Council."There has been some mention but without clarity on what the objective would be. There is even less clarity on where assets for imposing a no-fly zone would come from," he said, stressing that no "formal proposal" was in front of the Security Council yet.
Puri, however, said that "it is clear to most people that implementing a new fly zone would involve military action including neutralising ground installations such as air defence systems like radars. This would be viewed as military intervention."
The Indian envoy noted that the meetings of the Arab League on Saturday "would be critical for firming opinion" on the no-fly zone issue."The no-fly zone is now the objective of the international community," Arab League envoy to the US Hussein Hassouna said.
Britain's Foreign Secretary William Hague had said, "It is a realistic possibility and it is a practical possibility. It has to have a clear legal base, it has to have the necessary international support, broad support in the region itself,"
The Security Council was briefed on Tuesday on Middle East and North Africa in a closed-door session by the UN's top political official Lynn Pascoe."As we see in the battles that have been going on, clear actions are being taken against the people there, both in Tripoli and other cities," he told journalists after the meeting."This is a matter of huge concern for all of us in the secretariat, certainly for the Security Council," he said.Responding to whether a no-fly zone was discussed at the meeting, Pascoe said it was among the several issues that were part of a "serious and interactive discussion" on the role of the Security Council and Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's office in the face of the Libyan crisis.
Last month, the Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution slapping sanctions on the Libyan regime, which includes a complete arms embargo, an asset freeze and a travel ban on strongman Muammar Gaddafi and his loyalists, and a referral to the Hague-based International Criminal Court.US President Barack Obama on Tuesday had discussed about the creation of a no-fly zone with UK Prime Minister David Cameron during a telephonic conversation.
The two leaders "agreed to press forward with planning, including at NATO, on the full spectrum of possible responses, including surveillance, humanitarian assistance, enforcement of the arms embargo, and a no fly zone," a statement from the White House said.The UN is set to take a stand on the no-fly zone issue next week, while NATO has already launched a 24-hour air and sea surveillance of Libya.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton meanwhile said any decision to impose a no-fly zone over Libya should be taken by the UN and "not the United States",
"I think it's very important that it is not a US-led effort because this comes from the people of Libya themselves," Clinton said on Tuesday."We think it is important that the United Nations make that decision."This doesn't come from the outside. This doesn't come from some Western power or some Gulf country saying: 'This is what you should do.'"
The US had come in for severe international criticism when it invaded Iraq in 2003, an action which Kofi Annan, the then secretary general of the United Nations, said "was not in conformity with the UN Charter"."We'd like to see this resolved peacefully, we'd like to see him (Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi) go peacefully and we'd like to see a new government come peacefully," Clinton said.Fighting was reported to have intensified in the oil-rich nation as pro-Gaddafi forces launched air and rocket attacks on rebels in Zawiya.
Comments
Post a Comment