NATO to enforce no-fly zone over Libya

BRUSSELS, Mar 25 (agencies): North Atlantic Treaty (NATO) will take command of enforcing the no-fly zone over Libya following Thursday night's agreement. The organisation's Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen made clear that other aspects of the operation would remain in the hands of the current coalition for now. It is believed there are differences of opinion within NATO on whether attacks on ground troops should form part of the action. Twelve countries are now part of the coalition seeking to enforce the no-fly zone - including two Arab nations, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). A Downing Street spokesman in London said the UAE's decision to contribute 12 planes was "evidence of the real and tangible Arab role" in enforcing the no-fly zone. "Last night's decisions by NATO and by the UAE demonstrate the strength and breadth of the coalition involved in protecting the people of Libya. "NATO's decision to assume command and control of the no-fly zone, in addition to the arms embargo already being enforced, is a significant step forward and will ensure that the alliance's tried and tested machinery is used to best effect," the statement added. Mr Rasmussen has insisted there is no split on the military handover, saying NATO is still considering whether to take on the "broader responsibility". The handover of the no-fly mission could come as early as this weekend. Mr Rasmussen said all NATO members had agreed to the move, including Turkey, which had expressed doubts over strikes on a fellow Muslim country. The UN resolution authorises the international community to use "all necessary means" to protect Libyan civilians, but the phrase has become open to different interpretations. Further discussions are being held about command of action beyond strictly enforcing the no-fly zone. Explosions were also heard around the capital, Tripoli, last Thursday and there have been reports that French aircraft bombed a Libyan base deep in the desert. French officials confirmed they had destroyed a Libyan military plane which had flown in breach of the no-fly zone. The G-2/Galeb, a training plane with a single engine, had just landed when it was hit by a missile fired by a Rafale jet, a spokesman said. It was the first such incident of its kind since the operation began. As the bombing raids resumed on Thursday night, Libyan state television reported that targets in Tripoli and Tajoura had been hit. Fresh fighting has meanwhile been reported in Misrata, scene of a bitter battle for control. Further east in the strategically important Libyan city of Ajdabiya, residents described shelling, gunfire and houses on fire. One report said rebels were moving closer to the city but remained out-gunned by pro-Gaddafi forces. In the eastern city of Benghazi in Libya, rebel spokesman Mustafa Gheriani told the BBC that 17,000 fighters had set out from the city to join the battle to the west. British jets launched missiles at Libyan armoured vehicles as coalition raids continued for a sixth night, Defence Secretary Liam Fox has said. He said Tornado aircraft targeted vehicles which were "threatening the civilian population of Ajdabiya". News agencies further report from a place near to Ajdabiya in Libya: Precision bombing of Gaddafi forces by coalition planes has weakened their grip on the eastern town of Ajdabiya but they continue to terrorise the population, rebels and fleeing residents said Friday. Ajdabiya residents who escaped afterwards via a desert road Friday said that life was dire in their besieged city, with Gaddafi troops and mercenaries brutalising the population and food and water stocks depleted. They, too, could not say exactly what the coalition bombs had struck. It was too perilous for journalists to attempt enter the city to verify the situation within. A rebel army spokesman, air force general Ahmed Omar Bani, told reporters in Benghazi Thursday that some Kadhafi loyalists in Ajdabiya have asked to surrender. "We are trying to negotiate with these people in Ajdabiya because we are almost sure that they have lost contact with the headquarters," Bani said. Residents in Benghazi, the rebel stronghold, were helping the anti-regime fighters any way they could, notably donating food and places to sleep. France declared Libya's airspace "under control" on Friday, after NATO agreed to take command of the no-fly zone in a compromise that appeared to set up dual command centers. Muammar Gaddafi drew a rare rebuke from the African Union (AU), which called for a transitional government and elections. Representatives for the Gaddafi regime met with the African Union on Friday, in Ethiopia, in what the UN described as a part of an effort to reach a cease-fire and political solution. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said a representative for the rebels also would attend, but that could not immediately be confirmed. African Union commission chairman Jean Ping said the AU favours an inclusive transitional period that would lead to democratic elections. Ping stressed the inevitability of political reforms in Libya and called the aspirations of the Libyan people "legitimate." US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said the United Arab Emirates would deploy 12 planes for the coalition effort. Clinton thanked the UAE for becoming the second Arab country after Qatar to send planes. Qatar and UAE are expected to start flying air patrols over Libya by this weekend. In other developments in the Arab world on Friday, hundreds of thousands of rival demonstrators gathered for separate rallies in Yemen's capital, a week after loyalists of embattled President Ali Abdullah Saleh killed more than 50 people. In Syria, President Bashar al-Assad's government said it may scrap an emergency law in place since 1963 and announced the release of all activists detained this month, following a week of deadly protests in the south. In Algeria, the government warned that events in Libya could favour the spread of terrorism and that foreign intervention could make things worse. In Jordan, students vowed to press on with their sit-in protest in central Amman to demand reforms, undeterred by a stone attack they blamed on government supporters. Meanwhile, Amnesty International accused Bahrain of pressing on with a crackdown against Shiite activists and doctors, as Manama tried to fend off charges of foreign meddling in its affairs. In Saudi Arabia, a rights group has urged the oil-rich kingdom to release 100 Shiite protesters it said were arrested in its Eastern Province last week, some of whom it alleged have been tortured.