Hague: Arab League supports air strikes to enforce no-fly zone

Western forces have carried out another night of attacks in Libya, including one raid which destroyed a building inside the compound where Colonel Gaddafi lives, but authorities say the dictator is not a target.

Meanwhile, Britain's Foreign Secretary William Hague has said there will be no occupying force or invasion of Libya, and that the Arab League still supports air strikes to enforce the no-fly zone over the north African country.

There were signs of unease in the Arab world over the scale and nature of the attacks.

The Arab League’s secretary general Amr Mussa said: “What has happened in Libya differs from the goal of imposing a no-fly zone.

“What we want is the protection of civilians and not bombing other civilians.”

But the British Foreign Office responded: “For the no-fly zone to be enforced safely, it is necessary to carry out carefully targeted operations against Libyan air defence capabilities.

“All missions are meticulously planned to ensure every care is taken to avoid civilian casualties. We will continue to work with our Arab partners to enforce the resolution for the good of the Libyan people.”

Mr Hague's comments came in a BBC interview and follow concerns expressed by the League's Secretary General about the strategy.

Mr Hague said the mission was “nothing more or nothing less” than enforcing UN Resolution 1973.

Speaking to the BBC Radio 4 Today programme, he said Col Gaddafi would be judged “by his actions, not by words”.

“We will see whether they implement a ceasefire, a genuine disengagement from fighting – we will look at that throughout today,” he said.

“The UN resolution – and again that is the bible, if you like, on these things - calls for a ceasefire and an end to violence.

“That requires a bit more than not being on the move – sitting in the middle of a town, you can be stationary but you can still have your tanks firing at people.

“That does require a measure therefore of disengagement from the fighting.”

Asked whether Col Gaddafi was himself a target, Mr Hague said he would not “get drawn into details about what or whom may be targeted”.

Pressed as to whether the resolution authorised the targeting of Col Gaddafi, he added: “I’m not going to speculate on the targets... That depends on the circumstances at the time.”

The Foreign Secretary insisted he had not picked up any weakening of support among Arab leaders.

“I think too much was made of Amr Mussa’s comments. I will be talking to him again today,” he said.

US Defence Secretary Robert Gates last night said he expected America to hand over command of the mission to a coalition – probably headed by the UK, France or Nato – within “a matter of days”.

Mr Gates told reporters that President Barack Obama felt strongly about limiting the US role in operations, adding: “We will continue to support the coalition, we will be a member of the coalition, we will have a military role in the coalition, but we will not have the pre-eminent role.”

Both the UK and US have expressed satisfaction about the progress of operations so far. The Ministry of Defence declared itself “entirely comfortable” with the success of the first night’s raids, while the most senior US officer, Admiral Mike Mullen, said that a no-fly zone was effectively in place.

Libyan state TV claims that 48 civilians were killed and 150 wounded in the first night’s action were dismissed as propaganda.

Pentagon spokesman Vice-Admiral William Gortney last night said that the first wave of 124 Tomahawk missiles fired by US ships and a British submarine was “very effective in significantly degrading the regime’s capabilities”.

Gaddafi’s ability to fire ground-to-air missiles was reduced, radar cover had decreased significantly and the Libyan regime’s planes were grounded, said Adm Gortney. There was “no indication” of civilian casualties.

He added: “We are not ruling out further such missile strikes against valid targets if and when the need arises.”

Movements by Gaddafi’s ground troops near the rebel stronghold of Benghazi had also been halted by attacks from US, British and French aircraft, said Adm Gortney.

However he made clear that the Libyan dictator himself was not a target, telling a press briefing: “We are not going after Gaddafi.

“At this particular point I can guarantee he is not on the target list.”

By contrast, UK Defence Secretary Liam Fox suggested that Gaddafi was a legitimate target, so long as steps were taken to avoid harm to civilians around him.