Libya declared a cease-fire Friday in its battle to crush an armed revolt but rebels said they were still under fire and Washington warned of military action if Moamer Qadhafi refused to honour a UN demand to end the fighting. Speaking nearly five hours after the cease-fire was announced, US President Barack Obama warned Qadhafi of "consequences" if he did not comply with the UN Security Council resolution passed on Thursday.
Resolution 1973 authorises "all necessary measures" to establish a no-fly zone, protect civilian areas and impose a cease-fire on Qadhafi's military. It "demands the immediate establishment of a cease-fire and a complete end to violence and all attacks against, and abuses of, civilians."
Obama said: "That means all attacks against civilians must stop. "Qadhafi must stop his troops from advancing on Benghazi, pull them back from Ajdabiya, Misrata and Zawiyah and establish water, electricity and gas supplies to all areas." Qadhafi must allow humanitarian aid to reach the Libyan people, he said.
Obama said "these terms are not subject to negotiation. If Qadhafi does not comply with the resolution, the international community will impose consequences. The resolution will be enforced through military action." The president said he would deploy US forces to support a no-fly zone against Libya, but left uncertain the full scope of American military involvement in any action. He made clear, however, that no US ground troops would be deployed in Libya and that Washington's action would be based on the need to protect civilians.
"Left unchecked, we have every reason to believe that Qadhafi would commit atrocities against his people," Obama said. "Many thousands could die. A humanitarian crisis would ensue." Earlier, Foreign Minister Mussa Kussa said "Libya has decided an immediate cease-fire and an immediate halt to all military operations" because, as a UN member, it is "obliged to accept" Security Council resolutions." And he said, without elaborating, that Tripoli was encouraging the "opening of channels of dialogue with all parties."
This came despite remarks by Qadhafi on Thursday that the council had "no mandate" for such a resolution, "which we absolutely do not recognise." On Friday evening, rebel military council official Khaled al-Sayeh told.
reporters in Benghazi the "Qadhafi regime never stopped firing or attacking people. Until this moment he is still attacking places ... under siege." He said there was "sustained shelling" in Zintan, Ajdabiya and Misrata. "There is co-ordination with the different international bodies for the action to be taken and some places have already been specified," Sayeh of the rebels' military council told a press conference in the rebel bastion city.
But a Libyan military source in Tripoli said the "armed forces are respecting the announced cease-fire and the commitment to protect civilians, and have not carried out any military operations" since the announcement. Rebel military commander Khalifa Heftir, also speaking in Benghazi, accused Kadhafi of "bluffing." "All the world knows that Moamer Qadhafi is a liar," he said. "He and his sons, and his family, and all those with him are liars."
The rebels also said they were co-ordinating with Western nations on targets for air strikes against Kadhafi's forces, as a coalition of countries geared up to launch attacks under the Security Council resolution. Meanwhile, Nato said it was discussing its eventual role in enforcing the resolution, and the Arab League announced a high-level meeting with the European Union and African Union in Paris on Saturday, with UN chief Ban Ki-moon attending. So far Belgium, Britain, Canada, Denmark, France, Italy, Norway, Qatar,
Spain, Sweden and the United States have said they will help to implement the no-fly zone. French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said "everything is ready" to intervene in Libya, but he refused to give a timetable. Earlier Friday, the government said the strikes would come "within a few hours". British Prime Minister David Cameron said London would deploy Tornado and Typhoon warplanes as well as air-to-air refuelling and surveillance aircraft to airbases "from where they can take the necessary action."
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