UK joins in second night of missile strikes

21 March 2011
Last updated at 02:25 GMT

UK troops have taken part in a second night of missile strikes against Libya.

Tomahawk missiles were fired from a British submarine in the Mediterranean for the second time. RAF Tornados flew a bombing mission on the first night.

The UK is part of an international coalition, also including the US and France, trying to protect civilians from attacks by Col Gaddafi's forces.

The Libyan military said it had ordered a ceasefire across the entire country from 2100 local time (1900 GMT).

Col Muammar Gaddafi's government had ordered a ceasefire on Friday, which was broken within hours, prompting the coalition's first attacks on Saturday night and into the early hours of Sunday.

A Downing Street spokesperson said the government was monitoring the situation closely after Libya's latest ceasefire announcement.

On Sunday evening, the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) announced missiles had been fired from a British submarine in another co-ordinated strike against Libyan air defence systems.

Explosions heard

Defence Secretary Liam Fox said it was "a possibility" that Col Gaddafi himself could be targeted in the military operations.

But he told BBC Radio 5 live that such a move was problematic because "you would have to take into account any civilian casualties that might result from that, and at all times we are very careful to avoid that for its humanitarian reasons".

US defence spokesman Vice Adm William Gortney told a press briefing: "We are not going after Gaddafi. At this particular point I can guarantee he is not on the target list."

However, in the last few hours, a missile strike on Libyan leader Col Gaddafi's compound in Tripoli has destroyed a building which coalition officials said was a command centre.

A number of explosions have been heard around the Libyan capital.

Several Tornados took off from RAF Marham in Norfolk on Sunday, while Typhoon jets are on stand-by in Italy.

Flights from the Norfolk base during the first night of operations, which targeted an "integrated air defence system" in Libya, represented the longest-range bombing mission carried out by the RAF since the 1982 Falklands War.

Hercules aircraft have also left RAF Coningsby in Lincolnshire, believed to be heading to the Mediterranean with equipment and supplies.

The Chief of Defence Staff's strategic communications officer Maj Gen John Lorimer said RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus continued to support the operation with a number of assets, including E-3D Sentry, Sentinel and VC10 planes.

On Sunday evening, the UK government held its first meeting of a new National Security Council sub-committee on Libya.

Dr Fox said early indications suggested the first night's operation was "very successful".

The UK launched Tomahawk missiles from a Trafalgar class Royal Navy submarine, aimed at targets around the coastal cities of Tripoli and Misrata, over.

Some 124 missiles were fired by the US and UK, and hit 20 of 22 targets causing "various levels of damage", the US military said on Sunday.

As well as the submarine involved in the operation, two Royal Navy ships are taking part in a naval blockade.

Asked how long the campaign would take, Dr Fox said he hoped it would be over as "quickly as possible".

'Appalling brutality'

Vice Adm Gortney said that the success of the first night's attacks on Libya's air defence capability meant the coalition could now patrol the country's airspace.

"The no-fly zone is now effectively in place," he said.

The build-up of forces to enforce the UN-mandated no-fly zone continues, with Qatar due to become the first Arab country to play an active part by sending four planes.

The French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle has left the Mediterranean port of Toulon for Libya, while Denmark and Norway are each sending six planes. Spain has sent at least three planes, plus a refuelling aircraft, while Italy also has jets ready to deploy.

A Libyan government spokesman has described the coalition attacks as "aggression without excuse" and claimed many civilians had been hurt.

The head of the Arab League, who supported the idea of a no-fly zone, has criticised the severity of the coalition bombardment.

"What is happening in Libya differs from the aim of imposing a no-fly zone, and what we want is the protection of civilians and not the bombardment of more civilians," said Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa.

The military action follows the passing of a UN resolution imposing a ban on all flights in Libyan airspace, excluding aid flights, and authorises member states to "take all necessary measures" to "protect civilians and civilian populated areas under threat of attack".

Col Gaddafi has ruled Libya for more than 40 years. An uprising against him began last month after the long-time leaders of neighbouring Tunisia and Egypt were toppled.

Building of Kadhafi residence destroyed

A Tornado fighter lands after a night flight at the Birgi military airbase.
A missile totally destroyed an administrative building of Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi's
residence in Tripoli, an AFP journalist saw Sunday.

AFP March 21, 2011

TRIPOLI (AFP) - A missile totally destroyed an administrative building of Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi's residence in Tripoli, an AFP journalist saw Sunday.

The building, about 50 metres (165 feet) from the tent where Kadhafi generally meets guests, was flattened. It was hit by a missile, Libyan spokesman Moussa Ibrahim told journalists, who were taken to the site by bus.

"This was a barbaric bombing which could have hit hundreds of civilians gathered at the residence of Moamer Kadhafi about 400 metres away from the building which was hit," Ibrahim said.

He denounced the "contradictions in Western discourses," saying: "Western countries say they want to protect civilians while they bomb the residence knowing there are civilians inside."

Scores of Kadhafi supporters rushed towards the complex at Bab el-Aziziya in the south of the Libyan capital after a rumour spread that a plane had been shot down and crashed.

"Where is the plane?" several of them, mainly youths, cried.

Smoke billowed from the residence and barracks as anti-aircraft guns fired shots.

Tripoli was rocked by powerful explosions late Sunday, of which one was heard coming from the area around Kadhafi's residence.

Kadhafi's army announced a new ceasefire on Sunday, saying it was heeding an African Union call for an immediate cessation of hostilities, but the United States accused Tripoli of breaching the truce almost immediately.

Moamer Kadhafi: a leader under siege

"I sincerely hope and urge the Libyan authorities to keep their word," United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said in a swift reaction during a visit to Libya's eastern neighbour Egypt.

"They have been continuing to attack the civilian population. This (offer) has to be verified and tested," he told a news conference in Cairo.

Kadhafi's regime had declared a ceasefire on Friday after UN Security Council resolution 1973 authorised any necessary measures, including a no-fly zone, to stop his forces harming civilians in the fight against the rebels.
But his troops continued attacking the rebel stronghold of Benghazi, sparking action by US, British and French forces from Saturday in line with the resolution.
----

Ousting Gaddafi not immediate goal: US

Mathieu Rabechault, AAP
March 21, 2011

The immediate goal of the coalition's intervention in Libya is to protect civilians with a no-fly zone, not to try to oust strongman Muammar Gaddafi, the top US military officer says.

The immediate goal of the coalition's intervention in Libya is to protect civilians, the US says.

US President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, as well as other Western leaders, had been saying Gaddafi must go, but since the UN authorised military action on Thursday those calls have been dying down.

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen said initial air and sea strikes by US, Britain and France had stopped Gaddafi's forces in their tracks and that the aim now was to cut off their logistical support.

"We're in a situation now that what we do will depend to some degree on what he does," Mullen told Fox News Sunday.

Obama has vowed that US troops will not be deployed on the ground and Mullen stressed that military action was limited -- for the moment at least -- to protecting civilians, particularly in the rebel bastion of Benghazi.

"The focus of the United Nations Security Council was really Benghazi specifically and to protect the civilians," Mullen told Fox News Sunday.

"Clearly we have taken down the important nodes that remove his capability," the top-ranked US military officer said.

"This is not about going after Gaddafi himself or attacking him at this particular point in time.

"It is about achieving these narrow and relatively limited objectives so that he stops killing his people and so that humanitarian support can be provided."

US, British and French forces have launched the West's biggest intervention in the Arab world since the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq, firing more than 120 Tomahawk Cruise missiles and conducting bombing raids on key Libyan targets.

Mullen, speaking to several US news networks, said the no-fly zone had been successfully implemented.

"We've got combat air patrol or aircraft over Benghazi and we'll have them there on a 24/7 basis," he told CNN's State of the Union program. "He (Gaddafi) hasn't flown any aircraft for the last two days."

"We also struck some of his forces on the ground in the vicinity of Benghazi. He was attacking Benghazi yesterday. So (we) put a halt to that, at least temporarily," Mullen added.

"And now we'll look to cut off his logistics lines. He has his forces pretty well stretched from Tripoli all the way out to Benghazi and we'll endeavour to sever his logistic support here in the next day or so."

His remarks came after the United States unleashed a barrage of strikes against the Libyan regime's air defences.

In a dramatic show of force, American warships and a British submarine fired Tomahawk Cruise missiles into Libya against Gaddafi's anti-aircraft missiles and radar on Saturday, the US military said.

Admiral William Gortney told reporters at the Pentagon that the cruise missiles "struck more than 20 integrated air defence systems and other air defence facilities ashore."

Earlier on Sunday, three US B-2 stealth bombers dropped 40 bombs on a major Libyan airfield in an attempt to destroy much of the Libyan Air Force, US military officials said.
In all, 19 US planes, including the stealth bombers, took part in dawn raids on Sunday on targets in Libya, US Africa Command, based in Germany, told AFP.

Clinton, Rice joined to get buy-in for no-fly

From Elise Labott,
CNN Senior State Department Producer
March 20, 2011 -- Updated 0321 GMT (1121 HKT)

Washington (CNN) -- President Barack Obama's decision to undertake military action in Libya to enforce a no-fly zone was the product of an administration debate with unlikely bedfellows.

Initially, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was skeptical of the U.S. joining a military coalition.

Initially, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was skeptical of the U.S. joining a military coalition. But senior U.S. officials said advances last weekend made by forces loyal to Gadhafi in retaking rebel strongholds in the east, which opened up the possibility of thousands more being killed, convinced her action was necessary.

Additionally, a statement by the Arab League calling for the United Nations to enforce a no-fly zone, Clinton told reporters Saturday, "changed the diplomatic landscape."

As Britain and France pushed for a quick U.N. Security Council resolution authorizing a no-fly zone, officials said Clinton teamed up with Susan Rice, U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, in creating the conditions for a resolution with the broadest possible authority and the largest international support.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS Defense secretary, vice president opposed U.S. action Arab League statement "changed the landscape" Secretary of state pressed UAE for support

Clinton made the case that U.S. support for a no-fly zone was conditioned on Arab participation and leadership. In Paris, Clinton met with her counterparts in town for a meeting of the Group of 8 foreign ministers and with Abdullah bin Zayed, the foreign minister of the United Arab Emirates. Even as she criticized the UAE for its recent decision to send forces to quell a rebellion in Bahrain, Clinton pressed him to send planes to Libya.

As Clinton traveled to Cairo and Tunisia seeking Arab buy-in for the resolution, officials said Rice built support in New York for the resolution. Samantha Power, an adviser to Obama on the National Security Council and a human rights activist, was also urging the president to intervene.

Clinton's alliance with Rice and Power in pushing for intervention put her at odds with Defense Secretary Robert Gates, who had publicly argued against a no-fly zone. Sources said Vice President Joe Biden was also more cautious, arguing for the smallest possible U.S. involvement in any military action.

A senior administration official said that "like the president, the vice president wanted any action taken with a broad international coalition." The official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive military planning, said when the vice president "saw that was achievable, he supported the policy to seek the military intervention."

After meeting with Amr Moussa, secretary general of the Arab League, in Cairo Tuesday night, officials said Clinton called Obama, telling him the Arabs were willing to take part in the no-fly zone. That participation, officials said, was critical for the administration, which was concerned about the perception of invading a third Arab country.

"In order for us to go along, it was important for the Arabs to have some skin in the game," one senior official said.

CNN Senior White House Correspondent Ed Henry contributed to this report.

Gunfire, explosions heard in Tripoli

U.S., British and French forces launched attacks on Moammar Gadhafi's forces on Saturday
after the Libyan leader refused to stop attacking Libyan civilians in the North African country's civil war.

By the CNN Wire Staff
March 20, 2011
Updated 0310 GMT (1110 HKT)

Tripoli, Libya (CNN) -- Explosions and anti-aircraft fire thundered in the skies above Tripoli early Sunday, but it was not clear whether they resulted from another round of cruise missile attacks by allies determined to stop Moammar Gadhafi's offensive against Libyan opposition forces.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS British jets flew 3,000 miles to bomb targets Explosions, gunfire heard overnight in Tripoli Gadhafi supporters rally in Tripoli Gadhafi vows to counter "naked aggression"

CNN's Nic Robertson witnessed the development a few hours after nearly 1,000 people gathered at Gadhafi's palace in the capital. The crowd chanted, waved flags and shot off fireworks in support of the government.

A defiant Gadhafi said Libya will fight back against undeserved "naked aggression." His military claimed nearly 50 people, including, women, children and clerics, were killed in Saturday evening's attacks. There was no independent confirmation of that statement.

American, French and British military forces, convinced that Gadhafi was not adhering to a United Nations-mandated cease-fire, hammered Libyan military positions with missiles and fighter jets in the first phase of an operation that will include enforcement of a no-fly zone.

An eyewitness in Tripoli reported seeing signs of gunfire rising Sunday morning from the direction of nearby Mitiga Airport. The anti-Gadhafi activist said she heard "continuous gunshots" and at least two loud explosions. It was not clear if the airport was also being used as a military installation.

The eyewitness, who was not identified for security reasons, said she did not hear the sound of flying aircraft.

More than 110 Tomahawk missiles fired from American and British ships and submarines hit about 20 Libyan air and missile defense targets in western portions of the country, U.S. Vice Adm. William Gortney said at a Pentagon briefing.

The U.S. will conduct a damage assessment of the sites, which include SA-5 missiles and communications facilities. A senior U.S. military official, who was not authorized to speak on the record, said the cruise missiles, which fly close to the ground or sea at about 550 miles per hour, landed near Misrata and Tripoli.

The salvo, in an operation dubbed "Odyssey Dawn," was meant "to deny the Libyan regime from using force against its own people," said Gortney.

U.S. Navy photos showed flashes of light and smoke funnels as missiles soared from a destroyer into the night sky.

Earlier, French fighter jets deployed over Libya fired at a military vehicle Saturday, the first strike against Gadhafi's military forces, which earlier attacked the rebel stronghold of Benghazi.

Prime Minister David Cameron said late Saturday that British forces also are in action over Libya. "What we are doing is necessary, it is legal and it is right," he said. "I believe we should not stand aside while this dictator murders his own people."

British Defense Secretary Liam Fox said the Royal Air Force deployed Tornado GR4 fast jets, which flew 3,000 miles from the United Kingdom and back, "making this the longest-range bombing mission conducted by the RAF since the (1982) Falklands conflict."

While there were no U.S. warplanes flying over Libya late Saturday, the coalition was softening Libyan positions before enforcing a no-fly zone, Gortney said.

The Libyan military, in a statement broadcast on state TV, said, "An enemy attacked the state on March 19th with rockets ... Those enemies killed 48 martyrs -- mostly women, children, and religious clerics. They left more than 150 injured. The majority of these attacks were on public areas, hospitals and schools. They frightened the children and women near those areas that were subject to this aggression."

Gadhafi, speaking early Sunday on Libyan state TV, said the U.N. charter provides for Libya's right to defend itself in a "war zone." Weapons depots will be opened, he said.

"All you people of the Islamic nations and Africa, and Latin America and Asia, stand with the Libyan people in its fight against this aggression," Gadhafi said.

Air attacks on several locations in Tripoli and Misrata have caused "real harm" to civilians, a Libyan government spokesman said.

An eyewitness in Misrata said Gadhafi's forces are targeting fuel and power stations in an effort to make citizens believe the damage is being done by coalition forces. The eyewitness, who was not identified for security reasons, said people celebrated allied airstrikes on loyalist positions in the city. CNN could not verify the account.

Shortly after the first missile attacks, U.S. President Barack Obama informed the American people of the efforts by a "broad coalition."

"The use of force is not our first choice," the president said from Brasilia, Brazil. "It is not a choice I make lightly. But we cannot stand idly by when a tyrant tells his own people that there will be no mercy."

Obama is planning for the U.S. portion of the military action in Libya to only last for a few days, according to a senior administration official, who was not authorized to speak about sensitive military matters.

"After that we'll take more of a supporting role," the senior official said.

Obama authorized U.S. military force from Brazil on what happened to be the eighth anniversary of the start of the war in Iraq.

Coalition partners say Gadhafi has failed to adhere to a United Nations resolution that imposed the no-fly zone and ordered him to stop attacks on civilians.

"He's clearly been on the offensive," the senior U.S. military official said of Gadhafi. "He said that he was going to do a cease-fire and he continued to move his forces into Benghazi."

Earlier Saturday, Gadhafi issued defiant messages to international powers.

"I have all the Libyan people with me and I'm prepared to die. And they are prepared to die for me. Men, women and even children," Gadhafi said in a letter addressed to Obama and read to reporters by a government spokesman in Tripoli.

Obama, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Gortney used the term "unique capabilities" to describe the U.S. part of the effort. Officials have said American military forces are meant to augment Arab, European and other Western troops.

In the next few days, U.S. military officials expect to hand over control to a coalition commander. Canada and Italy also are part of the coalition.

"Our air force will oppose any aggression by Colonel Gadhafi against the population of Benghazi," said French President Nicolas Sarkozy, speaking after a top-level meeting in Paris over the Libyan crisis.

The international meeting -- which included Western and Arab partners -- focused on how to take on a Libyan government bent on destroying the fledgling opposition movement under the U.N. resolution authorizing force to protect civilians against the Gadhafi government.

Rebel forces in Benghazi used a captured army tank as a victory symbol, CNN's Arwa Damon reported.

Earlier Saturday, incoming artillery rounds landed inside Benghazi, and pro-Gadhafi tanks rolled into the town firing rounds, witnesses said.

A flaming fighter jet plummeted from the sky, nose-diving to the ground. Khaled el-Sayeh, the opposition military spokesman, said the plane was an old MiG-23 that belonged to the rebels.

As night fell over Benghazi on Saturday, the city became quiet and calm. While plumes of smoke could be spotted, the pro-Gadhafi tanks seen earlier were not in sight. El-Sayeh told CNN that "tens" had been killed in Benghazi on Saturday.

He said Gadhafi forces had withdrawn from the city and that they were positioned 50 kilometers (31 miles) outside Benghazi. CNN could not independently verify those details.

Gadhafi -- in a separate letter addressed to Sarkozy, Cameron and U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon -- called the U.N. moves "invalid" because the resolution does not permit intervention in the internal affairs of other countries.

Violence has raged in Libya following protests calling for democracy and freedom and demanding an end to Gadhafi's almost 42-year-long rule. It's a conflict spurred by anti-government protest and resulting regime violence against civilians -- which the U.N. resolution cites as "outrageous" and Sarkozy calls "murderous madness."

CNN's Arwa Damon, Chris Lawrence, Jill Dougherty, Elise Labott, Ed Henry, Jim Bittermann, Paula Newton, Richard Roth and Nic Robertson contributed to this report