Libya: Nato admits civilian deaths in Tripoli air raid

Alliance says ‘weapons systems failure’ caused strike to miss intended target and may have led to civilian casualties Nato has said it was responsible for an air strike that killed civilians in Tripoli over the weekend. “A military missile site was the intended target of air strikes in Tripoli last night,” a statement said. “However, it appears that one weapon did not strike the intended target and that there may have been a weapons system failure which may have caused a number of civilian casualties.” Earlier the Libyan government had said that one of Nato’s missiles had struck a house in a residential area of Tripoli, killing a number of civilians, including two children. The attack is the biggest blunder by coalition forces during the four-month campaign, at a time when Nato has been trying to increase the tempo of operations against the Libyan leader. “Nato regrets the loss of innocent civilian lives and takes great care in conducting strikes against a regime determined to use violence against its own citizens,” said Lieutenant-General Charles Bouchard, commander of Operation Unified Protector. “Although we are still determining the specifics of this event, indications are that a weapons system failure may have caused this incident,” he added. The Guardian understands that investigators are focusing on French aircraft flying over Tripoli to target a potential missile site. RAF planes were not thought involved. Nato was debriefing the pilots who flew sorties, as well as reviewing data from their aircraft. A Nato official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said there was confusion over the exact location, and pointed out that the district in question was an anti-Gaddafi stronghold. Reporters based in Tripoli were taken by government officials to the scene of the blast and then to a hospital, where they were shown the bodies of four people said to have been killed in the strike, including two infants. Associated Press said journalists were escorted back to the site during the day, where children’s toys, teacups and dust-covered mattresses could be seen amid the rubble. Foreign journalists in Tripoli are not allowed to travel and report freely and are almost always shadowed by government minders. Libya’s deputy foreign minister, Khaled Kaim, said: “There was intentional and deliberate targeting of the civilian houses. This is another sign of the brutality of the west.” Nato Libya Middle East Africa Nick Hopkins guardian.co.uk

Posted by on June 19, 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.