Gaddafi's chilling threat: Attack us and we'll target foreign civilians

Published on Thursday 17 March 2011 16:43

Muammar al-Gaddafi's regime yesterday warned it would attack foreign civilian and military targets if international powers took military action against his forces.

The threat came as Prime Minister David Cameron spearheaded attempts in the United Nations to obtain an agreement to impose a no-fly zone against Col Gaddafi's tanks.

As Col Gaddafi's forces closed in on the rebel town of Benghazi, foreign governments admitted it may already be too late to prevent the defeat of the Libyan rebel forces.

But as the UN prepared to vote on a no-fly zone and possible further military action, the Gaddafi regime issued a statement warning that it would target shipping in the Mediterranean if the international community attempted to intervene.

"Any foreign military act against Libya will expose all air and maritime traffic in the Mediterranean Sea to danger and civilian and military (facilities] will become targets of Libya's counter-attack," a statement from the regime said.

"The Mediterranean basin will face danger, not just in the short term, but also in the long term," it added.

However, the Obama administration in the United States last night appeared to be ready to back British/French calls for stronger military action beyond just imposing a no-fly zone.

After days of stalling, the US ambassador to the UN, Susan Rice, signalled they were prepared to back air strikes to halt the regime's advance.

The US has said 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.

In a debate in the Commons yesterday, there was pessimism over the slow progress made on the international stage over the past fortnight.

Foreign Secretary William Hague told MPs: "I must not pretend that agreement on this will be easy, even on large elements of it.

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."

Labour's shadow foreign secretary Douglas Alexander added: "The international community's disagreements on the important issue of a no-fly zone has been a dispiriting reminder of the importance of the international community speaking with one voice in circumstances of crises.

"The courageous, youthful protests and their advocacy of human rights, freedom and democracy, in what has come to be termed the Arab Spring, has swept aside old assumptions and still presents an opportunity to catalyse fundamental change in the region."

Downing Street said Mr Cameron was "working the phones", with calls to a series of Arab and African leaders to make what was described as a "strong case" for action at the Security Council. "There is a race against time and the situation on the ground is increasingly concerning."

There were reports that Col 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 regime troops had moved to within 100 miles of the rebel stronghold.In New York, Ms Rice said 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 … as a no-fly zone has limitations in terms of protection of civilians at immediate risk," she said.

Diplomats said 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 Col Gaddafi's forces.