Post date: Feb 28, 2011 7:33:47 PM
No agreement has been reached on specific further measures against Libya including application of "no-fly zone", says NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen.
BRUSSELS, BELGIUM (FEBRUARY 28, 2011) AGENCY POOL - NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen distanced himself on Monday (February 28) from talk of an imminent implementation for a no-fly zone to protect Libyan people from military attacks by Muammar Gaddafi's government.
Rasmussen condemned the violence against civilians in the north African country but said there was no agreement yet on "no-fly zone", a measure used 20 years ago against Saddam Hussein's Iraq after the Gulf War."The situation in Libya is of great concern to all of us. It's a crisis just at our doorstep. It is outrageous what the Libyan dictatorship is doing against its own people," Rasmussen told reporters in Brussels.
"And that Security Council resolution excludes the use of armed forces and a no-fly zone is not mentioned in the Security Council resolution."
Foreign governments increased the pressure on Gaddafi to leave in the hope of ending fighting that has claimed at least 1,000 lives and restoring order to a country that accounts for 2 percent of the world's oil production.
The U.N. Security Council on Saturday (February 26) slapped sanctions on Gaddafi and other Libyan officials, imposed an arms embargo and froze Libyan assets.
European Union governments approved their sanctions against Gaddafi in Brussels on Monday, implementing the U.N. resolution sooner than expected.
The Pentagon said it was repositioning U.S. naval and air forces around Libya "to provide options and flexibility". The U.S. Sixth Fleet operates out of Italy.
Prime Minister David Cameron said on Monday (February 28) that Britain would work with allies on preparations for a no-fly zone in Libya to protect its people from military attacks by Muammar Gaddafi's government.
Speaking in the British parliament, Cameron urged Gaddafi to step down and said that all measures would be considered to increase pressure on him to go, starting with broadening out sanctions to target more of his supporters.