Gaddafi defiant as UN air strikes loom

• UN backs no-fly zone and air strikes against Libya • Arab countries to join operation • Gaddafi denounces vote as ‘flagrant colonisation’ • US and UK play down prospect of immediate strikes • Read the Guardian’s main news story on the crisis 10.14am: : ABC, the Australian news channel, reports that hours before the decision was taken on the no-fly zone, a power station was bombed outside Benghazi . Separately, below the line thea1mighty has posted a link to this Youtube footage of a fuel tank that was apparently bombed at Ezwetina power station, outside Ajdabiya overnight. thea1mighty writes: This was a fuel tank that was bombed. This station is holding power grids which lights up the whole area from Sirt along to Benghazi, so if it will catch all fire and burn then we will have no light no more at all we will lose power by the end of the day tomorrow because it’s catching fire all over. They are trying to control it. 10.03am: Al Arabiya news channel is reporting that an unspecified number of people were killed and wounded in the raids on Misurata this morning . The television station also said several mosques, schools and residential buildings were badly damaged in the attack on the city, about 200 km (130 miles) east of Tripoli. “This morning I spoke to a doctor in Misrata, there is heavy bombardment there, explosions inside the city,” Tariq, a doctor from Misrata who now lives in Britain told Al Arabiya. He said he spoke by phone to colleagues and relatives there on Friday morning. “They cannot send out any ambulances. They think it’s artillery and tanks, shelling, not air strikes. It’s very worrying,” he said. 9.52am: Kim Willsher reports from Paris that France is “ready to launch air strikes on Libya within the next few hours” – according to a spokesman for the French government. Kim says British planes are also on standby to start the first attack – “which sources say will involve a joint operation of six French and six British planes”. Here’s more from Kim: Speaking on French radio government spokesman Francois Baroin said military intervention against Colonel Gaddafi would happen “rapidly…in a few hours” but said he would not say “when, how, on what targets and in what form”. “France will take part in military operations agains Libya,” Baroin said adding “it is not a question of occupying Libyan territory…but a tool of a military nature to protect the Libyan people and allow them to achieve their aim of liberty and therefore the fall of the Gaddafi regime.” “The French, who were at the forefront of this demand (for intervention) will naturally follow through with a military intervention in which they will participate.” He said he was disappointed the Germans had not supported the French and British over the United Nations resolution approving the imposition of a no fly zone and targeted strikes on Libya. Ten countries approved the vote of the UN Security Council, while five countries, including Germany, Russia and China abstained. 9.46am: @ChangeinLibya tweets on the situation in Misrata: Misrata is reported to be under a huge armoured attack but the revolutionaries captured a few and burnt others there today. #libya #feb17 9.43am: Following Eurocontrol’s tweet that Tripoli is “not accepting any traffic”. Twitter user @mpoppel asked if that means all airports in Libya are closed, Eurocontrol replied: “As I understand, it means that Libya has closed its airspace”. 9.37am: Europe’s air traffic control agency says Libya has closed its airspace to all traffic. Eurocontrol told airlines: “The latest information from Malta indicates that Tripoli (air control centre) does not accept traffic.” The agency’s map of air traffic over Europe and the Mediterranean showed that Libyan air space was off limits. 9.35am: My colleague, Hélène Mulholland, has some British reaction to the UN vote. Colonel Bob Stewart, Conservative MP for Beckenham and former commander of UN forces in Bosnia, said the no fly zone should be easier than the one in Bosnia, which he said “wasn’t effective”. “I’m quite certain it’s a different situation in Libya. You’ve only got to protect the coastal literal where the population are and it’s a relatively easier than flying above the mountains of Bosnia. So this is going to be a tremendous boost to the so called rebels and it will give Gaddafi a headache because he will have to try and work out whether to push on hard and get through to Benghazi.” Sir Jeremy Greenstock, former UK ambassador to the UN, said the aim of the resolution had to be to end the Gaddafi regime. “It’s not the point to have no Libyan aircraft flying, the point is to stop Libyan tanks, Libyan artillery, and Libyan troops murdering their own people and that’s going to be quite difficult still from the sky,” he told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme. “Success is the end of this regime. Otherwise we are up there flying for a very long time if they are still in Tripoli and he [Gaddafi] will come back if we go away. The future is pretty misty on that front. So we want this regime to go. and maybe people around him will desert him when they see the odds are stacked against him.” 9.15am: The rebel-held town of Misrata, in western Libya, has come under fire from tanks and heavy artillery from Gaddafi’s forces, according to the Al Arabiya news channel. “The bombardment started about two or three hours ago, and has continued until now,” Saadoun al-Misrati, an anti-Gaddafi protester told Al Arabiya. He said it was a heavy bombardment using tanks and heavy artillery targeting civilians. Al Arabiya also reported there were an unspecified number of killed and wounded in the attack. Rebels in Misrata, the last big opposition stronghold in western Libya, had earlier said they were preparing for a new attack on Thursday and had rejected reported offers from the government to negotiate their surrender. 9.12am: The Americans said it was crucial to get Arab support before they agreed to a no-fly zone and air strikes against Gaddafi’s troops. It appears that Egypt is already on board. The Wall Street Journal reports that Egypt has begun sending arms over the border to Libyan rebels with US knowledge . Earlier in the week, Malcolm Rifkind, formerly a defence and foreign secretary, argued that Egypt should send a brigade to stop Gaddafi’s advance on Benghazi. Here’s an extract from the WSJ. The shipments – mostly small arms such as assault rifles and ammunition—appear to be the first confirmed case of an outside government arming the rebel fighters. Those fighters have been losing ground for days in the face of a steady westward advance by forces loyal to Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi… “We know the Egyptian military council is helping us, but they can’t be so visible,” said Hani Souflakis, a Libyan businessman in Cairo who has been acting as a rebel liaison with the Egyptian government since the uprising began. “Weapons are getting through,” said Mr Souflakis, who says he has regular contacts with Egyptian officials in Cairo and the rebel leadership in Libya. “Americans have given the green light to the Egyptians to help. The Americans don’t want to be involved in a direct level, but the Egyptians wouldn’t do it if they didn’t get the green light.” 9.04am: A bevy of cabinet officials, including Liam Fox, the defence secretary, and William Hague, the foreign secretary, have been arriving at Downing Street for the top-level meeting on Libya. None have responded to reporters’ questions. David Cameron is scheduled to address parliament around 11am. 8.54am: The Guardian’s Paris correspondent, Angelique Chrisafis, tweets : French air strikes on #Libya to begin imminently, according to government spokesman 8.53am: Senior US officials gave a classified briefing to senators on Capitol Hill yesterday on possible American military action in Libya. Here are some interesting snippets from senators who were briefed, courtesy of The Cable on the Foreign Policy website . Senator Lindsey Graham: “I learned that it’s not too late, that the opposition forces are under siege but they are holding, and that with a timely intervention, a no-fly zone and no-drive zone, we can turn this thing around.” Asked exactly what the first wave of attacks would look like, Graham said, “We ground his aircraft and some tanks start getting blown up that are headed toward the opposition forces.” Senator Mark Kirk told reporters that he expected the military operations to be run out of Sicily, where Nato base Sigonella and US naval air station Sigonella are located. “It seems that the administration is moving and now the only question is time,” said Kirk. “A lot still depends on the rebels at the very least holding Benghazi. If they do, there may be time for the international political system to respond. If they collapse quickly, no.” 8.39am: Libyans celebrate in Benghazi after last night’s vote in the UN security council. Photograph: Patrick Baz/AFP/Getty Images 8.37am: Reuters is reporting that Misrata, the last rebel-held city in the west, is coming under heavy bombardment . 8.25am: How will the no-fly zone work? Al Jazeera has this handy report explaining which bases and which US aircraft carriers will be involved. The Guardian’s Richard Norton-Taylor also goes into considerable detail on the practicalities of a no-fly zone . 8.04am: Good morning and welcome to live coverage of Libya following last night’s dramatic vote at the UN, which paves the way for possible military action by the west and some Arab countries against Muammar Gaddafi. For the Libyan rebels it must seem as if the US or western cavalry is riding to the rescue. Celebratory gunfire and fireworks filled the skies over Benghazi after the UN security council voted in favour of a no-fly zone and air strikes to stop Gaddafi’s forces. But details of any US military action were still unclear. The US air force chief of staff, General Norton Schwartz, told Congress it would take as much as a week to impose a no-fly zone over Libya. Downing Street has also cautioned against earlier suggestions that British planes could be in action “within hours” and declined to put a timetable on operations. David Cameron will chair an emergency cabinet meeting to discuss the next steps this morning before addressing MPs in the Commons, so that might provide pointers on the timing of any military action. Even before the security council’s 10-0 vote, the Obama administration prepared plans to enforce the no-fly zone, with congressional officials describing a closed-door briefing in which the administration said it could ground Gaddafi’s air force by Sunday or Monday. The effort is likely to involve jet fighters, bombers and surveillance aircraft, officials said. The US is pressing Jordan, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates to take part in the operation. Much will depend on how Gaddafi reacts to his increasing isolation. Before the UN’s uncharacteristically decisive action – following days of American fence-sitting – Gaddafi had declared that there we be no mercy against those put up a fight in Benghazi. There was also blood-curdling rhetoric about disruption of air and maritime traffic in the Mediterranean. This morning, his son Saif al-Islam is reported as saying that Libya is not afraid of the UN resolution. Here is the Guardian’s overnight coverage UN security council backs no-fly zone and air strikes Gaddafi threatens retaliation in Mediterranean as UN passes resolution Libya finally forces Barack Obama’s hand as he goes for broke Libya ‘no-fly’ vote a significant moment for David Cameron Arab and Middle East protests Libya Bahrain Saudi Arabia Egypt Yemen Tunisia Iran Iraq United Nations Mark Tran Adam Gabbatt guardian.co.uk

Posted by on March 18, 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.