14 April 2011 Last updated at 15:22 GMT
Libya: Nato appeals for more planes
Nato's leader says it will do whatever it takes to protect Libyans from "a
brutal dictator"
Nato Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen has told a foreign ministers'
summit the alliance needs "a few more" aircraft for its mission in Libya.
Mr Rasmussen said he had received no offers from any ally at the meeting in
Berlin to supply the extra warplanes, but he remained hopeful.
Nato would continue "day by day, strike by strike" to target Col Muammar
Gaddafi's forces, he told media.
Britain and France have been trying to persuade other Nato members to do more.
London and Paris have been urging allies to get actively involved with ground
attack planes to intensify air raids, says BBC diplomatic correspondent James
Robbins, who was at the Berlin news conference.
Blasts rock Tripoli
There are divisions in the alliance, with Turkey and Germany opposed to the
Libya mission.
Continue reading the main story
Analysis
image of Jonathan Marcus Jonathan Marcus BBC Diplomatic Correspondent
For Nato this is both the best of times and the worst of times. After some
hesitation on the part of the French, command of the Libya operation was
transferred to the alliance, thus assuring its role as the pre-eminent military
sub-contractor in the world.
But the alliance is much more than just a conductor of the military orchestra.
It is above all a diplomatic body providing the political will, rationale and
determination to conduct a given operation. And here Nato's members have been
found wanting.
This was an unusual crisis from the outset, since it was really two countries -
Britain and France - that made the running.
But leaving the Europeans in pole position meant problems. Only six members are
actually conducting strike missions.
Inevitably, reluctance in some quarters and differing degrees of involvement
send out a signal suggesting a lack of resolve and uneasiness about how this
mission might end.
Mr Rasmussen told the meeting that Nato supreme commander Adm James Stavridis
was "generally content" with his forces.
But the secretary general added: "Now they [pro-Gaddafi forces] hide their
heavy arms in populated areas where before many targets were easy to get to.
"To avoid civilian casualties we need very sophisticated equipment so we need a
few more precision fighter ground attack aircraft for air-to-ground missions."
He added: "I am confident that nations will step up to the plate," although
when pressed, he said he had received "no specific pledges or promises from
this meeting".
As Mr Rasmussen spoke, Nato warplanes bombed targets in the Libyan capital,
Tripoli.
A BBC correspondent in the city said there were two loud blasts, followed by
plumes of smoke rising into the sky.
Our correspondent says a military installation near Nasser University may have
been the target. The raids were followed by heavy anti-aircraft fire.
Fighting has continued in the rebel-held city of Misrata, western Libya, which
has been besieged by pro-Gaddafi forces for nearly two months.
A rebel spokesman told Reuters news agency that a rocket attack by pro-Gaddafi
forces killed 23 people on Thursday morning.
Koussa sanctions lifted
Some assessments suggest that Nato only needs about a dozen or so extra strike
aircraft to maintain the tempo of operations.
Continue reading the main story
Nato role in Libya
* Alliance in full control of military operations since 31 March
* Nato has about 195 aircraft and 18 vessels under its control
* Mission includes enforcing arms embargo, policing no-fly zone, and
carrying out attacks on ground targets
* 2,038 sorties flown in two weeks
* Six of 28 Nato members carrying out air strikes
* Members Germany and Turkey oppose military action in Libya
* Libya no-fly zone: Coalition firepower
Only a few of Nato's 28 members - including France, the UK, Canada, Belgium,
Norway and Denmark - are conducting air strikes.
The US has scaled back its role in Libya, though on Wednesday it said its jets
were still carrying out bombing raids on Libya's air defences to enforce a
UN-mandated no-fly zone.
Several major Nato member countries, including Spain and Italy, have not taken
part in attacks on ground targets.
Spain said on Thursday it would continue to provide aircraft without joining
directly in such raids.
Italy is also refraining from carrying out air strikes, but it allows missions
to be flown from its territory.
Meanwhile, Moussa Koussa, the Libyan foreign minister who fled to the UK late
last month, is no longer subject to EU sanctions, the British government said.
Mr Koussa is a former head of Libyan intelligence and has been accused of
involvement in the 1988 Lockerbie bombing.
Earlier, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev reiterated Moscow's view that the UN
resolution on Libya did not authorise the use of force.
He was speaking at a meeting of the "Brics" group of five emerging nations -
Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.
After the meeting in China, the five said they shared "the principle that the
use of force should be avoided".
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