Security Council votes to lift Libya no-fly zone
Source: Agencies |
October 28, 2011, Friday
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THE United Nations Security Council voted unanimously yesterday to lift the no-fly zone over Libya on October 31 and end its authorization of military action to protect civilians.
The council authorized the actions on March 17 in response to an Arab League request to try to halt Moammar Gadhafi's military, which was advancing against rebels and their civilian supporters. The NATO bombing campaign that followed was critical in helping the rebels oust Gadhafi from power in August.
The council adopted the resolution a day after Libya's deputy UN ambassador Ibrahim Dabbashi asked members to wait until the transitional government made an official request, which he hoped would come by October 31.
But the UN's most powerful body decided that there was no need for UN-authorized military action following Gadhafi's death last Thursday and the transitional government's announcement of the country's liberation on Sunday.
Last week, NATO announced preliminary plans to phase out its mission on October 31. But the alliance unexpectedly postponed a decision on Wednesday, saying NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen needed to continue consultations with the UN and Libya's National Transitional Council.
The resolution ends the UN authorization for military action just before midnight on October 31, which means that Libya will regain control of its airspace and all military operations effective on November 1.
Meanwhile, Gadhafi's intelligence chief, who is wanted by Interpol, fled to Mali overnight after making his way across Niger where he has been hiding for several days in the country's northern desert, an adviser to the president of Niger said yesterday.
The presidential adviser, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said that Abdullah al-Senoussi entered Mali late on Wednesday via the Kidal region, which shares a border with Niger. He is guarded by about a dozen people and his convoy was piloted by ethnic Tuaregs from Mali.
The official said that Gadhafi's hunted son, Seif al-Islam, is also on his way to Mali and is traveling across the invisible line separating Algeria from Niger.
The council authorized the actions on March 17 in response to an Arab League request to try to halt Moammar Gadhafi's military, which was advancing against rebels and their civilian supporters. The NATO bombing campaign that followed was critical in helping the rebels oust Gadhafi from power in August.
The council adopted the resolution a day after Libya's deputy UN ambassador Ibrahim Dabbashi asked members to wait until the transitional government made an official request, which he hoped would come by October 31.
But the UN's most powerful body decided that there was no need for UN-authorized military action following Gadhafi's death last Thursday and the transitional government's announcement of the country's liberation on Sunday.
Last week, NATO announced preliminary plans to phase out its mission on October 31. But the alliance unexpectedly postponed a decision on Wednesday, saying NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen needed to continue consultations with the UN and Libya's National Transitional Council.
The resolution ends the UN authorization for military action just before midnight on October 31, which means that Libya will regain control of its airspace and all military operations effective on November 1.
Meanwhile, Gadhafi's intelligence chief, who is wanted by Interpol, fled to Mali overnight after making his way across Niger where he has been hiding for several days in the country's northern desert, an adviser to the president of Niger said yesterday.
The presidential adviser, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said that Abdullah al-Senoussi entered Mali late on Wednesday via the Kidal region, which shares a border with Niger. He is guarded by about a dozen people and his convoy was piloted by ethnic Tuaregs from Mali.
The official said that Gadhafi's hunted son, Seif al-Islam, is also on his way to Mali and is traveling across the invisible line separating Algeria from Niger.
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