Time for global decision on Libya no-fly zone – Hague

As forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi advance on rebel-held towns, follow the latest news from Libya and the wider region 12.57pm: It’s probably time for a quick recap, taking things county by country: Libya • Muammar Gaddafi’s forces continue to push eastward , having taken the town of Braga last night following a fierce artillery barrage. Rebels say they re-took Braga after dark , but there is no way to verify this. The Guardian’s Chris McGreal, who left Braga with the fleeing rebel forces, says it is by no means inevitable that Gaddafi’s troops will be able to move swiftly towards Benghazi, the main rebel stronghold. • G8 foreign ministers are to meet in Paris this evening to discuss a no-fly zone and other possible responses, with William Hague saying “a point of decision” is near. The foreign secretary remains officially non-committal on a no-fly zone but rebel leaders reportedly say they have been promised this by the UK, US and France. In the meantime Gaddafi’s warplanes have bombed the eastern city of Ajdabiya. Bahrain: • In a significant development following six-weeks of opposition protests, around 1,000 Saudi troops have arrived in the country . They have been sent to shore up the rule of Bahrain’s fellow-Sunni Muslim royal family, under siege from the demands of opponents in the majority Shia community. • A group of independent MPs in Bahrain’s parliament have called for a period of martial law to restore order. Yemen • A stand-off between security forces and opposition groups continues in Sana’a , with the president sacking one of his ministers. Political correspondent Allegra Stratton has been listening to the Labour leader, Ed Miliband, discuss options for Libya at a press conference in Westminster. She writes: Ed Miliband edged towards supporting military action in Libya, telling journalists the west cannot “stand by”. Miliband said he supported the idea of a no-fly zone but called for more details from the government on what type of troop detail would be involved. He said: “I don’t think we can stand by as Colonel Gaddafi takes greater hold of Libya.” 12.41pm: I’ve just had a chat with the Guardian’s Martin Chulov, who’s following develoments in Bahrain, where around 1,000 Saudi troops are now known to have arrived (see previous post). There are wider regional factors at play, he notes, particularly Iran’s backing for Shia opposition groups and Saudi backing for their fellow Sunni royals: The real game has been much bigger than this. It’s all been part of the standoff between Saudi Arabia and Iran, with America in the middle. 12.22pm: More on Bahrain. This just in from Reuters: About 1,000 Saudi soldiers entered Bahrain early on Monday to protect government facilities following recent unrest by the country’s Shia Muslim majority, a Saudi official source said. “About 1,000 Saudi soldiers have entered Bahrain early on Monday morning through the causeway to Bahrain,” the source told Reuters. “They are part of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) force that would guard the government installations”. 12.17pm: To reiterate a point made briefly at the start of today’s blog, Libyan rebels say they re-took the port of Brega last night, having been dislodged during the day. According to the Associated Press they claim to have destroyed armoured vehicles and captured fighters from Gaddafi’s elite Khamis Brigade; again, there is no confirmation of this. 12.12pm: Back to Bahrain, and the reported imminent arrival of Saudi troops to shore up the fellow-Sunni royal family: opposition groups in Bahrain have reacted with predictable anger, calling the move a declaration of war. There is, however, no confirmation as yet that Saudi troops (or indeed any outside forces) are on the way. Martin Chulov will be filing a story on this imminently. 11.50am: Al-Jazeera has its own live blog of the day’s events running, as ever. This interesting update is just in: unnamed sources among the leadership of Libya’s rebel group say they have received private promises about a no-fly zone from the US, UK and France. 11.45am: Here’s a photo from yesterday of some of the tens of thousands of migrant workers who have fled Libya and are now at a UN displacement in Ras Jdir, Tunisia, on the Libyan border. UN officials warn that it risks becoming a major humanitarian crisis. – 11.26am: The issue of a no-fly zone is all the more pressing given that Gaddafi’s air force is continuing to raid rebel positions. According to rebel groups, war planes attacked weapons stores today near the eastern city of Ajdabiya. France and the UK are seen as the main proponents of a no-fly zone within the G8 group of major industrialised nations, which also comprises the US, Russia, Germany, Italy, Japan and Canada. Russia, one of the big players if a proposal is to be put before the UN security council, apparently remains to be convinced. The country’s foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, said this morning that he wanted more information about how such a zone would work. Russia would “closely study” any proposal put before the security council, he added. 11.14am: I’ve finally had time for a proper listen to Hague’s comments on Radio 4 this morning (see 9.56am). On a no-fly zone he remained non-committal ahead of tonight’s G8 foreign minister talks in Paris: Clearly a no-fly zone is one of the leasing propositions. It isn’t the answer to everything… but it has been called for by the Arab League and it is something that the international community now must consider. Interestingly, Hague refused to rule out an argument made in today’s Times (paywall) by one of his Tory predecessors in the job, Sir Malcolm Rifkind, that the west should arm Libyan rebels, saying: “I wouldn’t exclude various possibilities on this score.” For now, however, the international arms embargo on Libya would prevent such a move for now, he said, adding: This is the kind of subject which has to be discussed with our international partners and those discussions are now taking place. Of course, as these discussions go on (and on), Gaddafi’s forces move eastward. Reuters spoke to a series of regional experts this morning, many of whom made the point summed up by one pundit, London-based Saad Djebbar: The international community is dragging its feet. The diplomatic pace is very slow. There is an urgency to act quickly before those people are finished off by Gaddafi’s forces. 11.06am: In response to some questions below about the latest on the Guardian’s Ghaith Abdul-Ahad, detained 11 days ago in Libya, we had an update on the website last night . It doesn’t add much beyond that he remains in custody and all efforts are being made to secure his freedom or at least give him access to a lawyer. 11.00am: Turkey’s prime minister, Tayyip Erdogan, has just been on Al Arabiya TV to say he has told Muammar Gaddafi that he should appoint a president with popular support to defuse the crisis, and that he expects the Libyan leader to take “positive steps in this direction”. He added, according to Reuters: “We want a halt to the fighting by both of the sides, both in the east and west of Libya.” No indication yet as to why Erdogan seems confident that Gaddafi will heed his advice. 10.32am: Bahrain opposition groups have been uploading videos which they say show police brutality during yesterday’s protests. Perhaps most troubling is this brief clip, which appears to show one officer shooting a rubber bullet or similar non-lethal baton round at a man’s midriff from point-blank range. The man staggers up and is seemingly then hit in the head with another round from similar range. Warning: video shows images of violence – 10.28am: Libyan state TV has carried a message today assuring troops who defect to the rebel side that they will receive a full amnesty if they repent, Reuters reports. The military told “all soldiers who have been deceived that there will be an amnesty for every soldier who returns showing regret and hands over his weapon”, the TV report said. A pundit on Al-Jazeera’s English services was speculating that this message could be a sign of worry amid widespread defections by military forces unwilling to target their own people. 10.18am: And finally to Yemen where a standoff between protesters and security forces near Sana’a university in the capital continues, following severe clashes yesterday. The country’s embattled president, Ali Abdullah Saleh, announced last night that he had sacked a government minister, Hamoud al-Hattar, who had been involved in trying to get opposition groups to talk with the president. 10.06am: And now to elsewhere in the region. Bahrain remains on the cusp of potential chaos, with the county’s crown prince expected to request Saudi forces to intervene following some of the most serious clashes between police and demonstrators since protests began a month ago. The country’s official Bahrain News Agency is additionally reporting that a group of MPs has called on the king to impose martial law and for the military to intervene to “protect national security and stability and preserve public and preserve properties”. The Independent Bloc, the second-largest grouping in Bahrain’s directly elected (by men only) lower house of parliament is calling for martial law and a curfew lasting an initial three months, as well as “a ban on all illegitimate acts which may instigate violence and terror, terrorise innocent people, foment sectarian internecine strife, endanger social peace and security in addition to harming the economy and high national interests”. It remains to be seen whether this will be carried out by the Sunni royal family, which faces increased pressure from the Shia-majority population. 9.56am: One more brief update on Libya before I turn to Bahrain and Yemen. William Hague, the UK foreign secretary, believes the international community is “now reaching a point of decision” on what to do about Libya, notably a no-fly zone. Hague – who meets Clinton and other G8 foreign ministers in Paris later today – told BBC Radio 4′s Today programme : Clearly a no-fly zone is one of the leading propositions. It isn’t the answer to everything but it has been called for by the Arab League and is something which the international community must now consider. In language inevitably somewhat reminiscent of the build-up to the Iraq war, Hague said that although the “cleanest and simplest” way of imposing a no-fly zone would be a UN Security Council resolution this was not needed: In cases of great, overwhelming humanitarian need, then nations are able to act under international law, even without a resolution of the Security Council. 9.48am: I’ve now talked with Chris McGreal, who left Brega with rebel troops as the rockets fell. While Gaddafi’s forces are better equipped and trained he stresses that they will find further progress east more difficult as the desert gives way to a series of towns and cities. Taking Benghazi itself, a city of more than half a million people, would potentially be very difficult, he says: “I think it really is a wholly different prospect for his army to fight their way into this city.” 9.41am: Good morning. The situation in Libya remains chaotic and fast-changing, but it does appear that Muammar Gaddafi’s forces are consolidating territorial gains and pushing rebels further east towards their main stronghold of Benghazi. The Guardian’s Chris McGreal reported last night how rebels fled the town of Brega under heavy bombardment. Chris is now in Benghazi, and I’ll be speaking with him soon. The Associated Press reports that rebel groups claimed they moved back into part of Brega under darkness last night, but this was impossible to verify. The next step would seemingly be for Gaddafi’s troops to push onwards another 150 miles or so to Benghazi. But this is by no means inevitable given already stretched supply lines and the prospect of a brutal battle ahead through a series of rebel-held towns. Meanwhile, the US secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, is due to meet rebel leaders in Paris today to discuss possible intervention. However, the US and Europe seem no closer to agreeing whether or not to impose a no-fly zone, despite the Arab League’s appeal to the UN for such a measure. Arab and Middle East protests Libya Muammar Gaddafi Saudi Arabia Peter Walker guardian.co.uk

Posted by on March 14, 2011. Filed under News, Politics, World News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.