Military campaign against Libya

The US, Britain and France have attacked Libyan leader  Muammar Gaddafi's forces in what they say is an attempt to enforce a UN-endorsed no-fly zone.

On Saturday night, at least 110 Tomahawk cruise missiles were fired by the US and UK amid air strikes by French planes that were followed by the US bombing of a major Libyan airfield on Sunday. At least three US B-2 bombers took part in the Sunday attack, Libya’s state TV reported, adding that 48 people have already been killed and 150 more injured in the West’s military action against Libya, including the capital, Tripoli.  Meanwhile, a naval blockade against this North African country is being put in place, with more than twenty warships and submarines taking part in the process.

The Western coalition underscores the need to enforce a recently adopted UN Security Council resolution, which okayed the imposition of a no-fly zone over Libya to prevent pro-Gaddafi forces from staging air strikes against rebels.

In Moscow, Oriental expert Azhdar Kurtov particularly points to Western countries’ unwillingness to adhere to the UNSC no-fly zone resolution.

The document aims to stop Libyan aircraft from targeting rebels’ ground forces, Kurtov explains, lamenting the resolution’s insufficient transparency, which he says was also criticized by some members of the UN Security Council. "In violation of the resolution, the Western coalition is attacking pro-Gaddafi forces both on the ground and in the skies," Kurtov says. "The West, in fact, is giving a helping hand to one of Libya’s conflicting parties," he goes on to say.

By doing so, the West is riding roughshod over international norms, Kurtov pointed out, citing a principle of non-interference in a sovereign state’s internal affairs. The latest developments in North Africa is little more than a violation of Libya’s sovereignty and an attempt to resolve its domestic problems with the help of the use of force and the ouster of Colonel Gaddafi, Kurtov said. Such an approach creates a dangerous precedent which may well see the West’s military action against any other country, whose domestic policy comes to infuriate Western leaders, the Russian expert concluded.

In the meantime, Russia and China have already expressed regret over the Sunday military action, warning against the use of force in international affairs. The Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesman urged the UN Security Council to stick to the UN Charter and take steps in line with Libya’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. He was echoed by Russian counterpart Alexander Lukashevich who clamored for an immediate halt of the bloodshed in Libya, calling for the political standoff there to be resolved in a peaceful way and by means of negotiations