The Independent
Britain and US urge action over Libya
PA
Britain was tonight pressing with key allies for wide-ranging powers to intervene in Libya amid warnings that Colonel Muammar Gaddafi's forces are closing in on the key rebel stronghold of Benghazi.
The diplomats at the United Nations Security Council in New York were debating a strongly-worded draft resolution calling for "all necessary measures short of an occupation force" to protect civilians under threat of attack from the regime.
The revised text was tabled with US support following a dramatic overnight change of heart by the administration in Washington.
After days of stalling over British and French calls for a military no-fly zone, the US ambassador to the UN, Susan Rice, signalled that they were now prepared to go further and back air strikes to halt the regime's advance.
"There is now nothing holding them back," Foreign Secretary William Hague told MPs during a Commons debate on north Africa and the Middle East.
It remained unclear whether Russia and China - who have been opposed to any foreign military intervention in Libya - would use their vetoes to block a resolution.
The US has said that it is only prepared to intervene with the authorisation of the Security Council and the participation of Arab League nations who backed the calls for a no-fly zone.
"I must not pretend that agreement on this will be easy, even on large elements of it," Mr Hague said.
"We will do our utmost to ensure the passing of a resolution which places the maximum pressure on the Libyan regime and which extends protection to the beleaguered and oppressed civilian population of Libya."
Downing Street later revealed that Mr Cameron has spoken by phone to a number of European leaders today to make the case for action over Libya.
A Number 10 spokesman said: "The Prime Minister has been making a series of calls on Libya.
"He has spoken last night and today to a number of Arab and African leaders. We can now confirm that he has also spoken to several European leaders.
"In all his calls, the Prime Minister has made the case for strong action by the UN Security Council, to increase the pressure on Gaddafi and put a stop to the campaign he is waging against the Libyan people.
"The Prime Minister will be making further calls this evening."
There were reports that Gaddafi's forces advancing eastwards had surrounded Ajdabiya, the last major city before Benghazi.
William Burns, a senior official at the US State Department, said that regime troops had moved to within around 100 miles of the rebel stronghold.
Giving evidence to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in Washington, he said that they were taking full advantage of their superior firepower to drive the rebels back.
In New York, Ms Rice said that the US was looking at "a broad range of actions" that would effectively protect civilians and ratchet up the pressure on the regime.
"The US view is that we need to be prepared to contemplate steps that include, but perhaps go beyond a no-fly zone, at this point, as the situation on the ground has evolved and as a no-fly zone has inherent limitations in terms of protection of civilians at immediate risk," she said.
Diplomats said that Ms Rice had argued behind closed doors that they should give the international community all the tools it needed - including authorisation to use aircraft or warships to halt the attacks by Gaddafi's forces.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/politics/britain-and-us-urge-action-over-libya-2244408.html
No comments:
Post a Comment