France, Britain want NATO to fight harder against Gaddafi’s forces
Gallery: Conflict and chaos in Libya: As international airstrikes continue against forces loyal to Moammar Gaddafi, rebels face difficult battles.
PARIS — France and Britain complained Tuesday that NATO commanders are not being aggressive enough in attacking Libyan army forces battling rebels for control of Misurata and other disputed cities in a bloody civil war.
The objections from Foreign Minister Alain Juppe and his British counterpart, William Hague suggested that the two main militaries in the Western air campaign over Libya are running out of patience as other NATO countries decline to commit full-bore to the conflict and the situation on the ground increasingly sinks into a stalemate.
“NATO wanted to take over military operations, and we accepted that,” Juppe said on France Info radio. “But it must play its full role, that is to say it must prevent Gaddafi from using heavy weapons against the civilian population.”
What NATO is doing now, Juppe added, “is not sufficient.”
Hague, arriving for a European Union meeting in Luxemburg, similarly called on NATO allies to contribute more to the battle, so that NATO air attacks can be more effective against forces loyal to Libyan leader Moammar Gaddafi that are laying siege to Misurata and trying to gain control of Ajdabiyah.
Brig. Gen. Mark van Uhm, NATO’s Dutch chief of allied operations, rejected Juppe’s criticism, telling the Associated Press at a briefing at NATO headquarters in Brussels: “I think with the assets we have, we are doing a great job.”
France, which pushed hard for Western military intervention against Gaddafi, opposed turning over the command of military operations to NATO when the United States stepped back March 31. But the Obama administration, Britain and other NATO allies insisted, forcing Sarkozy to acquiesce.
Since then, coalition air raids over Libya have been commanded by Lt. Gen. Charles Bouchard, a Canadian, and Rear Adm. Russell Harding, a Briton. Although a broad alliance of nations has joined the NATO effort, most attack sorties have continued to be carried out by French and British warplanes, with help from U.S. reconnaissance, search-and-rescue and other aircraft.
NATO officials have insisted the number of sorties — more than 100 a day — has not diminished since the United States relinquished command. The problem, they explained, is that Gaddafi’s troops, adapting to the situation, dispersed artillery and other equipment in civilian areas to make attacks from the air difficult without endangering nearby civilians.
But rebel leaders have complained they are no longer getting the level of support they previously had. Moreover, since the NATO command took over operations, 18 rebels have been killed in two friendly-fire incidents, generating angry reactions among anti-government fighters.
In recent days, Libyan army artillery and rocket launchers have been pounding rebel strongholds in Misurata, about 100 miles southeast of Tripoli, the capital, and battling to reassert control over the crossroads town of Ajdabiyah, just south of Benghazi.
Although Misurata has been under the control of the anti-Gaddafi insurrection for weeks, Juppe said he considers the army’s shelling of the town to be an attack on civilians. It therefore should be prevented, he argued, according to the U.N. Security Council resolution authorizing Western air operations against Gaddafi’s forces.
Juppe said he would urge a more aggressive NATO posture at a meeting of coalition governments that is scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday in Doha, Qatar, and at a regular meeting of European Union foreign ministers later Tuesday in Luxembourg. The European Union, he said, should be doing more to get humanitarian relief to the estimated 300,000 residents of Misurata who are caught up in the conflict.
The E.U. bureaucracy in Brussels has allocated about $11 million for relief operations. Officials at E.U. headquarters said they are awaiting a request from the United Nations and are ready to respond with a ship loaded with food and medicine that would also serve to evacuate the wounded for treatment in European hospitals.
Along with the United Arab Emirates and Jordan, Qatar is one of three Arab countries contributing to the NATO operation in Libya. But according to reports from NATO headquarters in Brussels, many contributing nations have imposed strict limits on what assignments their forces can carry out, leaving the bombing largely up to French and British planes.
French officials have suggested the bombing might have to continue for a while as Gaddafi huddles in his bunker and loyalist forces pursue the rebels in their strongholds along the country’s Mediterranean shore. But a senior French diplomat, speaking anonymously to avoid committing the government publicly, said France and other coalition governments are eager to see diplomatic efforts produce a cease-fire and a negotiated departure by Gaddafi.
No solution short of Gaddafi’s stepping down can be accepted, he added.
That has also been the position of the rebel National Transition Council in Benghazi. Mustafa Abdeljalil, who leads the council, refused an attempted African Union mediation Monday because, he said, it did not provide for the prior departure of Gaddafi and his sons.
codyej@washpost.com
