/ 11 March 2011

No-fly zone possible to help protect Libyan citizens

Nato has launched 24-hour air and sea surveillance of Libya as a possible precursor to a no-fly zone, amid signs of growing Arab support for Western military intervention to stop the bombing of civilians.

British and French diplomats at the United Nations (UN) headquarters in New York on Tuesday completed a draft resolution authorising the creation of a no-fly zone, which could be put before the security council within hours if aerial bombing by pro-Gaddafi forces causes mass civilian casualties. “It would require a clear trigger for a resolution to go forward,” a Western diplomat said.

In such an event there would be pressure on Russia and China not to use vetoes. Western officials believe support for a no-fly zone from the Islamic world, as well as from the Libyan opposition and Libya diplomats at the UN, would put Moscow and Beijing on the defensive.

The Gulf Cooperation Council, the Organisation of the Islamic Conference and the secretary general of the Arab League have called for the protection of Libyan civilians, while rejecting the intervention of Western ground troops. Turkey, the most reluctant Nato member state, has relaxed its opposition and allowed contingency planning to go ahead.

The decision to step up air and sea monitoring was taken on Monday by the North Atlantic Council, a meeting of ambassadors from Nato’s 28 member states.

Early-warning aircraft already patrolling the Mediterranean region as part of Nato’s long-standing ­counterterrorist operation, code-named Active Endeavour, will ­maintain a 24-hour air presence instead of just 10 and focus on the Libyan coast.

Nato naval vessels taking part in Active Endeavour, which is meant to stop the infiltration of terrorists into southern Europe, are being sent to the Libyan coast with the aim of increasing surveillance and enforcing the arms embargo.

Two US marine assault ships, the USS Kearsarge and the USS Ponce, both with Harrier jump-jets aboard, are also approaching the Libyan coast. Officials said the intelligence that was gained from the air and sea monitoring would inform the debate within Nato.

They said some members were far from convinced that Nato needed to be involved in an Arab civil conflict and there was no appetite for action without a UN mandate. Robert Gates, the US defence secretary, is sceptical about the effectiveness of a no-fly zone and was expected to argue during a meeting on Thursday for a cautious approach.

His scepticism reflects reluctance on the part of the armed service chiefs. Gates has argued that any no-fly zone would involve preliminary bombing of air defences, but Douglas Barrie, an aerospace analyst at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, has denied this. — Guardian News & Media 2011