Madbouly: Spain key ally in Egypt's regional, global project drive    Global pressure mounts on Israel as Gaza death toll surges, war deepens    Egypt targets 7.7% AI contribution to GDP by 2030: Communications Minister    Irrigation Minister highlights Egypt's water challenges, innovation efforts at DAAD centenary celebration    Egypt discusses strengthening agricultural ties, investment opportunities with Indian delegation    Al-Sisi welcomes Spain's monarch in historic first visit, with Gaza, regional peace in focus    Cairo governor briefs PM on Khan el-Khalili, Rameses Square development    El Gouna Film Festival's 8th edition to coincide with UN's 80th anniversary    Egypt expands medical, humanitarian support for Gaza patients    Egypt condemns Israeli offensive in Gaza City, warns of grave regional consequences    Cairo University, Roche Diagnostics inaugurate automated lab at Qasr El-Ainy    Egypt investigates disappearance of ancient bracelet from Egyptian Museum in Tahrir    Egypt launches international architecture academy with UNESCO, European partners    Egypt signs MoUs with 3 European universities to advance architecture, urban studies    Egypt's Sisi, Qatar's Emir condemn Israeli strikes, call for Gaza ceasefire    Egypt condemns terrorist attack in northwest Pakistan    Egyptian pound ends week lower against US dollar – CBE    Egypt hosts G20 meeting for 1st time outside member states    Egypt to tighten waste rules, cut rice straw fees to curb pollution    Egypt seeks Indian expertise to boost pharmaceutical industry    Egypt prepares unified stance ahead of COP30 in Brazil    Egypt harvests 315,000 cubic metres of rainwater in Sinai as part of flash flood protection measures    Al-Sisi says any party thinking Egypt will neglect water rights is 'completely mistaken'    Egyptian, Ugandan Presidents open business forum to boost trade    Egypt's Sisi, Uganda's Museveni discuss boosting ties    Egypt's Sisi warns against unilateral Nile measures, reaffirms Egypt's water security stance    Greco-Roman rock-cut tombs unearthed in Egypt's Aswan    Egypt reveals heritage e-training portal    Sisi launches new support initiative for families of war, terrorism victims    Egypt expands e-ticketing to 110 heritage sites, adds self-service kiosks at Saqqara    Palm Hills Squash Open debuts with 48 international stars, $250,000 prize pool    On Sport to broadcast Pan Arab Golf Championship for Juniors and Ladies in Egypt    Golf Festival in Cairo to mark Arab Golf Federation's 50th anniversary    Germany among EU's priciest labour markets – official data    Paris Olympic gold '24 medals hit record value    A minute of silence for Egyptian sports    Russia says it's in sync with US, China, Pakistan on Taliban    It's a bit frustrating to draw at home: Real Madrid keeper after Villarreal game    Shoukry reviews with Guterres Egypt's efforts to achieve SDGs, promote human rights    Sudan says countries must cooperate on vaccines    Johnson & Johnson: Second shot boosts antibodies and protection against COVID-19    Egypt to tax bloggers, YouTubers    Egypt's FM asserts importance of stability in Libya, holding elections as scheduled    We mustn't lose touch: Muller after Bayern win in Bundesliga    Egypt records 36 new deaths from Covid-19, highest since mid June    Egypt sells $3 bln US-dollar dominated eurobonds    Gamal Hanafy's ceramic exhibition at Gezira Arts Centre is a must go    Italian Institute Director Davide Scalmani presents activities of the Cairo Institute for ITALIANA.IT platform    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



'Gaddafi using civilians to curb air strikes'
Published in The Egyptian Gazette on 06 - 04 - 2011

BENGHAZI, Libya (Updated 3) - NATO air strikes in Libya are being hampered by Muammar Gaddafi's forces hunkering down near civilians, France said on Wednesday after rebels accused the West of doing little to stop his siege of Misrata.
NATO officials have said their six-day-old air campaign is now focused on Misrata, under daily shelling and sniper fire as the only big population centre in western Libya where a popular revolt against Gaddafi has not been suppressed.
The head of Libya's rebel army accused NATO of being too slow to order air strikes to protect civilians, allowing Gaddafi's forces to slaughter the people of Misrata.
French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said NATO operations were becoming more complicated in having to deal with the fact that Gaddafi's forces had frequently deployed close to civilians as tactical protection against air strikes.
"We've formally requested that there be no collateral damage for the civilian population," he told France Info radio. "That obviously makes operations more difficult."
He said he would address the issue shortly with the head of NATO, adding that Misrata's ordeal "cannot go on" but that "the situation is unclear. There is a risk of getting bogged down."
Fattah Younes, head of the rebel forces, said in their eastern stronghold city of Benghazi that NATO had let them down.
"NATO blesses us every now and then with a bombardment here and there, and is letting the people of Misrata die every day. NATO has disappointed us," he told reporters on Tuesday.
Echoing Juppe, the head of France's armed forces voiced frustration at the pace of NATO operations.
"I would like things to go faster, but as you are well aware, protecting civilians means not firing anywhere near them," Admiral Edouard Guillaud said in an interview on Europe 1 radio. "That is precisely the difficulty."
He said NATO forces were concentrating their firepower on Misrata where rebels were holding the port zone, while trying to pre-empt any transport of weapons toward Tripoli, the capital and Gaddafi's power base.
Warplanes from Arab Gulf states Qatar and the United Arab Emirates were taking part in these missions, Guillaud added.
NATO now spearheads air strikes targeting Gaddafi's military
infrastructure and polices a no-fly zone and an arms embargo, but is wary of hitting civilians in the North African state.
The alliance has denied that the pace of air strikes has abated since it took over the task from a smaller big power coalition of the United States, Britain and France on March 31.
"The assessment is that we have taken out 30 percent of the military capacity of Gaddafi," Brigadier General Mark van Uhm, a senior NATO staff officer, said in Brussels.
But van Uhm said Gaddafi was using human shields and hiding his armour in populated areas, curbing NATO's ability to strike. "When human beings are used as shields we don't engage."
Younes said the area where Gaddafi troops were did not include civilians, and Abdelsalam in Misrata agreed:
"NATO says Gaddafi's forces are hiding among civilians. But we tell them that there are no civilians left in the areas where the Gaddafi forces are positioned. We urge them to destroy civilian property to take out the snipers and armed gangs."
Younes said rebels were considering referring what he said was slow decision-making by NATO to the U.N. Security Council which authorised its mission. "NATO has become our problem."
NATO-led air power is maintaining a rough military balance in Libya, preventing Gaddafi forces from overrunning the rag-tag band of rebels who dominate eastern Libya – but not forceful enough for the insurgents to advance on the capital Tripoli.
"The reaction of NATO is very slow. One official calls another and then from the official to the head of NATO and from the head of NATO to the field commander. This takes eight hours," said Younes, a former interior minister in Gaddafi's administration who defected, adding:
"Misrata is being subjected to a full extermination."
A rebel spokesman said Gaddafi's forces bombarded Misrata again on Tuesday. "Misrata was shelled with tank fire, artillery and mortars," the rebel, called Abdelsalam, told Reuters, adding: "Unfortunately NATO operations have not been effective in Misrata. Civilians are dying every day."
Another insurgent in Misrata, called Nasser, said two people had been killed and 26 injured in mortar attacks on Tuesday.
A stalemate on the front line of fighting in eastern Libya, defections from Gaddafi's circle and the plight of civilians caught in fighting or facing food and fuel shortages has prompted a flurry of diplomacy to find a solution to the civil war in the large, oil-producing desert country.
A US envoy has arrived in Benghazi to get to know the opposition and discuss possible financial and humanitarian assistance, a US official said. The visit by Chris Stevens, former deputy chief of mission at the US embassy in Tripoli, reflects a US effort to deepen contacts with the rebels, whose uprising began on Feb. 15.
Turkey, whose status as a secular Muslim state positioned between Europe and the Middle East gives it unusual mediating potential, also sent a special envoy to Benghazi for talks with the opposition, its foreign minister said.
Diplomatic efforts to end the conflict have failed to make progress with the rebels adamant that Libya's leader for the past 41 years leave and the government side offering concessions, but insisting Gaddafi stay in power.


Clic here to read the story from its source.