Nato: We will not arm Libyan rebels
Nato does not support US and British suggestions that the UN Libya mandate allows them to arm the rebels, the alliance chief says.
Nato Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said that Nato’s position is that “we are there to protect the Libyan people, not to arm the people”.
Britain and the US believe that existing UN Security Council resolutions on Libya could allow for foreign governments to arm the rebels, despite an arms embargo being in place.
The Nato secretary-general told reporters in Stockholm he has “taken note of the ongoing discussions in a number of countries but as far as Nato is concerned ... we will focus on the enforcement of the arms embargo”.
Meanwhile Nato says it has taken over all air operations over Libya from the US, which had led the international force that has been bombarding Muammar Gaddafi’s forces.
Fogh Rasmussen said the alliance assumed sole command of all air operations over Libya at 6am.
The operation – codenamed Unified Protector – now includes enforcement of the no-fly zone, maintaining the arms embargo on Libya, and the protection of civilians from attacks by Gaddafi’s military.
Fogh Rasmussen said that, in line with the UN Security Council mandate, Nato’s operational focus would be “on protecting civilians and civilian-populated areas against the threat of attack”.
