Libya war extended by 90 days, says NATO
Source: Agencies |
June 2, 2011, Thursday
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NATO said yesterday it had extended its Libyan mission for a further 90 days, after Moammar Gadhafi made it clear he would not step down, dashing hopes of a negotiated end to the uprising against his rule.
The 28-member alliance originally took over a campaign of air strikes, the enforcement of a no-fly zone and an arms embargo on Libya, to protect rebellious civilians from attack by Gadhafi's forces, in late March for 90 days.
"NATO and partners have just decided to extend our mission for Libya for another 90 days," NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said. "This decision sends a clear message to the Gadhafi regime: We are determined to continue our operation to protect the people of Libya."
South African President Jacob Zuma said on Tuesday after talks with the leader that Gadhafi had stated emphatically he would not leave Libya - making a negotiated end to the conflict impossible given rebel demands for his departure.
Libyan rebels and NATO have set Gadhafi's departure as the main condition for any cease-fire. New questions arose over how long Gadhafi could hold on after a senior United Nations aid official said food and medicine shortages in Gadhafi-controlled areas amounted to a "time bomb." Panos Moumtzis, the UN humanitarian coordinator for Libya, said in Tripoli on Tuesday that some food stocks in areas under Gadhafi's control were likely to last only weeks.
"I don't think there's any famine, malnutrition. But the longer the conflict lasts the more the food stocks are going to be depleted, and it's a matter of weeks before the country reaches a critical situation," Moumtzis said in an interview.
"The food and the medical supplies is a little bit like a time bomb. At the moment it's under control and it's OK. But if this goes on for quite some time, this will become a major issue," he said.
Now in its fourth month, the Libyan conflict is deadlocked, with rebels unable to break out of their strongholds and advance towards Tripoli, where Gadhafi appears to be firmly entrenched.
Rebels control the east of Libya around the city of Benghazi, the third-biggest city Misrata, and a mountain range stretching from the town of Zintan, 150 kilometers south of Tripoli, towards the border with Tunisia.
Gadhafi says his forces are fighting armed gangs and al-Qaida militants and portrays the NATO intervention as colonial aggression aimed at grabbing Libya's oil reserves.
The 28-member alliance originally took over a campaign of air strikes, the enforcement of a no-fly zone and an arms embargo on Libya, to protect rebellious civilians from attack by Gadhafi's forces, in late March for 90 days.
"NATO and partners have just decided to extend our mission for Libya for another 90 days," NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said. "This decision sends a clear message to the Gadhafi regime: We are determined to continue our operation to protect the people of Libya."
South African President Jacob Zuma said on Tuesday after talks with the leader that Gadhafi had stated emphatically he would not leave Libya - making a negotiated end to the conflict impossible given rebel demands for his departure.
Libyan rebels and NATO have set Gadhafi's departure as the main condition for any cease-fire. New questions arose over how long Gadhafi could hold on after a senior United Nations aid official said food and medicine shortages in Gadhafi-controlled areas amounted to a "time bomb." Panos Moumtzis, the UN humanitarian coordinator for Libya, said in Tripoli on Tuesday that some food stocks in areas under Gadhafi's control were likely to last only weeks.
"I don't think there's any famine, malnutrition. But the longer the conflict lasts the more the food stocks are going to be depleted, and it's a matter of weeks before the country reaches a critical situation," Moumtzis said in an interview.
"The food and the medical supplies is a little bit like a time bomb. At the moment it's under control and it's OK. But if this goes on for quite some time, this will become a major issue," he said.
Now in its fourth month, the Libyan conflict is deadlocked, with rebels unable to break out of their strongholds and advance towards Tripoli, where Gadhafi appears to be firmly entrenched.
Rebels control the east of Libya around the city of Benghazi, the third-biggest city Misrata, and a mountain range stretching from the town of Zintan, 150 kilometers south of Tripoli, towards the border with Tunisia.
Gadhafi says his forces are fighting armed gangs and al-Qaida militants and portrays the NATO intervention as colonial aggression aimed at grabbing Libya's oil reserves.
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