Friday 18 March 2011

U.N. Security Council approves no-fly zone over Libya

U.N. Security Council approves no-fly zone over Libya and extra measures to protect civilians.

This is excellent news!

The Guardian cites the resolution:

Authorizes Member States that have notified the Secretary-General, acting nationally or through regional organizations or arrangements, and acting in cooperation with the Secretary-General, to take all necessary measures ... to protect civilians and civilian populated areas under threat of attack in the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, including Benghazi, while excluding a foreign occupation force of any form on any part of Libyan territory, and requests the Member States concerned to inform the Secretary-General immediately of the measures they take pursuant to the authorization conferred by this paragraph which shall be immediately reported to the Security Council

The phrase "take all necessary measures" means this is more than a no-fly zone: it allows air strikes and any military action short of landing troops ("excluding a foreign occupation force of any form") – such as attacking tanks on the road to Benghazi.

Now, let´s hope that the action (probably by NATO) gets rolling as soon as possible.

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