LIBYA: U.N. council mulls unfreezing Libyan assets for aid

Reuters | Louis Charbonneau | July 29, 2011

UNITED NATIONS – A U.N. Security Council panel that has been deadlocked for months is prepared to release Libyan assets frozen under U.N. sanctions to purchase humanitarian aid, Portugal’s U.N. envoy said on Friday.

The two warring factions in Libya — those aligned with Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi and rebels fighting since February to oust him — have both asked the United Nations to free up Libyan assets to designated humanitarian agencies able to deliver aid.

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LIBYA: Gaddafi planned civilian killings: ICC

By: Angus MacSwan

April 5, 2011

BENGHAZI, Libya — The International Criminal Court has evidence Muammar Gaddafi’s government planned to put down protests by killing civilians before the uprising in Libya broke out, the ICC’s prosecutor said on Tuesday.

Protests against the government that began on Feb. 15 swiftly descended into civil war after Col. Gaddafi’s forces opened fire on demonstrators. He then put down uprisings in Libya’s west, leaving the east and the city of Misrata in rebel hands.

NATO-led air power is now holding the balance in Libya, preventing Col. Gaddafi’s forces from overrunning the seven-week old revolt, but unable for now to hand the rebels outright victory.

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LIBYA: NATO warns rebels against attacking civilians

By: Thom Shanker and Charlie Savage

March 31, 2011

WASHINGTON — Members of the NATO alliance have sternly warned the rebels in Libya not to attack civilians as they push against the regime of Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi, according to senior military and government officials.

As NATO takes over control of airstrikes in Libya and the Obama administration considers new steps to tip the balance of power there, the coalition has told the rebels that the fog of war will not shield them from possible bombardment by NATO planes and missiles, just as the regime’s forces have been punished.

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LIBYA: Zuma should call Security Council on Libya: UDM

March 30, 2011

United Democratic Movement leader Bantu Holomisa is urging President Jacob Zuma to call for an urgent meeting on the UN SC to review Resolution 9173 on Libya.

In an open letter to Zuma, he said it was crystal clear to everybody by now that the decision to support the council’s resolution unwittingly gave support to a military intervention by the West in Libya.

“The allied forces, which seem to be the military wing of the Security Council, are brazenly and openly using lethal weapons in their quest to protect the so-called civilians.

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LIBYA: Innocent souls–victims of Libya war

March 27, 2011

TRIPOLI, March 27 (Xinhua) — The ongoing air strikes launched by major Western powers have not only destroyed much of Libya’s air defense systems and military facilities but also increased the risk of civilian casualties.

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