Xinhau
Gaddafi not on target list as multinational forces "degrade" Libyan air defense
TRIPOLI/BEIJING, March 21 (Xinhua) -- Part of Muammar Gaddafi's residential compound was destroyed on Sunday, but U.S. officials said the Libyan leader was not on the target list.
Footage of the Northern African country's state TV showed that a building near the tent where Gaddafi usually receives guests was severely damaged.
The missile attack at the compound, reportedly surrounded by anti-aircraft guns, came on the second day of a military operation staged by U.S., French and British warships and warplanes to slap a UN-endorsed no-fly zone over Libya. No one was hurt in the attack, said government spokesman Mussa Ibrahim, who declined to say whether Gaddafi was still inside the compound.
"It was a barbaric bombing" and could have hit the hundreds of civilians who gathered near the destroyed building in support of the Libyan leader, he said.
He also denounced the "contradictions in Western discourses," saying that "Western countries say they want to protect civilians while they bomb the residence knowing there are civilians inside."
Libyan authorities said that at least 64 Libyans had been killed and 150 others wounded by the missiles and bombs rained upon Libya over the weekend. But the intervening forces denied targeting civilians.
In response to the speculation that Gaddafi was specifically targeted in the operation, Vice Adm. Bill Gortney, director of the U.S. military's Joint Staff, said at a Pentagon news conference Sunday that "I can guarantee he's not on the targeting list."
U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates also stressed that it was important to "operate within the mandate of the UN Security Council resolution" and refrain from "adding additional objectives."
"I also think it's unwise to set as specific goals things that you may or may not be able to achieve," he said en route to Russia.
Meanwhile, Gortney said that the weekend attacks had "significantly degraded" Libya's air defense capability and that a no-fly zone covering roughly one third of Libya's territory had been established.
Involved in the military action were the United States, Britain, France, Canada, Italy, Belgium and Qatar, he said, adding that no plane of the coalition was lost in the mission.
Dubbing the attacks "a crusader war" against the Libyan people, Gaddafi said Sunday that the air strikes were "terrorist means" and that his country would snatch a victory over the intervening forces.
Yet a Libyan military spokesman announced later Sunday that following a call from the African Union for an immediate end to violence, Libyan forces decided to start a cease-fire at 9 p.m. local time (1900 GMT).
However, gunshots were still heard in the eastern port city of Benghazi, the main stronghold of the rebels, after the cease-fire started, a witness said.
The United States accused Tripoli of lying about the cease-fire or violating it immediately, and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said that he urged "the Libyan authorities to keep their word."
"Everyone will recall that in recent days Colonel Gaddafi declared a cease-fire which was promptly violated," said a British government spokesman in response to Libya's cease-fire announcement.
The Libyan government declared a cease-fire on Friday after the UN Security Council passed a resolution Thursday green-lighting all necessary measures, including a no-fly zone, to protect Libyan civilians. But the truce did not hold.
ANTI-WAR VOICES
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez on Sunday condemned civilian deaths in Libya caused by the air raids and accused intervening countries of being "imperialistic."
"They are throwing bombs, and those bombs fell down on any place such as a hospital or a house. That is something imperialistic, the indiscriminate bombings," Chavez said on a TV program.
The president said Saturday that military intervention was "irresponsible" as it was merely an excuse for the West to "control" Libya's oil and would cause more deaths in the country.
The Cuban government on Sunday night expressed "strong condemnation" of the foreign military intervention in Libya's internal conflict and highlighted the "inalienable right of the Libyan people to exercise self-determination without external interference."
Also on Sunday, about 400 people gathered in Barcelona, Spain, to protest against the multinational military intervention in Libya. "No more blood for oil" was among the slogans chanted by the protesters.
Military strikes produce collateral damage and the bombs are often dropped on civilians instead of military facilities, said Pere Ortega, one of the organizers.
Dissenting voices also came from the Arab League (AL), which had backed the no-fly zone initiative. "What has happened in Libya differs from the goal of imposing a no-fly zone and what we want is the protection of civilians and not bombing other civilians," AL chief Amr Mussa told reporters.
"From the start we requested only that a no-fly zone be set up to protect Libyan civilians and avert any other developments or additional measures," he said, adding that the AL is preparing for an emergency meeting to discuss the developments.
Russia has called for an end to "indiscriminate use of force" by the intervening forces, and China has expressed regret at the air strikes and reaffirmed its opposition to the use of force in international relations.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/world/2011-03/21/c_13790110.htm
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